About Marti
Marti Pellow (born Mark McLachlan on March 23, 1965) was the lead singer and public face of the hugely successful group ‘Wet Wet Wet’. From their formation in Clydebank in 1983 as ‘Vortex Motion’ who earned a crust covering Clash songs in local bars, they blossomed into one of the great British groups of the '80s and '90s. Among their 12 British Top 10 hits, they managed three Number 1 singles, “With A Little Help From My Friends”, “Goodnight Girl” and their version of Reg Presley's “Love Is All Around” (featured in the film “Four Weddings and a Funeral”), which was Number 1 in 15 countries and stayed at the British summit for a splendidly symmetric 15 weeks. They also had four British Number 1 albums.
Essentially a modest sort of chap, Marti wasn't wholly sure if his old fans would still be there with the prospect of a solo tour. He thought his first solo dip in the live waters might have to take the form of a club tour. He needn't have worried and before Christmas in 2000 played a sold out tour of Britain's larger venues, including two nights at the Royal Albert Hall.
After a busy 2001, notably being given the keys to Memphis, an honour only ever been given to the likes of Nelson Mandela and blues legend, BB King; followed by his having his debut solo album going straight into the top 10; singing his hit “Close To You” on the set of ‘Emmerdale Farm’; and having his second single, “I've Been Around The World” reaching number 7 in the singles chart. Marti’s year culminated with a sell-out tour starting in Glasgow and finishing at London's Wembley Arena.
2002 kicked off with a very special concert on the 5th February at the Royal Albert Hall in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust where Marti was joined on stage by some of the best female artists around including Emma Bunton, Lesley Garrett, Belinda Carlisle and Dina Carroll. He released his solo albums ‘Marti Pellow Sings The Hits Of Wet Wet Wet’ and ‘Smile’ (co-written with Chris Difford) that has achieved Platinum status sales.
Marti made his Broadway debut as Billy Flynn in ‘Chicago’ . This followed his critically acclaimed debut in ‘Chicago’ in the West End in 2002 (with a brief reappearance there in 2004) and further appearances in sell out regional tours of the UK. He also went off to Tokyo to complete a run of six weeks there.
In 2003 he recorded his album ‘Between The Covers’ released in November. Marti recorded this album as a tribute to all his favourite artists over the years, from Neil Young to The Pretenders, putting his own stamp on some classic tracks. He toured the UK with this new album in January and February 2004 after completing a Christmas and New Year run of ‘Chicago’ in Birmingham.
‘Wet Wet Wet’ has recently reformed. Their debut single entered the charts at number 10 and they played a successful fifteen date tour of UK arenas in December 2004 as well as Summer festival dates in 2005.
Marti’s latest solo album ‘Moonlight Over Memphis’ was released in Autumn of 2006 to great critical acclaim. He followed the release with a seventeen date UK tour – ‘In Concert Alone’.
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