Marti Pellow

by Jason AnkenyBest known as the frontman for the long-running Scottish pop group Wet Wet Wet, Marti Pellow also enjoyed success as a solo act. Born Mark McLachlan in Clydebank, Scotland, on March 23, 1965, Pellow was 17 when he co-founded Wet Wet Wet with friends Neil Mitchell, Graeme Clark, Tommy Cunningham, and Graeme Duffin; upon signing to PolyGram in 1985, the group scored their first hit two years later with "Wishing I Was Lucky," followed in 1988 by their first U.K. number one, a cover of the Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends" cut for the charity ChildLine. Hits including "Sweet Surrender" and "Goodnight Girl" preceded a 1994 cover of the Troggs' "Love Is All Around" that spent an astounding 14 consecutive weeks atop the British charts; however, in the wake of 1997's 10 the Wets began splintering amid copyright squabbles, and in May 1999 Pellow left the group, soon after entering rehab to battle a long-term heroin addiction. His debut solo effort, Smile, arrived in mid-2001, notching the minor hits "Close to You" and "I've Been Around the World"; a covers collection, Between the Covers, hit retail in late 2003, and the following year Pellow co-starred as attorney Billy Flynn in a West End production of the hit stage musical Chicago. When Pellow's mother died in early 2004 following a long struggle with kidney disease, his former Wet Wet Wet bandmates all turned out for the funeral, and soon after the group announced plans for a reunion tour, also recording a brand-new track, "All I Want," for an upcoming Greatest Hits collection. At the end of the tour Pellow teamed with famed soul producer Willie Mitchell to record a new solo effort, 2006's Moonlight Over Memphis.