Interview With Marti Pellow

Former Wet Wet Wet singer Marti Pellow is about to go out on his Greatest Hits tour. I asked the singer about his career to date.

What can we expect on your new tour?
It does what it says on the tin really - it is the greatest hits tour. I could do a lot of songs that people might not be as familiar with but this tour is all about entertaining not educating people with my newer songs. People tend to want to hear songs that they are familiar with, the songs might not have been written by me but if it’s a good song and people know it then I’ll sing it. I kind of enjoy being a story teller and a lot of the songs I sing do tell a story.

Why do you think that the 80’s were such a good period for music?
I think we were just getting our heads around what happened in the sixties in the eighties. If you listen to a lot of eighties songs it was all about the production and sound. The synthesiser was one of the musical instruments that made a big difference to the sound of many of those songs. We tried with Wet Wet Wet to use timeless instruments and write songs that you could play on a piano or guitar.

Are you a lot happier now than you were in the past?
I think that through the whole of my life I have been a positive person. Hindsight can be a good thing but life deals many cards. Over the years I have become more aware of the circle of life and I feel more connected to deal with the problems that happen in my life now. I still have a passion for what I do. Ultimately though it is all about having that quality of life.

Was success as good as you imagined it to be?
When you are younger you have this idea in your head about how you think fame will be, but when you do get success it is not always what you thought it would be. From the outside, the room might appear to be warm and cosy but when you go in it can be spiky and cold. Real life catches up on you very early and the door can close very quickly.

Do you enjoy being a singer or an actor the most?
Being a singer and a songwriter is my main passion but acting and being on the stage was a challenge. I have done so many different things such as pantomime, Chicago, Witches of Eastwick, Chess…so many, it’s like having a bag of tricks, I get to use a different tool each time.

What has been your biggest achievement in your career so far?
When you start off you have this wish and a dream then it becomes reality, that in itself is an achievement. When people come up to me in the street and tell me that they got married to Love Is All Around or when we first fell in love Goodnight Girl was our song, things like that are a great achievement to me.

Do you listen to any of today’s artists?
I am really excited about a new artist from Scotland called Josef, he has a great voice and I think is a wonderful singer/songwriter. Discovering new music has changed so much since Wet Wet Wet began, social media has made a huge difference, you have so much new music you can discover at the touch of a button- it really is mind blowing!

Have you heard about the renovation of the Bradford Odeon?
No, I haven’t, but from what you tell me that is fantastic news! Bradford is a great city and I’ve done shows at St George’s Hall and played the Alhambra many times. I remember when I was in Evita at the Alhambra I saw the old Odeon building and thought what a waste of a brilliant building, it was heartbreaking to see it going to waste as it is wretched in history. I am very supportive of the arts and this is excellent for the city of Bradford. Fingers crossed it all goes well and when it’s finished I would love to play a gig there. I love Bradford, the Asian food plus the people always seem to have a smile on their faces. The economy will benefit and it will mean the bands who previously bypassed the city will no longer do so - more power to Bradford I say!