His band, Wet Wet Wet, secured 12 platinum records with their first five records, as well as a BRIT Award, and three number one singles. Now Marti’s coming to Ashford with a new album and book
Marti – your latest album, which comes complete with a book of the same name, was released in September – tell us a bit about it
The Lost Chapter is a book and album I felt ready to create: a reflection on my journey as a singer-songwriter that draws on some of the artists who’ve influenced me, from The Beatles to Joni Mitchell, Marvin Gaye to Neil Young.
It’s certainly not only about reflecting on past influences though, is it?
Not at all – the album features 11 new songs, written by me and a small number of co-writers. The Lost Chapter will give people the chance to see the other side of me, as a songwriter, and to find out a different part of my make-up. By going on tour with this new album, fans can hear me perform these new songs, plus old songs and reinterpretations of classic songs by my favourite artists.
You’ve specially chosen intimate venues for your tour and Revelation Ashford is no exception. Why is that intimacy important for you?
It’s an opportunity for me to really connect with fans who’ve followed my career since the late 1980s. I see them as family – a group of people with whom I’ve got a special, long-lasting relationship. Just as I see a family staying together over the decades, I see us staying together for 30 or 40 years and more.
Your tour has been described as ‘the musical equivalent of spending an evening in his living room, thumbing through his record collection’…
Yes – I’m aiming to take the audience back to their youth, to an era where people would gather in one another’s bedrooms and explore the music that thrilled them. I cover a lot of ground: from Jackson Browne, through to the anarchic energy of punks like The Clash and the mellow, reggae grooves of Bob Marley. I talk about these artists in the book I’ve written to accompany The Lost Chapter, and there are listening suggestions, too, so that fans can refer back to my favourites.
What are you especially looking forward to about the show?
“My song-writing side is an element of what I do that tends to get overlooked, so it’s going to be nice to share that with my fans in Kent. It’s especially rewarding now that we’re all getting into each other’s music and listening to the songs that shaped our youth and, in my case, my life.’
Marti Pellow performs at Revelation, Ashford, on Thursday November 16, revelationashford.co.uk His new album and book are available together, via awaywithmedia.com/buy-books
