Voice with power to stir fan from a Covid coma
Lockdown hit Marti Pellow is excited to be bringing his biggest hits to Birmingham
HIS hits provided the soundtrack to millions of lives. As the frontman of Wet Wet Wet, Marti Pellow became an icon. That face, that voice, that smile. When Love Is All Around became one of the most successful singles of alltime, it also propelled Marti towards ubiquity.
He’s lost none of his appeal. During lockdown, the man who went onto enjoy a successful solo career became an online phenomenon. His Lockdown Sessions went viral, attracting millions of viewers, after he stepped in to help a family laid low by Covid19.
Now there’s a chance to recreate the magic as the singer embarks on an extensive Greatest Hits tour, during which he’ll play much-loved Wet Wet Wet songs, solo smashes and more, reconnecting with the fans whose passion burns brightly.
While many musicians went to ground during lockdown, Marti came to the fore.
“We started this thing called Lockdown Sessions,” he says. “A family approached me online and asked me to sing a wee song for them. They had a relative in a coma because of coronavirus so I was happy to help.”
The idea was that they’d play the song to their loved one in the hope it would stir them. Happily, it worked and the patient made a full recovery.
“I was so touched by that experience,” Marti says. “I was just glad to help. The only way for me to reach out was online, but then the response became phenomenal.”
Soon Marti was asked to sing for others – a young boy, Oliver, who was unwell, and to raise money for PPE for his hometown of Clydebank. He was happy to oblige and the response was extraordinary.
As time went on, as well as delving into his back catalogue he covered songs by artists he admired, including James Taylor and Annie Lennox.
“I covered songs by those two and both got in touch. James sent me a lovely message and Annie wrote a beautiful email. They both loved what I’d done with their songs.”
The success of Marti’s Lockdown Sessions ought not to be a surprise. A seasoned performer, he shifted several million records between 1987 and 1997 as the frontman of Wet Wet Wet. With such hits as Wishing I Was Lucky, Angel Eyes (Home and Away), With A Little Help from My Friends, Goodnight Girl and the remarkable Love Is All Around, he provided the soundtrack for a generation.
Such songs, as well as Julia Says, Sweet Surrender and If I Never See You Again, showed a stunning vocal talent that was helped him to forge a successful career in musical theatre in London’s West End and on Broadway. A successful solo career followed, too, as Marti showed a diverse talent: one year a balladeer, another a hot-to-trot jazz singer, the next a man capable of Bowie-esque new wave and then a Rat Pack-style crooner.
When he hits the road, fans can look forward to a night of greatest hits. “It’s about entertaining the people. There’ll be songs to make people dance and laugh. I want to connect, connect, connect. I’m fortunate that I have plenty of songs in my back catalogue that can do that.
“There’s a sense of anticipation about these shows, I see it with the comments from people on social media.It’s time to look forward. We’re heading into something like normality and it will be great for us to come together and enjoy ourselves. It’s brilliant that I can go and do this again.”
Marti’s songs are ones that people fell in love to, got married to and had children to.
“These hits are songs that evoke happy memories for so many people and I get so stoked and so excited that people feel that way about my music. People walked down the aisle to Love Is All Around or they played Angel Eyes when their child was born. Some people escape through these songs. They climb inside and go back to a special time and a place in their lives.
“That’s what this Greatest Hits tour is about. That’s exactly what they’re going to get. There’s real power in this music and I am so grateful to the fans for coming with me on this journey.
“I’m just going to stick all those songs that people love into my holdall and bring them to the venue.’’
A family approached me online and asked me to sing a wee song for them. They had a relative in a coma because of coronavirus so I was happy to help Marti Pellow