You couldn't escape it. If you lived in the UK during the summer of 1994, that snare drum hit and Marti Pellow’s soulful, slightly raspy croon were the soundtrack to everything from supermarket trips to weddings. Love Is All Around by Wet Wet Wet didn't just top the charts; it squatted there. It stayed at number one for fifteen consecutive weeks. Think about that. Nearly four months of the same song being the most popular thing in the country. It was madness.
The song is actually a cover, though many younger fans don't realize it. Reg Presley of The Troggs wrote the original back in the sixties. His version was gritty, simple, and honestly, a bit more psychedelic. But when Richard Curtis needed a song for his mid-budget romantic comedy Four Weddings and a Funeral, Wet Wet Wet stepped in and polished it into a diamond. Or a weapon, depending on how much you ended up hating it by September of that year.
The 15-Week Reign of Love Is All Around by Wet Wet Wet
It started modestly. The song entered the charts and climbed steadily as the movie became a global juggernaut. But then something weird happened. It just wouldn't leave. Week after week, it held off challengers. It became a cultural phenomenon and a national joke at the same time. The band members themselves eventually got sick of it. Marti Pellow famously said he was relieved when they finally deleted the single from the shelves to stop it from hitting sixteen weeks and breaking Bryan Adams' record for (Everything I Do) I Do It for You.
Why did it work? It’s the arrangement. The song starts with that iconic, muted guitar pluck. It feels intimate. Then the strings swell. By the time the chorus hits, it’s an anthem. It perfectly captured the bumbling, rainy, high-society-yet-relatable vibe of the film. People didn't just buy it; they lived it.
Music critics at the time were split. Some saw it as the pinnacle of blue-eyed soul, while others thought it was the death of "cool" Britpop-era music. While Oasis and Blur were fighting for the soul of the youth, the rest of the country was busy singing about feeling it in their fingers and toes. It was the ultimate "mom and dad" song that somehow everyone knew the lyrics to.
The Troggs vs. The Wets
There is a funny bit of history here regarding the royalties. Reg Presley, the songwriter, used the massive influx of cash from the Wet Wet Wet version to fund his obsession with crop circles and UFOs. Seriously. He spent a significant portion of his "Love Is All Around" money researching extraterrestrial life and publishing books on the subject. Every time you hear that song on the radio, remember it helped fund a search for aliens.
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Wet Wet Wet, a group of lads from Clydebank, Scotland, were already stars before this, but this track sent them into a different stratosphere. They weren't just a boy band; they were legitimate musicians who had been grinding since the mid-eighties. Songs like Wishing I Was Lucky and Sweet Surrender showed they had chops. But Love Is All Around overshadowed everything they did before or after. It became their legacy and their burden.
What Most People Get Wrong About the 1994 Music Scene
We tend to look back at the nineties through a lens of Grunge or Britpop. We remember Nirvana or Pulp. But the charts tell a different story. The mid-nineties were dominated by massive, sweeping ballads. Love Is All Around by Wet Wet Wet sat right in the middle of a trend where movie soundtracks dictated what we listened to.
It wasn't just a "wedding song." It was a masterclass in production. Graeme Duffin’s guitar work is subtle but essential. The way the bass builds under Tommy Cunningham’s drumming creates a sense of inevitable momentum. If you listen to the radio edit today, it still holds up as a clean, perfectly mixed pop record.
- The song spent 15 weeks at number one.
- It was originally a hit for The Troggs in 1967.
- Wet Wet Wet recorded it because they were given a choice of three songs for the movie (the others were by Barry Manilow and Gloria Gaynor).
- The band eventually withdrew the single from sale because they were bored of it.
Honestly, the "boring" narrative is what people remember most. But go back and listen to Marti Pellow’s vocal delivery. He’s not just singing; he’s performing. There’s a theatricality to it that matched the movie’s tone perfectly. It’s romantic but slightly desperate, which is exactly what Hugh Grant’s character was in the film.
The Backlash and the Legacy
By the twelfth week at the top, the backlash was real. Radio stations started receiving petitions to stop playing it. It became the "Rickroll" of its day before that was even a thing. If you turned on the radio, you'd hear the intro and groan. But then you'd find yourself humming it five minutes later. That's the hallmark of a truly effective pop song.
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It’s interesting to compare it to modern hits. In the streaming era, songs don't usually sit at number one for 15 weeks because the way we consume music is so fragmented. Back then, everyone was watching the same TV shows and listening to the same Top 40 countdowns. It was a monoculture. Love Is All Around was one of the last true "monoculture" hits before the internet started breaking everything into niches.
The Production Secret of the Wet Wet Wet Version
They didn't just copy The Troggs. They changed the time signature feel and added a lushness that the 1960s original lacked. The 60s version was a garage rock ballad. The 90s version was a stadium pop-soul masterpiece. They recorded it at The Brill Building or various high-end studios? Actually, much of their best work had that gritty Scottish soul influence.
The band's chemistry was at its peak during these sessions. Even though they were essentially doing a "job" for a movie soundtrack, they put the work in. They didn't treat it like a throwaway cover. They treated it like a Wet Wet Wet song. That's why it resonated. It felt authentic to their sound, even if the lyrics weren't theirs.
It's also worth noting the impact of the music video. It was simple, featuring the band in a rehearsal-style setting interspersed with clips from the movie. It sold the dream of the film. It made you want to be at a chaotic British wedding where everything turns out alright in the end.
Actionable Insights for Music Lovers and History Buffs
If you want to truly appreciate the impact of this track, don't just stream it on repeat. Look at the context.
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1. Listen to the versions side-by-side. Put on The Troggs' original from 1967, then the Wet Wet Wet version, and then maybe the R.E.M. cover (yes, they covered it too). You’ll see how a simple melody can be dressed up in entirely different clothes. The Troggs give it a "Summer of Love" vulnerability. The Wets give it "90s block-buster" confidence.
2. Watch the movie again. See how the song is used as a narrative anchor. It’s not just background noise; it’s the emotional pulse of the story. It reinforces the idea that love isn't some rare, lightning-strike event, but something mundane and everywhere—if you’re looking for it.
3. Explore the rest of the Wet Wet Wet discography. Don't let one song define them for you. Check out the Popped In Souled Out album. It’s tight, well-written pop with a lot more edge than people give them credit for. They were a legitimate blue-eyed soul outfit that got caught in the gravity of a massive pop hit.
4. Study the chart history. Look at what finally knocked them off the top spot (it was Whigfield’s Saturday Night). It shows the jarring shift in British culture from the earnestness of the early 90s to the dance-pop explosion of the mid-90s.
Love Is All Around by Wet Wet Wet remains a fascinating case study in how a song can become bigger than the artist. It’s a testament to the power of a simple hook and the right timing. Whether you love it or it makes you want to cover your ears, you can’t deny its place in the history books. It’s a piece of pop perfection that defined an entire summer and paved the way for the era of the mega-soundtrack. It was everywhere. It still is.