Wet Wet Wet open up on Marti Pellow's departure and life after superstar singer

Wet Wet Wet burst on to the Scottish music scene in 1987 and their “blue-eyed soul” – that had more to do with Memphis than the streets of Clydebank – made them stars almost overnight.

Now, as they prepare to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their biggest hit – a reworking of The Troggs’ classic Love Is All Around – the group insist they remain optimistic, even without talismanic singer Marti Pellow.

The remaining band members say they are looking forward to their first UK tour without Marti but are still hurt by the suddenness of his departure in 2017.

Keyboard player Neil Mitchell, 53, said: “Marti left straight after the last gig we played together.

“We had done the show and we all laughed and went our separate ways.

“Then his manager called the band manager and said, ‘Marti doesn’t wanna do it any more, he’s leaving the band’ and that was it.

“We haven’t spoken to him since. I don’t have any grudge but I did find it a bit odd that he didn‘t have the courage to say, ‘I wanna do something else’ in a mature manner.

“He could have done that but he got someone else to do it for him.”

Neil’s shock at the nature of Marti’s departure is understandable since the band had been together since the early 80s.

He said: “At the time, we were quite hurt and angry. A year-and-a-half ago, I was emotional and wondering what happened.

“We had to look at ourselves and say, ‘What are we going to do now?’ If we wanted to continue, we needed a singer.

“We auditioned some other people and thought, ‘Right, this isn’t going to be easy, this is a nightmare.’”

Former Liberty X singer Kevin Simm, 38, who won BBC1 talent show The Voice in 2016, impressed the band in auditions and was picked.

Neil added: “We had never held auditions before, so didn’t really know what to expect.

“Kevin’s name had been floated about by various people but we didn’t know if we wanted to go down the route of somebody who had been on a TV show.We thought we would be better finding someone who wasn’t known but we had all seen Kevin on The Voice and knew how good he was.

“After the other auditions didn’t work out, we thought, ‘Why not see Kevin?’

“He’s excellent. He can sing and seems like a nice guy so we got in touch with him. He came up to Glasgow and blew us away and we are where we are now.”

Their UK tour begins tonight at Perth Concert Hall and moves to Glasgow’s Old Fruitmarket tomorrow.

Neil added: “Two years ago, we found ourselves in a position without a singer and weren’t sure how it was going to turn out. When we got Kevin on board and played a couple of small shows last year, it was really exciting. I’m really looking forward to the tour.”

Drummer Tommy Cunningham, 54, admits the shows will have none of the excesses they began to take for granted after Love Is All Around propelled them to worldwide fame in 1994. It featured in the hit movie Four Weddings and a Funeral, and stayed at the top of the charts for an incredible 15 weeks.

Tommy said: “In Taiwan, they had just built a new Four Seasons Hotel and gave us the entire top floor and a butler each. He would say, ‘Shall I run a bath for you?’

“I remember going out for a wander and heading into McDonald’s. The butler came with me – in white gloves and a black suit. I ordered and he carried it all the way back to the hotel so I could eat a Big Mac and chips. It was stupid beyond words.”

Tommy, who also left the Wets for a spell, added: “I walked out in 1997. I knew that something was missing and could see the writing on the wall.

“I found myself back in Glasgow with a wife and two kids and I thought to myself, ‘What do I want to do?’ I thought I would still make music but I wanted to do my own stuff and hated the fact I had lost contact with real life.

“I didn’t know how to live in a household and bring kids up properly, I was too pampered for too long so I became a cabbie and bought a pub.”

Wet Wet Wet remain one of Scotland’s most successful groups. They have sold more than 15 million records, including 27 singles – three of which topped the charts – and four No1 albums.

But nothing has touched the success of Love Is All Around.

Recalling the premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral, Neil said: “We had our kilts on and went to the premiere and the after-party. That was really exciting.

“You see all that Hollywood-type stuff in Leicester Square and suddenly you’re there.

“That was when Liz Hurley wore the famous dress – the one held together with nappy pins, probably golden nappy pins. We watched the film then went to some house in London for the after-party.

“I don’t remember speaking to Hugh Grant (who starred in the movie) or Liz Hurley but they were there, and it was a great occasion, great to be part of.”

However, Neil admits he is still grieving the loss of an old pal as well as their old frontman.

He said: “The biggest loss is the friendship – that’s the thing that I want to make sure survives this.

“I want to wish him all the best. He is one of the nicest men I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing and our experiences together are unique. He makes me laugh and I love him to bits. I want him to be happy. When he said he wanted to leave through a press release, it took me a very long time to get over the shock and anger.

“Then I thought, ‘Go and be happy’.

“It must be hard for him to pick up the phone and talk to me and it’s hard for me to pick up the phone, too. Time will pass and there will be a time where I can go, ‘Right, how are you?’

“It’s different with Kevin. It’s all about his voice and his delivery.

“He doesn’t care about stardom, he just wants to perform and be in that band environment. It’s great to see him experience that and he fills the gap that was very difficult to try to fill.”