Scottish band's show comes up 'Wet Wet Wet' all over

Scottish band's show comes up 'Wet Wet Wet' all over

By Meydiatama Soerjadiningrat

JAKARTA (JP): Wet Wet Wet was the band, wet was the weather
but dry was the show.

Though their musicianship was impressive and their songs
pleasant, their show lacked much of the persona which has
escalated the group to one of Britain's most popular bands.

Playing to a near capacity crowd at the Jakarta Convention
Center on Wednesday evening, Wet Wet Wet failed for much of the
90-minute set to translate the soulful august which made songs
like Temptation and Sweet Surrender popular.

With a less than satisfactory sound system but not from lack
of effort, vocalist Marti Pellow, drummer Tom Cunningham, bassist
Graeme Clark, keyboardist Neil Mitchell and permanent guitarist
Graeme Duffin, couldn't warm the audience.

The band kicked off their show with their second single, Don't
Want to Forgive Me Now, from their latest album Picture This.

Not surprisingly, the song was well known to the audience,
many of whom have contributed to the 30,000 albums sold in
Indonesia. In fact, during their stay in Jakarta, Wet Wet Wet
received a special Gold Record from Polygram records for top
sales.

The next song they played was Wishing I Was Lucky.

It must have special meaning for these Scottish boys since not
only was it their first ever single and top 10 hit on the British
charts, but it was also the song they played to a million
television viewers during Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday tribute
at Wembley stadium in 1988.

Next came one of the biggest let downs of the night, their
1988 single Temptation.

From what was originally one of the most soulful and anthem
songs of the group's catalog, Wednesday night's version was a
tattered interpretation. It lacked the grace of the original
version and was surprisingly unmoving for a song which should be
so compelling.

As another three numbers passed, all from the Picture This
album, and their performance quickly became very average. A
number of fans, who had paid Rp 75,000 (US$33.33) for festival
tickets, crouched in the back or numbly leaned on the wall.

For devotees, especially for those seeing Wet Wet Wet for the
first time, it was frustrating to see a band known for its
distinctive blend of dainty British pop and heavy Memphis soul be
so mundane.

Born in the early 1980s, Wet Wet Wet took their name from a
line in a G. Gartside song, "his face wet, wet with tears."
Starting out in Glasgow, Scotland, the four boys brought together
their different musical tastes to forge the group's well known
sound.

Cunningham was into Roy Orbison, the Beatles and other 1960s
stuff, Pellow loved R & B, from Otis Redding to Aretha Franklin,
Mitchell was into a variety of music such as Stevie Wonder and
ABC, while Clark adored reggae and punk.

This blend separated them from the favorite New Wave bands
like Culture Club, Human League and Spandau Ballet.

After struggling on the British club circuit, Wet Wet Wet
released their first single Wishing I Was Lucky, in 1987 which
peaked at number six. Later that year they released their first
album Popped in Souled Out which climbed to the top of the
charts. The album sold over 2.2 million copies and produced four
hit singles.

A year later Wet Wet Wet went into the recording studio to
record the Lennon and McCartney tune With A Little Help From My
Friends for the Childline Foundation.

Their altruism was rewarded as the single not only raised
600,000 pound sterling for charity but also became their first
number one hit.

From then on success rarely turned from the group as their
next three albums went to number three, two and one on the
charts. Their triumph includes playing to an audience of 750,000
at Glasgow Green in 1989.

However to the less than 7,500 fans, their music was less than
moving. Only a few bothered to leave their seats.

Even as they played the perennial favorites With A Little Help
From My Friends, Sweet Surrender and the recent hit Julia Says,
the excitement was thin and a few began heading for the door.

Decked in blue with a short haircut, Marti Pellow's vocal
technique and style was excellent. His singing and soulful
resonance makes Michael Bolton sound like a local PPD bus
crooner.

The rest of the band, backed by a three-man horn section,
sounded solid throughout the gig, but still the songs sounded
cold.

After four or five songs things warmed-up, a little.

Only during the funky-disco like Lip Service and I Can Give
You Everything did Wet Wet Wet strut their stuff. Though these
two numbers might not be their most well-known, the band jived
hard, banging-out the rhythms and pulsating beat.

They followed up with a striking version of the late Bob
Marley's Jammin', reflecting their reggae influences which they
have maintained in at least one song in everyone of their albums.

As he closed the song, Pellow paid tribute to the great man by
gesturing with his arms to the sky. Bob Marley would never had
imagined that his song would be played in the middle of Southeast
Asia by a bunch of Scots.

The 17-song set closed with Goodnight Girl, Wet Wet Wet's
first self-penned number one hit. Their fine performance here
lends evidence to the theory that maybe the group are just slow
starters.

The prolonged song was almost stunning, especially as Duffin
and Clark showed off their vocal skills with renditions of Paul
Young's hit Every Time You Go Away and The Police's Every Breath
You Take.

As they walked off the stage the crowd knew that it was a mere
formality. It was near impossible to imagine them not playing the
one song that every one knows, even if they don't know Wet Wet
Wet.

The song Love is All Around, from the soundtrack of the hit
comedy Four Weddings and a Funeral, catapulted the band to mega-
stardom. Although they were big in England, not until this single
did they become famous around the world. Fame prompted them to
take their Picture This tour to Asia.

As the familiar chords began, the crowd began to hum along and
couples started cuddling a bit closer. The tune was nice, the
atmosphere warm and Wet Wet Wet finally showered the audience
with the kind of ambience that was hoped for from the beginning.

As the band walked off the stage, Marti Pellow said in a heavy
Scottish accent that this was the first time they had been here
and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

Next time, they might play Sweet Little Mystery, released in
mid-1987 and considered by many as the song that really put the
band on the map.