Graeme Clark (musician)
| Graeme Clark | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Graeme Clark |
| Born | 15 April 1965 |
| Origin | Glasgow, Scotland, UK |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) |
Bassist Songwriter |
| Instruments |
Bass guitar Vocals |
| Years active | 1982 - Present |
| Associated acts |
Wet Wet Wet Maggie Pie & The Impostors |
Graeme Clark is a Scottish musician, songwriter and record producer. He came to prominence as bass player, founder member and songwriter from the famous pop/soul band Wet Wet Wet - the band he formed with friends and fellow band members Neil Mitchell, Tommy Cunningham and Marti Pellow whilst attending Clydebank High School.
The band signed to Polygram Records in 1985 and their debut single - “Wishing I was Lucky” was an immediate hit along with the album “Popped In Souled Out”. He performs as a solo artist. He released his debut album ("Mr Understanding"; 2012), and has since released three more eps ("Solitary Soul", "Catching Fire 2013", "Dry Land 2014"). In recent years Graeme has toured extensively playing solo acoustic shows around the UK.
Wet Wet Wet
The Wets released a series of 30 hit singles, including three #1s, and released eight albums to date. Wet Wet Wet had a well-documented break-up in 1997 when Marti Pellow and Tommy Cunningham both left the band for different reasons. The Wets have since resolved their differences and continue to tour and work together from time to time.
Clark background
Graeme Clark was born in a suburb of Clydebank on 15 April 1965. Previously a thriving manufacturing hub on the River Clyde, the town had been the target of a German bomb attack (The Clydebank Blitz) in 1941. Clydebank was largely destroyed during the air-raid but by the 1960s, Clydebank was gradually being rebuilt. New housing estates were creating green suburbs to replace the tenements and social housing which had been the hallmark of such a working class town
Clark's musical career
Graeme got his first electric guitar at the age of 10 but admits that his first and abiding interest was in bass playing citing the music of West Side Story, along with Simon and Garfunkel among his early musical memories. During his teenage years Graeme grew to love the music of The Beatles, The Clash, Simon and Garfunkel and then fell for Memphis & Philadelphia soul with the work of Teddy Predergast, The O'Jays and The Isley Brothers all having a special focus.
Along the way this led to the work of Chic and a Wet Wet Wet collaboration with Nile Rodgers. Throughout the lifespan of Wet Wet Wet, Clark was heavily involved not just in writing and performing, but in the production of Wet Wet Wet music and the influences are clear. The life of Wet Wet Wet is well documented in many publications and won't be addressed in this article. Following the departure of Cunningham and Pellow, Clark attempted to continue Wet Wet Wet. Clark then started writing solo music for a film, Shoreditch (Malcolm Needs, 2002) starring among others, Shane Ritchie.
Under his own name, Clark penned two songs for a Bollywood movie soundtrack - American Daylight (Roger Christian, 2004). During 2004, he collaborated with James Fox although none of the work was released. Shortly after this Wet Wet Wet put their differences behind them and spent some time in the studio releasing a Greatest Hits album with 3 new tracks. This was followed by a UK tour. In 2010, Clark began working on new songs for his own use and in July 2011, Clark released his first solo EP, "Solitary Soul", recorded both at his home studio, and at the Foundry Music Lab outside Glasgow. At this time Graeme also played his first solo show in Oran Mor, Glasgow along with shows at a number of UK cities later in the year. Graeme's first album, Mr Understanding, was released in February 2012 and another tour followed in April. [1]
References
- ↑ "Graeme Clark // Mr Understanding // Album // Out Now" Retrieved 18 August 2015