Marti Pellow quits Wet Wet Wet to go solo

Wet Wet Wet singer Marti Pellow has announced his departure from the band after 30 years.

Instead, he's made the decision to focus on his own solo work, which ranges from songwriting to acting, having already recorded several solo albums during the band's previous breaks and treading the boards with both West End and Broadway shows, including Chicago, Blood Brothers, and Evita.

The Telegraph reports that Pellow is currently working on a new stage musical with producer Grant Mitchell and playwright Jack Bradley, and will also be joining a UK tour of Blood Brothers later this year.

"I will be spending more time on my solo work - performing concerts, acting and my own songwriting - as an artist I feel a lot more settled in this world," he said of the decision. "I have had a great time and loved my career with Wet Wet Wet and to me they will always be the best band in the world."

"When I started in Wet Wet Wet I gave it 100% of my heart and soul and that's what it demands and that is also what the fans demand - and if I can't do that because my focus is elsewhere, then this is not fair on the fans or the rest of the guys in the band."

It's a poignantly-timed departure, considering Wet Wet Wet have only recently celebrated their 30th anniversary with three nights of concerts staged at Edinburgh Castle.

Formed in 1982 by Pellow, Graeme Clark, Tommy Cunningham, and Neil Mitchell, the Scottish band will always be best known for their 1994 cover of The Troggs' 1960s hit 'Love is All Around', which spent 15 weeks atop the British charts and was famously featured in Four Weddings and a Funeral.