WITH their unforgettable songs including three UK number one hits, Wet Wet Wet is one of the most successful bands in British pop history.

Since bursting onto the music scene in 1987, the Scottish band has sold more than 15 million singles and albums and played to more than four million people in countries across the world.

Now they are getting ready to embark on their first tour with new band member, lead singer Kevin Simm, with venues including the newly-refurbished St George’s Hall.

Former Liberty X singer and winner of the TV show The Voice, Kevin joins Graeme Clark on bass, drummer Tommy Cunningham and Neil Mitchell on keyboards and piano.

He joined the band in September last year after lead vocalist and founding member Marti Pellow left in 2017 to focus on his solo career.

Kevin has always been a fan of the band. “When I first started singing in pubs and clubs in Lancashire I used to sing ‘Love Is All Around’ and ‘Goodnight Girl’”, he says. “I was a big fan - although not a die-hard. It has been a nice surprise to be learning songs that I had not heard before.”

He adds: “When I went to meet the band and try out with them we hit it off straight away. It was a fun, comfortable experience. We really gelled and that has got stronger over the past couple of months.”

The group is keen to visit Bradford, an area familiar to Kevin whose wife Laura was born in Keighley.

Kevin performed with the band at two gigs before Christmas, in Glasgow and London. “I was really nervous, I knew I was under the microscope and had 20 songs to learn,” he says. “I am a bit of a perfectionist and wanted it to be right. It could not have gone better. I am looking forward to us all going out and smashing it.”

Says Graeme: “We all bonded well from the start and once Kevin began singing we knew we could move things forward in a meaningful way. We now have a road to go down.”

He adds: “There is nothing more exciting than taking our songs and dusting them down and performing.”

The band is best known for their 1994 cover of The Troggs' 1960s hit ‘Love Is All Around’, which was used on the soundtrack to the film Four Weddings and a Funeral. It was a huge international success and spent 15 weeks at the top of the British charts.

Alongside the many classics from the band’s vast armoury of hits, there will be some new, yet recognisable, material.

“ We are looking at some of the arrangements and songs and giving them a fresh approach. Having a new band member adds to the dynamic and excitement.”

Wet Wet Wet has always described themselves as ‘first and foremost a soul band’. In Kevin they have found someone who shares their vision and has one of the finest male soul voices in the country.

The 18-date spring tour sees the band perform in areas of the UK that they have not played since their earliest days. It starts close to home in their native Scotland and culminates in a show at the prestigious Adelphi Theatre in the heart of London’s Theatreland.

“We are going to all sorts of places, some of which we have not been since the 1980s,” says Graeme. Touring is an amazing experience and we know how lucky we are to be able to go out and do it. We go round and play music to people in a minstrel-like manner. You travel the world on a song.

“I’ve been scamming for 30 years and no one has found me out,” he jokes, adding “Music keeps us young.”

The band hope to write brand new songs to include within their established back catalogue, in future shows. “I feel new music is the lifeblood of the band and enables us to keep going. It will invigorate both us and Kevin and keep the creative juices flowing.

“Kevin brings with him such a creative talent, it would be a crime not to try and write new material.”

*Wet Wet Wet is performing at St George’s Hall on Sunday April 28; For tickets visit bradford-theatres.co.uk/whats-on/wet-wet-wet