Marti Pellow
Pellow in 2014
Background information
Birth name	Mark McLachlan
Born	(1965-03-23)23 March 1965 (age 59)
Origin	Clydebank, Scotland
Genres	Pop soul rock
Occupations	Singer songwriter actor
Years active	1982–present
Formerly of	Wet Wet Wet
Website	martipellowofficial.co.uk

Marti Pellow (bornMark McLachlan; 23 March 1965) is a Scottish singer. He was the lead singer of the pop groupWet 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 theWest End and onBroadway.

Pellow's first exposure to music occurred around the age of 7. He would listen to his mother'sBarras-bought8-track record collection ofBurt Bacharach andHal David, but it was the soul genre of the selection that drew him in. EarlyMarvin Gaye and, especially,Sam Cooke captivated him. He then discoveredlive music. "Hey, wait a minute – check that picture: not only is this music amazing, but these guys deliver it live? That's for me."^[1]

When he told his father about the direction he wanted his life to take, he was less than enthusiastic. "'Are you on ahallucinogenic substance or something? What's wrong with getting out there and getting anapprenticeship? I'm abuilder, your grandfather was a builder, your great-grandfather was ashipbuilder. What do you want to be a musician for?' And I said, 'No, you don't understand – this is my vocation in life; this is what I want to be'."^[1]

In 1982, at the age of seventeen, McLachlan, who was training to be apainter and decorator, formed a band with three friends from Clydebank High School in hishometown. The friends wereTommy Cunningham,Graeme Clark andNeil Mitchell, and the band's name was Vortex Motion.^[2] This was subsequently changed to Wet Wet Wet, a title taken from theScritti Politti song "Gettin, Havin' and Holdin'". McLachlan also changed his birth name in favour of the stage name Marti Pellow, created from his mother's 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 1997drummerTommy Cunningham left the band over a royalties dispute and its success waned immediately. Pellow was by this time addicted toheroin. On finally overcoming his addiction, he stated: "It was textbook. I couldn't function without it. But there's no romantic side to heroin – it's no good."^[3]

Pellow left Wet Wet Wet in May 1999, effectively disbanding the group.^[4] They reformed, however, in March 2004. On 28 July 2017, Pellow departed from Wet Wet Wet to focus on his solo career.^[5]

Pellow began his career as a solo artist in association withChris Difford ofSqueeze. The two met while they were patients inThe Priory in March 1999.^[6] Difford subsequently became Pellow's lyricist and unofficial helper.

In November 1999, Pellow began his first solo tour. On 4 June 2001, he released "Close to You" from his debut solo album,Smile. A further single, "I've Been Around the World", was released that November; towards the end of the year he embarked on a seven-date tour (theSmile Tour) around Britain. In 2002, he hosted and sang inGirls' Night Out, one of a week of shows in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust, at theRoyal Albert Hall. This led to him, in 2002, being offered the part of Billy Flynn, the lawyer in the musicalChicago in London's West End and, in 2004, onBroadway.^[7] Also in 2002, Pellow releasedMarti Pellow Sings the Hits of Wet Wet Wet & Smile, an 18-track compilation that included three songs from the latter album.

In November 2003, he issued an album ofcover versions,Between the Covers, the single from which wasNeil Young's "A Lot of Love".

At the end of June 2004, the reformed band went to a secret location to record tracks for a new album and to prepare for a UK tour. At the tour's conclusion, Pellow recordedMoonlight Over Memphis, with the record producerWillie Mitchell (Al Green,Otis Clay,Ann Peebles, etc.), demonstrating a deep affinity withsouthern soul. The album was released in October 2006 onDMG TV, a label which has had some success previously with albums by such artists asJane McDonald andDaniel O'Donnell. Pellow went on tour during October and November to support the album, with a helping hand from regular Wets contributorGraeme Duffin.

Pellow won the second series of the prime-timeBBC1 showJust the Two of Us, which began on 2 January 2007, partnering actressHannah Waterman.

Between February and July 2007, Pellow performed at severaljazz clubs and at jazz festivals (Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club and ThePigalle Club in London being two examples), theCheltenham Jazz Festival and "Ronnie Scott's in the Park" in Woburn. These gigs were followed in April 2008 by the release of his jazz album,Sentimental Me, onRhino Records (UK), containing well-known jazz songs he sang at the above-mentioned gigs and a self-penned song, as well as an accompanying tour throughout the UK.

In May 2008, Pellow appeared inSir Tim Rice's concert revival of his hit musicalChess, playing the "Arbiter". The concert took place at theRoyal Albert Hall on 12 May and 13 May 2008. In June 2009 it aired on British and American television and was released on DVD.

From late August 2008 until early May 2009 he was playing the leading role in a revival of the musicalThe Witches of Eastwick.^[8][9]

In May 2010, Pellow released his fourth studio album, entitledDevil and the Monkey, to coincide with a seven-date arena tour with George Benson, performing songs from his new album as well as hits from his solo and Wet Wet Wet career.

2011 saw the release of hisLove To Love album, a fully orchestrated and romantic tribute to his favourite love songs that saw Pellow back in the UK charts, as well as starring in a touring production of Broadway musicalJekyll & Hyde, beginning in January at The Churchill Theatre, Bromley, and ran to the end of July 2011.^[10]

On 17 August 2012, Pellow performed his new concert show Boulevard of Life with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra at Dublin's National Concert Hall. The conductor for the show wasFiachra Trench, a previous collaborator. It showcased songs from his 30-year career, both with the band and from his work in musical theatre.

He performed the role of The Sung Thoughts of the Journalist in the 2012–13 arena tour ofJeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds – Alive on Stage! The New Generation.

Pellow appeared asChe Guevara inEvita on tour around the UK in 2013, and subsequently reprised the role in a limited-run West End production of the musical from 15 September 2014 at theDominion Theatre.

Pellow played the narrator inWilly Russell'sBlood Brothers at Hastings White Rock Theatre between 23 and 28 March 2015.

In 2021, he confirmed the release of new single "These Are the Days" and albumStargazer.^[11][12]

In October 2003, Pellow's then-ex-bandmates attended his mother's funeral, a show of support that touched the grieving frontman. "I thought it was a powerful gesture," Pellow said. "Moments like that put things into perspective – it wasn't all about music, it was more about a kinship between us. I remember my mother once saying, 'Maybe Wet Wet Wet will get back together again one day'. She must have had a wee vision. I'd never closed the chapter on the band; I'd always left the door open."^[7]

In a 2013 interview with theBelfast Telegraph, Pellow revealed he supportsGlasgow Rangers and also dismissed as untrue anurban legend that he had previously describedloyalist terroristMichael Stone as his hero in an interview withTerry Wogan.^[13]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toMarti Pellow.

• Official website
• Marti Pellow atAllMusic

• 1965 births
• Living people
• Wet Wet Wet members
• 21st-century Scottish male singers
• Scottish pop singers
• Scottish male singer-songwriters
• Scottish singer-songwriters
• Scottish male musical theatre actors
• Singing talent show winners
• People from Clydebank
• People educated at Clydebank High School
• 20th-century Scottish male singers

• Webarchive template wayback links
• All articles with dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from December 2021
• EngvarB from August 2014
• Use dmy dates from August 2014
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles with hCards
• Commons category link from Wikidata