Wet Wet Wet return from pop wilderness
Wet Wet Wet launched their comeback today after seven years in the pop wilderness.
Singer Marti Pellow and the rest of the band have decided to reform.
They last performed together in 1997 and split two years later following revelations of Pellow’s heroin addiction.
The break-up was so bitter that the band did not speak for five years until they were reunited at the funeral of Pellow’s mother.
Today they marked their comeback with a tiny gig in a London club where they played hits including Love Is All Around and Goodnight Girl.
The Scottish band – Pellow, Graeme Clark, Tommy Cunningham and Neil Mitchell - are releasing a new single and greatest hits album in November.
In December they will embark on an 11-date arena tour.
Pellow, 38, said he loved being back on stage again with his old band mates.
“The enthusiasm and energy and passion we had when we were 17-year-old boys is still there,” he said.
“I’ve played these songs on solo tours and they were never the same. This is the real deal.
“We’ve got our friendship back and that’s what it’s all about. And if people still like our music and want to buy it, so much the better.”
Wet Wet Wet burst onto the music scene in 1987 with the single Wishing I Was Lucky and went on to sell more than 15 million records.
They had more than 20 chart hits, including Angel Eyes, Temptation and Julia Says.
Ten years ago today they were at the top of the charts with their biggest hit, Love Is All Around, which stayed at number one for 15 weeks.
But in 1999 Pellow collapsed at a London hotel after taking a potentially lethal cocktail of drink and drugs.
Fans were shocked when he admitted he had been addicted to alcohol and heroin for three years.
Pellow was admitted to rehab and since getting clean he has launched a solo career and found success in musicals – later this month he opens in the Broadway production of Chicago.
The star said he would not be tempted back to a life of drink and drugs.
“This time around it’s different because I can articulate how I’m feeling instead of heading for the bottle,” he said.
“I’m very much at ease with my addictions and have come to terms with all that. I’m a little bit wiser now.
“You learn from your mistakes and that’s what makes you the man you are.
“The only thing I take from the minibar these days is the Toblerone.”
Drummer Tommy Cunningham said: “You can’t under-estimate how much it has taken for us to get back together.
“Each person had to sit down and think very long and very hard about whether we wanted to get back together.
“But there’s a lot of unfinished business and I still feel we didn’t get to the point where we achieved all we could have achieved.
“It’s a great feeling to be back with the band again. It’s as if no time has passed at all and it feels like just yesterday that we walked off stage.”
