WET WET WET INTERVIEW - SMHTP WRITTEN EXCLUSIVE

Olivia Classey talked to Wet Wet Wet 

WET WET WET certainly seemed to have sketched their names into the music history book. As one of the biggest bands in pop history they still hold the record for a phenomenal 15 weeks at number one, “That we will take to the grave,” explains frontman Marti Pellow.  Their debut in 1987 skyrocketed the Scottish four-piece act on to the music scene.

Spending a massive 212 weeks in the British singles chart - the band looked like they were set to stick around. But just three years after their with Love Is All Around the tables turned and WET WET WET were no more.  There were squabbles behind the scenes, Pellow turned to drugs and consequently - to the dismay of thousands of fans - the band went their separate ways.

But ten years on can WET WET WET have the same remarkable success?  On the launch day of their comeback album Timeless, SMHTP’S Olivia Classey caught up with lead-singer Marti Pellow and bass guitarist Graeme Clark to find out more…

It’s been ten years since you released new material, what have you been up to?

“Wow really (Marti laughs) ten years? Doesn’t time fly when you’re in a coma?”Graham-“We have missed a creative beat we haven’t really done anything as a band for ten years. In that respect those ten years where we were inactive we all did other things. We all did different things in aspects of the music business - Marti did his West End shows and released two solo albums, and I’ve done some writing with other people.”

Your single Too Many People was released November 5th how’s that going so far?

“It has been great we went in at 46. For us the measure of success has changed quite dramatically. We no longer put emphasis on the singles chart. We’re hoping that the album is going to have a bit of a life and it’s not going to be determined by how successful the single is. I think in the past we have been guilty of placing too much importance on the single and we should really put the importance on the album that’s got the eleven tracks on it. The single is the tool that promotes and the album is the thing that gives you the longevity and lengthens your career.” 

Do you think the album and single charts have changed quite dramatically then?

“I think it has totally changed. In our day the singles chart was so important just by the very nature of it we hold the record for the longest record at number 1 for 15 weeks.” 

No one has ever beaten that?

“No that it is something we will take to the grave because I don’t think singles will be sold in that quantity again. We were selling something like 100,000 singles per week. I know Leona Lewis has sold a large number of singles with Bleeding Love but that is a big record and that will do well for four or five weeks - but I can’t see it going anywhere near Christmas. I can’t see anyone else coming up with a single that will do as well.” 

You’ve self-released you’re new album on Dry Records, was there any particular reason you decided to set up your own label?

“There’s always a part of you that has these little dreams that you can start your own record label. We were fortunate or unfortunate enough that we signed a record deal relatively young and all the trappings that come with that. So that blew that little dream out of the window. Once we got out, we had two options to go and get another record deal, or do it all ourselves. I think the beauty of where we are today is that you don’t really need a record company, what you need is a distribution company and you can have an independent record label that enables you to do this.”   

So do you think there has been a dramatic change in the industry that enables bands to set up their own labels and self release?

“Yes definitely, the web is a brilliant medium to embrace. We think it’s the way forward for us so we can run a multifaceted company, with different projects running on our own record label.” 

Did your time away from WET WET WET allow you to see things objectively?

“Sometimes it is the most difficult thing to see how you are defined by others. When we were physically doing the music and then came out of that I could actually look at things with a bit of perspective - for what it was, and why it was so successful. At the time you never think about that because you’re just running as fast as you can - you don’t know when it’s going to end. The music business is fickle and we were under no illusion that we had any right to be here for any length of time but we were lucky that we released a record that was successful, and we embraced that and just ran with it.”

So was there never a stage when you got complacent?

“I think we did get complacent; it’s a natural thing when you are young and are full of bravado and we certainly got blasé about everything. I think if we rewound to when we were 16 and someone said, ‘This is going to happen to you throughout your career’ I think we would have been wide-eyed. But sometimes the anticipation is better than when you actually physically get there. I think it’s important that we acknowledge what we have achieved. It’s a nice warm feeling that our children and our children’s children can then look at what we achieved.”

Marti – “What children who’s got children?”

Laughs and sings

Marti – “I’m sorry I went off on a tangent there.”

SMHTP laughs

Do you still get that same buzz when you hear your song on the radio?

“Yes definitely, just this morning for instance I heard our song on the radio and I changed the channel. (Laughs) But seriously it was great to hear it on the radio. Especially on a cover song if you hear your record and you see people dancing to it, you think to yourself that’s fantastic. Unless you’re in a club and your song is played and suddenly they turn the lights on and say, ‘That’s your record, get out.’

Graham and Marti laugh in unison SMHTP is in fits of giggles

Are you looking to attract new fans with this album?

“Definitely, this is our first studio album in ten years so there will be a whole generation of people who won’t necessarily have heard our back catalogue of music. It’s important to us that we release new material so that we aren’t perceived as a heritage act. We could go back and sing Love Is All Around for another decade quite easily but it’s important to inject that with new music. I think WET WET WET as a band isn’t about yesterday it’s about tomorrow. I think we have to have that sense of belief and passion for what we’re doing.”

Marti pretends to cry SMHTP sobs with him 

We’ve Chris Difford from Squeeze coming into the SMHTP studio; he mentioned a writing workshop that you did with him Marti. Can you tell us more?

“The first time I worked with him was in WET WET WET we pictured a sound and wrote a song called Love Is My Shepherd. That was actually about ten years ago. It was at a haunted hotel in the middle of Devon it was full of ghosts! (Laughs)There were about 80 other songwriters there and it was great to do that. As songwriters you tend to be isolated and you don’t really like showing other people what you’re doing in case they say, ‘That’s awful man.’ But I think going into that environment made me realize that everybody is in the same boat. The fact of the matter is Don McLean who wrote American Pie was here last week and he said to this very day he still gets nervous.”

Marti to SMHTP– “If Chris Difford is coming into the SMHTP studio can you ask him a question?”

SMHTP answers slightly over enthusiastically “Yes of course would love to!”

“Do you think wearing a cardigan helps you as a songwriter? That is the question that Marti, 42 from Scotland asked.”

SMHTP laughs embarrassingly loud

“He knows how to wear a cardigan - there are not many singer/songwriters that can get away with wearing a cardigan. Ask him also whether his leather pouches on his tweed coat help him with his songwriting as well? (Laughs) Chris and Elvis Costello are quite partial to a cardigan.” 

What inspires you when you are writing?

“Just listening to peoples stories, you can be inspired by certain situations. You’ve got to watch songwriters especially people like Chris Difford you can have conversations with these people and before you know it you’re in their song. You’ve got to be really careful! (Laughs)We were watching a lot of reality shows and we made a song called New Age Sacrifice and that was really about people who are featured on reality programs. They come from nowhere and are catapulted into celebrity. The press and the media set these guys up. For a fleeting 15 minutes they are flavor of the month. But it just seems to me that it serves as a thing for the media. Once they’ve rung them out and got everything that they want, they throw them on the scrap heap.”  

So you do think the contestants in reality shows don’t understand the pitfalls of fame?

“There’s fame just for fames sake. That to me just says a lot about today’s society. When we grew up we just wanted to play our music. But we got into this because we love music not because we wanted to be something that we’re not.”

Marti says to Graham – “You wanted to be successful though didn’t you?”

Graham – “Not necessarily, fame is a byproduct of success. We didn’t think lets do it to be successful and to make lots of money.”

Marti – “Well yes money is good.”Graham – “But we thought lets do it because we want to do it.”

Marti and Graham both nod and agree

“I think WET WET WET as a band isn’t about yesterday it’s about tomorrow. I think we have to have that sense of belief and passion for what we’re doing.”

 

   
See also
Wet Wet Wet Return - SMHTP Exclusive