British band Wet Leg have a new song and video, and it’s an ode to British TV presenter Davina McCall.
After first coming to prominence on MTV, McCall hosted the UK’s version of Big Brother for many years and later fronted the series Long Lost Family and became a judge of the UK version of The Masked Singer. Before she was famous she also popped up as a dancer in Kylie Minogue’s video for Word is Out.
The stop motion animation clip from director Chris Hopewell sees the band tracking down a bird thief goblin who has plans to fly. The track is from the band’s forthcoming album Moisturizer which will arrive in early July.
The song is also a great showcase of the band’s new way of collaborating: Hester Chambers began the song and teased it out with Ellis Durand; Rhian Teasdale wrote the lyrics and melody, a process that felt a little like solving a mystery.
“Ellis and I were on the edge of our seats being like, ‘We’re gonna get this, we’re completing the puzzle’” Chambers said of their creative process.
Wet Leg are not the first artist to write a song that honours a celebrity.
Duck Sauce sang about Barbra Streisand, Self had an ode to Meg Ryan, Mika sang about Grace Kelly, while Kim Carnes topped the charts with a song about Bette Davis’ Eyes.
Sheryl Crow sang about Steve McQueen, David Bowie sang about Andy Warhol, while Veruca Salt sang about Bowie, and Aussie duo Vita Beats penned a tune about Audrey Hepburn.
Wet Leg’s lead singer Rhian Teasdale has recently spoken about her sexuality, sharing that she’s been on a journey of discovery as her new partner is non-binary. In an interview with The Guardian she shared that before this relationship she’d always considered herself to be straight.
The band made a big splash four years ago with the single Chaise Longue, but they’ve gone on to impress music critics with the range of different sounds in their the work, and there’s a lot of anticipation for the follow up album.
While Wet Leg was initially just Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, they’ve since expanded their numbers to include Henry Holmes on drums, Josh Mobaraki on guitar and synthesizers, and Ellis Durand on bass.
