With wildly catchy tunes and dynamic deadpan delivery, Wet Leg’s ascent to stardom has seemed relatively quick, at least when it comes to rock band trajectories. But the English group, helmed by Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, had been making music together for a few years prior to their overnight success.
And it all took off seven years ago today at a popular festival in their homeland, the Isle of Wight. The duo, who started writing songs together only a few months prior to the live performance, took the stage at the festival in Seaclose Park in Newport, United Kingdom, where both had been going to music school ten years prior. When they got together, their sensibilities clicked and so did their sound.
The 2019 set took place on June 15, on a small stage at the festival and the band has said about 15 friends were there to see them. Lasting only 20 minutes, they played original numbers, including a version of what would become one of their biggest hits, “Oh No.”
Other still-unreleased ditties from that show have become hardcore fan favorites, including the out-of-this-world “I Want to Abducted (by a UFO)” and the gentle “Red Eggs,” both of which they played a lot live until 2022. Check out these fan shares on YouTube:
Other numbers, including sparsely titled tracks “Girlfriend,” “Wolves,” “Sharks” and “Mungo Jerry” appear to have never been played live again after the fest set. There was also a cover by fellow Isle of Wight band The Plastic Mermaids, called “Ooh.” The Mermaids’ Doug Richards played drums with this early iteration of Wet Leg (he was dating Teasdale), so their first shows would often feature songs he wrote. When the pair broke up, he left the band and his Mermaids songs floated away with him.
After the huge success of their 2022 self-titled debut on Domino Records, Richards made a few claims about his involvement to Rolling Stone UK, including a charge that he is uncredited for co-writing two tracks, ‘Oh No’ (performed at that first show) and ‘Too Late Now.”
Richards also said that he helped the band come up with its usual name. While many new casual fans assume it’s a suggestive reference of some sort – which would make sense considering the sexual nature of their lyrics– Teasdale and Chambers' final word is that it’s a reference to “Overners” (people visiting the Isle from the mainland, whose legs get wet coming over the water to the Island).
The ladies have also joked that they combined emojis at random, but the former drummer claims that he kept a list of bad band names for potential use and Wet Book was one of them. It was misheard by a relative, and Teasdale, who wasn’t sure at first, reconsidered it later. Whatever the full truth may be, Teasdale has said many songs from their breakthrough debut were inspired by the breakup, so Richards' influence is undeniable in that sense.
Either way, their most viral track, “Chaise Longue," a plucky post-punk gem with infectious yet minimal instrumentation, was not powered by "the big D" despite the lyrics. Instead, it was full-on female bonding, as the ladies said it was named after the couch Teasdale would sleep on at Chambers' place after late nights together working through songs. After the single was released in 2021 and its video featuring the ladies in “cottage core” garb came out, the band seemed mysterious and weird, but in a very cool way. And the earworminess of the song stuck hard.
On the band’s new album, Moisturizer, they’ve clearly gone for a whole new vibe. Teasdale got into working out after the success of the first album and shows off her training, rocking out in skimpy hipster looks on stage and adding plenty of movement to the show, too. The new songs are heftier but retain the band’s wit and hooky gifts. And the current lineup now features official members: drummer Henry Holmes, guitarist Joshua Mobaraki and bassist Ellis Durand, adding a solid rhythmic base to Wet Leg's quirky kicks and sing-talk hits. All five members have writing credits on the new record, too.
After strong sets at Coachella in April (see above) and Bonaroo just this past weekend, Wet Leg are primed to win over the masses on their current tour.
Catch them if you can in the UK and Canada. Tickets here.
Wet Leg tour dates:
06/28 Parco Bussoladomani, Lido di Camaiore, Italy
06/30 Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, UK
07/01 Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
07/08 Castlefield Bowl, Manchester, UK
07/08 Gorilla, Manchester, UK
07/09 Millennium Square, Leeds, UK
07/10 Alexandra Palace, London, UK
07/15 Hôtel Amour Beach, Nice, France
07/16 Bánffy Castle, Bonțida, Romania
07/24 Hillsborough Park, Sheffield, UK
07/25 Henham Park, Southwold, UK
07/26 Hillsborough Park, Sheffield, UK
07/29 The Vic Theatre, Chicago, IL
07/30 Grant Park, Chicago, IL
07/30 Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal, Canada
07/31 Complexe aquatique du parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal, Canada
07/31 Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal, Canada
