Marti Pellow

When he told his father about the direction he wanted his life to take, he was less than enthusiastic. "'Are you on a hallucinogenic substance or something? What's wrong with getting out there and getting an apprenticeship? I'm a builder, your grandfather was a builder, your great-grandfather was a shipbuilder. What do you want to be a musician for?' And I said, 'No, you don't understand – this is my vocation in life; this is what I want to be'."

In 1982, at the age of seventeen, McLachlan, 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'". McLachlan 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”).

Pellow enjoyed success with Wet Wet Wet throughout the late 1980s and 1990s. However, in 1997 drummer Tommy Cunningham left the band over a royalties dispute and its success waned immediately. Pellow was by this time addicted to heroin. On finally overcoming his addiction, he stated: "It was textbook. I couldn't function without it. But there's no romantic side to heroin – it's no good."

Pellow left Wet Wet Wet in May 1999, effectively disbanding the group. They reformed, however, in March 2004. On 28 July 2017, Pellow departed from Wet Wet Wet to focus on his solo career.

Pellow began his career as a solo artist in association with Chris Difford of Squeeze. The two met while they were patients in The Priory in March 1999. Difford subsequently became Pellow's lyricist and unofficial helper. ...

Source: Article "Marti Pellow" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.