How old is Marti Pellow, what are the ex-Wet Wet Wet singer’s hit songs, who’s his partner and where’s he from?
We take a look at his life and career in the spotlight so far
THE King of the Crooners, Marti Pellow is known for being the former singer in Wet Wet Wet.
We take a look at his life and career so far...
Who is Marti Pellow? What was his early life?
Marti Pellow, 53, was born Mark McLachlan on March 23, 1965.
He is a Scottish singer.
In 1982, at the age of seventeen, Marti, who was training to be a painter and decorator, formed a band with three friends from Clydebank High School in his hometown.
The friends were Tommy Cunningham, Graeme Clark and Neil Mitchell, and the band's name was Vortex Motion.
This was subsequently changed to Wet Wet Wet, a title taken from the Scritti Politti song, "Gettin, Havin' and Holdin'".
Marti 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).
He is in a relationship with his long-term partner, and former model, Eileen Catterson.
How successful were Wet Wet Wet? Did they reform?
Marti enjoyed great success with Wet Wet Wet throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Hits included Sweet Little Mystery, Angel Eyes and Good Night Girl.
Their greatest hit to date was Love Is All Around which featured on the movie Four Weddings and a Funeral.
It was a huge international success and spent 15 weeks at the top the British charts.
The week before it could have equalled the record for the longest-standing UK number-one single, held by Bryan Adams' "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You", it dropped to number two.
In 1997 drummer Tommy Cunningham left the band over a royalties dispute and its success waned immediately.
By this time Marti was a heroin addict.
On finally beating the drug, he stated: "It was textbook. I couldn't function without it. But there's no romantic side to heroin – it's no good."
Marti left Wet Wet Wet in May 1999, effectively disbanding the group.
They reformed in March 2004.
However in 2018, Marti quit the group as was replaced by former Liberty X star Kevin Simm.
Does Marti Pellow have a solo career?
Marti began his career as a solo artist with the help of Chris Difford of Squeeze.
The two met while they were in rehab clinic The Priory in March 1999.
Subsequently Chris became Marti’s lyricist and unofficial helper.
In November 1999, Marti began his first solo tour.
On 4 June 2001, he released Close to You from his debut solo album, Smile.
He has since released nine more solo albums and gone on many tours throughout the years.
More TV and showbiz
Has Marti Pellow done any theatre work?
In 2012 Marti was cast in the arena tour of Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds – Alive on Stage! The New Generation.
Marti also appeared as Che Guevara in Evita on tour around the UK in 2013 – he subsequently reprised the role in a limited-run West End production of the musical in 2014.
Marti played the narrator in Willy Russell's Blood Brothers at Hastings White Rock Theatre in March 2015.