Marti Pellow

Marti Pellow born Mark McLachlan 23 March 1965 is a Scottish singer He was the lead singer of the Scottish pop group Wet Wet Wet for 28 years from their formation in 1982 until their split in 1997 and again from their reformation in 2004 to his departure in 2017 He has also recorded albums as a solo artist and performed as an actor in musical theatre productions in both the West End and on Broadway Pellows first exposure to music occurred around the age of 7 He would listen to his mothers Barrasbought 8track record collection of Burt Bacharach and Hal David but it was the soul genre of the selection that drew him in Early Marvin Gaye and especially Sam Cooke captivated him He then discovered live music Hey wait a minute check that picture not only is this music amazing but these guys deliver it live Thats for me When he told his father about the direction he wanted his life to take he was less than enthusiastic Are you on a hallucinogenic substance or something Whats wrong with getting out there and getting an apprenticeship Im a builder your grandfather was a builder your greatgrandfather was a shipbuilder What do you want to be a musician for And I said No you dont understand this is my vocation in life this is what I want to be In 1982 at the age of seventeen McLachlan who was training to be a painter and decorator formed a band with three friends from Clydebank High School in his hometown The friends were Tommy Cunningham Graeme Clark and Neil Mitchell and the bands name was Vortex Motion This was subsequently changed to Wet Wet Wet a title taken from the Scritti Politti song Gettin Havin and Holdin McLachlan also changed his birth name in favour of the stage name Marti Pellow created from his mothers maiden name Pellow and the nickname he was given at school Smarty Pellow enjoyed success with Wet Wet Wet throughout the late 1980s and 1990s However in 1997 drummer Tommy Cunningham left the band over a royalties dispute and its success waned immediately Pellow was by this time addicted to heroin On finally overcoming his addiction he stated It was textbook I couldnt function without it But theres no romantic side to heroin its no good Pellow left Wet Wet Wet in May 1999 effectively disbanding the group They reformed however in March 2004 On 28 July 2017 Pellow departed from Wet Wet Wet to focus on his solo career Pellow began his career as a solo artist in association with Chris Difford of Squeeze The two met while they were patients in The Priory in March 1999 Difford subsequently became Pellows lyricist and unofficial helper Source Article Marti Pellow from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA 30