At the peak of his fame, he seemed to have it all.
Chart-topping hits. Sold-out arenas. A voice that defined an era. To the outside world, Marti Pellow was living the ultimate pop dream.
But behind the flawless performances and the familiar smile, something far darker was taking hold.
Now, nearly three decades clean and sober, the former Wet Wet Wet frontman is no longer talking about awards or record sales — but about survival.
Fame Rose Fast. Addiction Arrived Faster.
Marti’s rise in the 1980s was meteoric. As the unmistakable voice behind hits like Wishing I Was Lucky and Sweet Little Mystery, he became one of Britain’s most recognisable stars almost overnight.
But the roots of addiction were planted long before the limelight.
By his own account, he first tasted alcohol at just 11 years old, sneaking a can of beer from his father. What followed wasn’t rebellion — it was discovery. A warm, fuzzy confidence that made him feel bigger, braver, and finally comfortable in his own skin.
By 12, drinking was already part of his life. At teenage dances, alcohol became “Dutch courage” — a shortcut to confidence, belonging, and escape.
When Success Removed Every Brake
When fame arrived, it didn’t slow his habits — it accelerated them.
As Wet Wet Wet dominated the charts, alcohol followed Marti everywhere. Airports. Hotels. Dressing rooms. Mini-bars were emptied without thought. Bottles piled up. Sobriety was something other people worried about.
“There wasn’t a day that went by when I didn’t drink,” he later admitted.
For a long time, alcohol and cannabis were enough. Heroin, which he had briefly encountered in his teens, disgusted him. He saw it as dirty. Dangerous. Something he believed he could simply avoid.
That belief would not last.
Heroin — And The Quiet Collapse Of Sanity
In his early thirties, after the staggering success of Love Is All Around, heroin crept back into Marti’s life — not loudly, but insidiously.
He didn’t inject. He smoked it. But the method made no difference.
He later described heroin as the “ultimate painkiller,” though even now he admits he doesn’t fully understand what pain he was trying to silence.
Within days, the drug consumed everything.
“Within a week it was everything to me — that’s how powerful the drug was,” he said.
Between 1996 and 1997, his world shrank. Creativity faded. Relationships strained. His bond with lifelong bandmates weakened. The fame remained — but clarity disappeared.
Despite the house, the car, and the success, Marti found himself pressing what he later called the self-destruct button.
“I started losing my sanity,” he admitted. “Messing about with heroin.”
When The Secret Exploded
In March 1999, Marti’s addiction became public. Headlines erupted. The shock was national. The shame was deeply personal.
Reports claimed he had attempted to take his own life following an argument with girlfriend Eileen Catterson — claims he has always firmly denied.
According to Marti, he had already stopped using heroin by then. The collapse, he insists, came from exhaustion, alcohol, and physical neglect — not suicide.
What he has never denied is this: without Eileen, he might not be here.
She stayed. She pushed him toward help. And she remains by his side to this day.
The Valentine’s Day That Changed Everything
The final time Marti touched drink or drugs was Valentine’s Day 1998.
There were no dramatics. No grand gestures. Just a quiet, irreversible decision.
Since that day, he has remained sober.
Now approaching 30 years clean, Marti still attends Narcotics Anonymous meetings. Recovery, he says, isn’t something you finish — it’s something you confront daily.
“I get up and I punch it in the face every morning,” he says of addiction. “I own it. And I’m proud of it.”
Redefining Success
In 2017, Marti stepped away from Wet Wet Wet for the final time, content to let the band continue with Kevin Simm as lead singer.
Since then, he has reshaped his career — not chasing pop dominance, but personal fulfilment.
He built a successful solo path, conquered London’s West End, and even took Chicago to Broadway — achievements many performers never reach.
Yet none of it compares to what sits closest to his heart.
“The thing on my mantelpiece isn’t a BRIT Award,” he once said.
“The thing I’m most proud of in my life is my sobriety.”
Still Standing. Still Sober. Still Singing.
Last year, Marti stunned audiences once again by reaching the final of The Masked Singer, performing under the Wolf mask — a reminder not just of his voice, but of his resilience.
From a boy chasing confidence in a can of lager, to a man nearly destroyed by heroin, to someone who now confronts addiction head-on every morning — Marti Pellow’s greatest comeback was never about music.
It was about choosing to live.
And nearly three decades on, that choice remains the one he’s proudest of.
Source:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/
