''Smile'' is the debut solo album by

Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet are a Scottish soft rock band formed in 1982. They scored a number of hits in the UK charts and around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. They are best known for their 1994 cover of The Troggs' 1960s hit " Love Is All Around", which ...

frontman Marti Pellow. Released on June 25, 2001, the album spawned two singles: "Close to You" (UK #9) and "I've Been Around the World" (UK #28). "Hard to Cry" was also later released as a radio-only promotional single in 2003, having been included on both of Pellow's follow-up albums: ''

Marti Pellow Sings the Hits of Wet Wet Wet & Smile ''Marti Pellow Sings the Hits of Wet Wet Wet & Smile'' is a compilation/cover album by Wet Wet Wet frontman Marti Pellow. The album contains re-recordings of Wet Wet Wet hits. It was released on 18 November 2002. Three of the eighteen songs w ...

'' (2002) and '' Between the Covers'' (2003).

Production

The album was co-written in its entirety by Squeeze frontman

Chris Difford Christopher Henry Difford (born 4 November 1954) is an English singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. He is a founding member and songwriter of the rock group Squeeze. Musical career Born in Greenwich, London, Difford has written l ...

, and was predominantly recorded at

Royal Studios Royal Studios is a recording studio located in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Established in 1956, it is one of the oldest continuously operated music recording studios in the world. It is widely known for producer, recording artist and owner ...

in Memphis, alongside frequent collaborator Willie Mitchell, whom Pellow had been friends with since the early days of Wet Wet Wet. Pellow also recorded a number of songs alongside Paul Inder at The Pink Room, which served mainly as B-sides to the album's two singles. "Moment of Truth", co-written by former bandmate Graeme Clark, was one of a number of tracks written for a potential sixth ''Wet Wet Wet'' album prior to the break-up of the band in 1999. During his ''Pellow Talk'' tour in 2022, Pellow confirmed that the majority of the album was written as a form of therapy following six months in rehabilitation for alcohol and drug abuse. Stylistically, the album adopts much of the soft-rock/soul style of the latter ''Wet Wet Wet'' albums.

Promotion

To promote the album, Pellow made a cameo appearance in ''

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, ...

'', where he performed ''Close to You'' in the Woolpack for the departure of

Kathy Glover Katherine "Kathy" Brookman (also Bates, Merrick, Tate and Glover) is a fictional character from the British television soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played by Malandra Burrows. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 26 Novem ...

. Pellow also made appearances on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most o ...

'' to promote both single releases. A "complete edition" of the album containing all eight B-sides was released onto streaming services in 2021 to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the album. These include the first version of Pellow's cover of "The River" by Joni Mitchell, which he would later re-record for his '' Between the Covers'' album.

Track listing

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smile (Marti Pellow Album) 2001 debut albums Marti Pellow albums Mercury Records albums