Finally, the boys from Clydebank had hit the big time! Suddenly, everyone was
interested in them on both a professional and personal level. Almost
immediately, the tabloid press focussed on Marti.
At the end of May '87, they flew out to Gambia to film the video for their
second single, Sweet Little Mystery
which was released in June. This was their
first visit to West Africa. Whilst there they performed May You Never live on
Radio Syd with just one acoustic guitar as that was all that could be found! The
band felt that the image that was portrayed in the video of 4 young guys having
fun on the beach could have ruined their careers and didn't show them as the
serious band that they were. The single did go one place higher than Wishing I
Was Lucky and reached number 5 in the charts.
On 12th July, they played at the Glasgow Pavilion
as a one off show.
The first Wet Wet Wet album, Popped In Souled Out, was released on 24th
September. Elliot Davis told them that they would have to sell a million copies
in order to pay off their huge debt of £600,000 to Phonogram. the album sold
over 500,000 copies in the first week entering the charts at number 2!
October saw the guys embark on their first nationwide tour, playing at
Manchester, Birmingham and London.
Popped In Souled Out went to number 1 with the release of
Angel Eyes in November
and went on to sell 2.3 million copies! Angel Eyes reached number 5 and saw the
Wets getting their first real wage of £200 a week.
At Christmas, they performed a sell out concert to 10,000 fans in Glasgow!
In February, Wet Wet Wet were voted Best British Group at the BPI Awards held at
the Royal Albert Hall!
March saw the release of their fourth single,
Temptation, and a sell out tour
covering the UK, Europe and Japan.
Sergeant Pepper Knew My Father was an album of Beatles covers which was
organised by the NME to raise money for the Childline Charity. Wets recorded
With A Little Help From My Friends at a cost of £200 plus VAT. It sold 350,000
copies and stayed at number 1 for 4 weeks!
When the Prince's Trust Rock Gala was held at the beginning of June, Wets were
asked to perform. They played 4 songs and formed part of the finale super group
with Marti singing lead with Joe Cocker on With A Little Help From My Friends.
Elton John was also appearing and he asked the Wets to support him on his US
Tour later in the year. His manager, John Reid was apparently so impressed that
he wanted to sign the band to his own label.
Five days later, the guys appeared at the
Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute
at Wembley Stadium. They performed Wishing I Was Lucky and Marti has said this
was a career highlight for him.
June was a very busy month for the boys with the
Temptation Tour kicking off
on the 14th at the SECC, Glasgow. This was their biggest tour to date seeing
them playing to 14,000 at the NEC, Birmingham in July!
In order to promote Popped In Souled Out in America, they did a small club tour
during August playing in Boston, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. They
returned to America with Elton John in September. Despite being voted one of the
top 5 Best Newcomers, they didn't make it in America. Tommy once said, "Elton
John took us from obscurity and left us in obscurity in America!" Seriously,
Elton did try very hard to help the guys make it in America.
On 7th November, the Memphis Sessions was released. This was the album recorded
with Willie Mitchell. To coincide with it's release, the band did a three date
tour culminating at the Govan Town Hall, Glasgow. This was another highlight for
the band.
The beginning of the year saw the band recording their second album,
Holding
Back The River, which was finished off in Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios.
Usher Hall, Edinburgh was the venue for an Anti-Poll Tax gig in April,
featuring several Scottish acts including Wet Wet Wet. They performed May you
Never, Temptation and a new song, The River. This was to have a name change and
it became Blue For You.
This years' Prince's Trust Rock Gala was held at the London Palladium on 19th
April. Wet Wet Wet were the only band to play completely live! The performed Keys
To You Heart and Hold Back The River both from their yet to be released second
album.
On 10th September, Wets held a free concert on
Glasgow Green. It was the biggest
free concert ever in Scotland with an estimated 75 - 80,000 people in
attendance! The Wets wanted to "give something back to the people of Glasgow." A
documentary was made about the show and a video released.
Sweet Surrender was released on 27th September. It reached number 6 in the
charts and was followed by the release of the much awaited second album,
Holding
Back The River a month later. Although this album was thought by many to be too
"serious", it made it to number 2 in the British charts.
At the end of November,
Broke Away was released. The Holding Back the River Tour
was to be staged in two parts, a short tour before Christmas taking in London
and Ireland followed by a European Tour which ran from 14th January '90 until
21st March.