Thomas Cunningham (born 22 June 1964,

Drumchapel Drumchapel ( gd, Druim a' Chapaill), known locally as 'The Drum', is a district in the north-west of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It borders Bearsden (in East Dunbartonshire) to the north-east and Drumry (part of Clydebank, in West Dunbartons ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

) is a Scottish musician, best known as the

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

for

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 w ...

Biography

Cunningham's father, Tom Sr., bought his son his first

drum kit A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player ( drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsti ...

in 1977, "down the Social Club for £15". Shortly thereafter, a chance meeting with Graeme Clark on the school bus brought the two together. Over the next few years the two recruited fellow school friends Mark McLachlan and Neil Mitchell and concentrated on writing their original songs and perfected their song writing craft. From the release of their first single "Wishing I was Lucky", Wet Wet Wet had chart success for a further 10 years. Cunningham acrimoniously left the band in 1997 after a dispute over

royalty Royalty may refer to: * Any individual monarch, such as a king, queen, emperor, empress, etc. * Royal family, the immediate family of a king or queen regnant, and sometimes his or her extended family * Royalty payment for use of such things as int ...

payments, and the band went on tour in 1998 without him. At its conclusion, the three remaining members went their separate ways. In 2004, however, they reunited. Cunningham owned a transport

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...

firm in Glasgow but sold it in 2008 to concentrate again on music. He still owns his local

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

, The Village Tavern in

Duntocher Duntocher (Scottish Gaelic: ''Dùn Tòchair'' or ''Druim Tòchair'') is a village in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It has an estimated population of 6,850. The etymology of the name of the village indicates that its name means "the fort on the c ...

. In 2010 Cunningham along with Billy Sloan (DJ journalist) put on a benefit show for their friend

Tim Stevens Timothy John Stevens, (born 31 December 1946) is a retired British Anglican bishop. He was Bishop of Dunwich from 1995 to 1999 and was Bishop of Leicester from 1999 to 2015. From 2003 to 2015, he was a member of the House of Lords as a Lord Sp ...

(Tiger Tim, DJ) who suffered from

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

and had been forced to quit his job at

Radio Clyde Radio Clyde is a group of two Independent Local Radio stations serving Glasgow and West Central Scotland. Radio Clyde is owned and operated by Bauer, based at studios in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire and forms part of Bauer's Hits Radio and Gr ...

due to his illness; on the same bill were

Midge Ure James Ure (born 10 October 1953) is a Scottish musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. His stage name, Midge, is a phonetic reversal of Jim, the diminutive form of his actual name. Ure enjoyed particular success in the 1970s and 1980s ...

, Jim Diamond,

Gerard Kelly Gerard Kelly (born Paul Kelly; 27 May 1959 – 28 October 2010) was a Scottish actor who appeared in many comedies, including ''City Lights'', ''Rab C Nesbitt'', ''Scotch and Wry'' and '' Extras''. He had more serious roles as well, includin ...

Marti Pellow Marti Pellow (born Mark McLachlan; 23 March 1965) is a Scottish singer. He was the lead singer of the Scottish pop group Wet Wet Wet for 28 years: from their formation in 1982 until their split in 1997, and again from their reformation in 2004 ...

Paulo Nutini Paolo Giovanni Nutini (born 9 January 1987) is a Scottish singer, songwriter and musician from Paisley. Nutini's debut album, '' These Streets'' (2006), peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart. Its follow-up, '' Sunny Side Up'' (2009), de ...

and many more. Tommy played drums on Jim Diamond’s album "City of Soul" released b
Camino Records
(catalogue number CAMCD40, release date 3 October 2011). All proceeds from this album of Soul covers benefit the children's charity Radio Clyde Cash For Kids. Cunningham and the remaining three original members of Wet Wet Wet reformed in 2004 and continue to perform in arena sized venues. Cunningham is currently presenting a occasional weekend show across the Greatest Hits Radio Scotland network on Saturday afternoons from 3 - 7pm on

Clyde 2 Clyde 2 is an Independent Local Radio station based in Glasgow, Scotland, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Glasgow and West Central Scotland. As of September 2022, the station has a week ...

Forth 2 Forth 2 is an Independent Local Radio station based in Edinburgh, Scotland, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Edinburgh, Lothian, Fife and West Central Scotland. As of September 2022, the ...

MFR 2 Bauer Media Audio UK is a UK-based radio division of the Bauer Media Group. History In early 2008, German magazine publisher Bauer bought the radio division of British company Emap, which had been established as East Midland Allied Press in ...

Northsound 2 Northsound 2 is an Independent Local radio station based in Aberdeen, Scotland, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Aberdeenshire. As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audience of ...

Tay 2 Tay 2 is an Independent Local Radio station based in Dundee, Scotland, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Dundee, Perth and Tayside. As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audience ...

and Westsound.

Personal life

Cunningham is married to his childhood sweetheart Elaine Gallacher. They married in 1991, and have two children: Tayler and Stephen.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Tommy 1964 births Living people Musicians from Glasgow Scottish rock drummers British male drummers Wet Wet Wet members People educated at Clydebank High School