In the pub last night we saw Eighties/Nineties pop senstation Marti Pellow. He looked quite well. He must be in the West End doing one of those songbook musicals, as the pub we were in attracts the theatre crowd.
We didn't speak of course, but we all stared a lot. He looked well; older, slightly grey, that trademark grin firmly in place.
I was thinking about Wet Wet Wet's oeuvre on the way home, and searched my ipod for any tracks, but alas there were none. But I was never a fan. I didn't like Wishing I Was Lucky, or any of the follow up singles, hated their number ones (especially THAT one), and only vaguely liked one song that troubled the lower reaches of the charts called Broke Away. I had it on an ex-jukebox single but it's long since disappeared into the ether.
The main reason I didn't like the band was because of Marti Pellow. I thought he was a toothsome popinjay who fancied himself rotten. He was cocky and full of it, and WWW were quite clearly a girl's band. Then came the heroin addiction which frankly I thought was a desperate cry for credibility, as I bellowed last night, not realising his pals were on the next table. But I stand by that.
But he seems okay now, even if he is reduced to dumb shows and the odd light entertainment appearance. At least he's working.
24 comments:
He's too cheerful to be a heroin addict.
You know that bloke on guitar? You know the one, the ginger portly one who was never a proper band member? Apparently they wanted him to become a fully-fledged member of the band but he always refused due to a pronounced stammer and didn't want to show himself up when being asked questions by kids on Going Live. Just a bit of pop trivia for you...
I think that rings a bell, BA. I also think the one in the pic with the tallest hair was also there last night. Perhaps they all were, but they're so anonymous, who'd ever know?
Yeah, he was the groovy bassist, Graeme, was it?. I'm showing myself up as a bit of a Wets obsessive here, aren't I?
Who knew you were such a fan, BA. I thought they'd be everything you'd despise.
They got their name from a Scritti Politti song. Gettin' Havin' and Holdin' off Songs to Remember. But only because Green sings the word 'wet' three times in a row.
In the early days, they were forever trying their damnedest to show their credentials, whether it was The Clash, Al Green or John Martyn. They were constantly embarrassed that they were pop, yet I never felt they were good enough at that. Their output was the essence of trying too hard, especially Pellow's over-singing, possessing the sort of vibrato that operatic tenors would feel was overdoing it.
Apparently the drummer of the group (Tommy?) was a nice bloke. So I was told.
Yes I always got the impression they were trying way too hard to be cool. It never worked, hence the last resort heroin addiction.
I was never a fan either. They nearly ruined the summer of 1994 with that song played on the radio over and over again. And again. And again.
Great title for the blog-post by the way!
I heard Wishing I Was Lucky on Dale Winton the other week and actually thought it was a good pop song.
I reckon my expertise of the Wets comes from watching too much kids' TV when I was too old for it. They seemed to be on one Saturday morning show or another every week.
The music I despise the most is anything touched by the hand of either Midge Ure or Pete Waterman.
What, even "Vienna"?
Especially Vienna. Awful, awful dirge.
This means nothing to me
I love Ultravox. More now than I did back then. Hiroshima Mon Amour is a classic.
Aargh! What's with the green and purple? IT'S GHASTLY!!!
Hmm, still bedding and pondering. I can't think of a nice combination to go with that new header. Any ideas? I don't want to be too garish.
This colour scheme has given me a migraine, and I've only been looking at it for 45 seconds. I may have to sue you.
Marti Pellow used to be in my Top Ten list of People Who Deserve a Custard Pie in the Face.
Ultravox, on the other hand, are wonderful, and as you so rightly say, 'Hiroshima Mon Amour' is a classic (did I tell you I made sure I was listening to it on my iPod as my Bullet Train pulled into Hiroshima Station? Yes? Oh, sorry.).
Against my better judgement, I like Sweet Little Mystery.
Not sure about the colour scheme either I'm afraid, and blue and yellow are difficult colours to get a soothing match to. White is always safe though...
Someone's going to kindly tweak the logo colours for me, so in the meantime, we'll go to neutrals.
I like the font in the new logo. If the Galloping Gourmet had a blog, it would look like that.
(He probably does. He probably Tweets these days.)
Sadly Chris I think he's dead.
That font is called Davida, according to design guru GKW.
I'd have thought Graham Kerr had passed on as well, but seemingly not.
Didn't the Galloping Gourmet have a series of heart attacks linked to all the cream and butter he shoved into his recipes? He's now a champion of healthy eating. I think.
We have two of his cookbooks at home. As fun as they are, you wouldn't actually want to make anything out of them. All that cream, you're right BA. That's why I was convinced he'd galloped over to the other side.
u just dont have a clue,,,the wets came from nothing and stayed true to their fans,,who eles do u know gave a free concert for over 100,000 fans,,? i dont think u have a right to presume why he took coke,,that just shows your interlect,,what a waste of space you are ,,,go and put your heed down the bog a little shit,,,have a nice day,,
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