Marti Pellow Reveals Wet Wet Wet Debut Was A £750 Edinburgh Demo

Scottish singer-songwriter Marti Pellow has disclosed that Wet Wet Wet's debut single, Wishing I Was Lucky, was made in Edinburgh for just £750 before becoming a worldwide hit in 1987.

Pellow appeared on the new Scottish station STV Radio’s breakfast show with Ewen Cameron and Cat Harvey this morning, arriving to the skirl of a bagpiper who welcomed him into the studio.

Reflecting on the track after it was played on air, Pellow said: "We recorded it in Wilf Smarties' studio in Broughton Street in Edinburgh. It was a demo and we tried to recreate it with so many different other producers and we ended up putting out the demo."

He continued: "We used to sit outside the A&R guy's office and we'd say, 'there's the song there'. He'd say, 'nah, go and work with this producer here from America' or whatever. But it was there, it always was there."

Pellow added: "I think it was like £750 or something to do. That was still a lot of money then for us, you know."

Wishing I Was Lucky peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart and reached the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, propelling the band to international prominence. In the interview, Pellow credited his former bandmates for the breakthrough.

"That was testament to the rest of the guys in the band, it really was. We were so excited and the devil was in the detail. We really worked on it and I'm so proud of that," he said.

He added: "We wanted it to be real. We wanted it to be something that connected. Big chunks of the song were done in one take, so it was a stream of consciousness."

STV Radio launched earlier this month, showcasing popular Scottish presenters and a wide-ranging playlist spanning the 80s, 90s and 2000s. The new home of Ewen and Cat at Breakfast, its slogan is "Never the Same Song, All Day Long".

STV Radio is available on DAB, STV Player, stvradio.co.uk and on smart speakers.