Wet Wet Wet members Graeme Clark and Graeme Duffin have praised ‘authentic’ new singer Kevin Simm after the band found a new frontman following Marti Pellow’s exit

Wet Wet Wet took aim at singers who “throw their toys out the pram” as they welcomed a famous star into the band.

The soft rock band, who are known for hits Love Is All Around and Sweet Surrender, are now made up of founding member Graeme Clark and lead guitarist Graeme Duffin, who joined the band in 1983. Following singer Marti Pellow’s departure in 2017, they are now fronted by Liberty X star Kevin Simm, who is “very different from what came before”.

Speaking to The Mirror, Graeme Clark and Graeme Duffin shared their praise for Kevin, who is “very different from what came before”. Graeme Duffin told us: “He’s not only got an incredible voice, he has an incredible singing talent as well as having the physical vocal attributes. He’s just such an easy going guy.”

Graeme Clark added: “Singers can be a fickle business, as we all know, they can throw the toys out the pram and they can do all this. I’ve never seen that with Kevin. He’s salt the earth, he’s a family man. He’s happy to be singing and he knows the value and what he does. It’s been a pleasure to have him and the band kind of leading it and and taking us forward in a meaningful way.”

He said: “I’m not reinventing the wheel and saying, ‘this is a lot better now,’ it’s just different now. It’s a little bit different and sometimes it has to be that because in this day and age we need to be seen to be authentic. I know that sounds like a contradiction, but Kevin is an authentic guy. Let’s not underestimate how difficult it would have been to penetrate this band in any sort of way.”

The band were fronted by Marti Pellow before Kevin Simm took over (
Image:
Getty Images)
The bassist shared how he’s had “so much respect” for Kevin from the “minute I met him”. “I knew it would work because he’s very different from what came before,” Graeme shared. “When we were thinking about doing it [getting a new singer], we had a lot of guys very like what had come before in terms of personality and charisma. Now, Kevin is a completely different personality and a completely different charisma. I thought, that’s the way that this band is gonna kind of work. If we get somebody that isn’t trying to play the part of what came out for, then we’ve got a chance.”

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Graeme shared how Kevin “didn’t say much” during his audition and so thought that he “doesn’t really want the gig”. He shared how Kevin, who appeared on The Voice, admitted he didn’t know he was there to try out the role of frontman, but rather a backing singer. However, Graeme managed to persuade him to sing and get the lyrics up on his phone. He said: “I had goose bumps, the hairs in my arm and back of my neck. I’m like, Oh, my God! So I knew that this was gonna work and when we did the full addition with the band he rose to the occasion and it was like, ‘this is the guy’.”

Marti Pellow quit the band in 2017 to pursue a solo career and told The Mirror he had no bad feelings towards the group and wished his successor all the best. He told us: “It is what it is, I think it’s a different vibe and it’s going to be a different dynamic. The vibes are going to be different…and if people enjoy it then fair play to them, they might not see any different. The work I did with them I’ll always cherish…despite the messy ending.” Marti explained he no longer speaks to the band but still considers them a “band of brothers”.