Neil Mitchell, prompted by his Graeme and Tommy's positive attitude, promised to supply keyboards when he could scrape together enough money from his paper round. To complete the quartet, Graeme approached his schoolmate Mark McLachlan. He said "At break we all went behind the ktchens for a fly smoke and there in the corner was this quiet kid who said very little but when he sang everyone listened."

Now with the line-up complete, rehearsals took place in Graeme’s mum’s kitchen. Mark sang to the gas cooker. The musical blend quickly took shape: Mark’s soul influences (from his mum’s record collection) - Otis, Aretha and Al Green, Graeme’s love of The Clash, Costello and reggae. Tommy’s keenness for 60’s music - The Beatles, Long John Baldry, Roy Orbison et al… and Neil’s musical tastes brought everything from Stevie Wonder and Jimmy Webb to ABC and Bacharach/David. Clubs dominated by the Philadelphia Sound of Barry White, The Ojays, the Three Degrees, and also the New York dance sounds of Donna Summer, Sister Sledge, Chic, etc., would influence them.

Early Days

In 1983 the boys took their first demo to London and presented it to Jeff Travis, head of Rough Trade Records, (the leading ‘Indie’ of the time). Jeff loved what he heard, but was too wrapped up in his new signing, ‘The Smiths’ to get involved. He promised he’d come to the next gig. Back in Glasgow, the band played their debut gig at the Multi Media Club under the moniker of Wet Wet Wet. They had chosen the name from a line in a song, which sang about "…his face wet, wet with tears." That song was by Green Gartside of ‘Scritti Politti".

Jeff Travis attended the gig. It was promoted by Elliot Davis. Marti recalls: "We had never played on stage before and we thought we were ‘there’. I fell over or something at one point and I remember Elliot standing over me with a smile saying ‘That was a good gig’!"

Elliot, who had intended setting up his own record label, was so impressed with the show that he wanted The Wets to be his first signing. Jeff Travis deliberated too long, and when Elliot suggested that he and The Wets form the Precious Organisation record label, the band readily agreed. Tommy remembers: "We were overwhelmed with the fact that somebody else believed in something we always believed in ourselves, and here was a guy who would put his money where his mouth was." It was about this time that the band recruited Graeme Duffin as their permanent guitarist "Graeme came into the room to audition. He wore a long, hippy parka and sported a jazz-style goatee, but he played beautifully."

Memphis, Tennessee

In 1968 they set about recording their first album. They traveled to Memphis and the Royal Studios of legendary producer Willie Mitchell. Although the results were well received, the unique blend of Memphis soul and Glasgow pop didn’t quite sit comfortably alongside the prevalent sound of the time, best represented by Culture Club, Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet etc. So, despite the massive investment, they decided to shelve the recordings for the time being.

Now, the Wets unshakable belief in their own ability, the true Glasgow-grit that would set them apart from their contempories, shone through. They would produce, mix, they would control the situation!

On 6^th April 1987 the Wets self-produced, written and arranged single "Wishing I Was Lucky", an indictment against 80’s unemployment, was released. It struck the right chord with critics and punters alike, capturing the mood of the times perfectly, finally peaking at No. 6 in the national charts.

If anyone believed that this finely crafted pop song was a fluke, their second single "Sweet Little Mystery" would prove cynics wrong, effortlessly following "Wishing" up the charts.