Goodbye, Reg Presley (Obituaries, 6 February). He was a true gentleman, an eccentric. I was lucky enough to meet him a couple of times. I texted our drummer when I heard the news. He texted back: "He's going to the great crop circle in the sky." I thought it was apt and Reg would've found it funny too. When, for Four Weddings and a Funeral, Richard Curtis asked us to make a choice between the gay anthem, Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive, Barry Manilow's cheesetastic Can't Smile Without You, or the Troggs' Love is All Around, it was a no-brainer. The rest, as they say is history, or perhaps his story!
He came up to Glasgow in 95 when we were in rehearsals for our summer tour and joined us on stage for a rendition of his song. We had changed the key to fit with our version and halfway through he stopped in his tracks and broke down in tears. He was clearly touched and overwhelmed by the emotion of the music (although some witty Glaswegians have other theories for tears caused by singing with the Wets). I loved the fact the music was pushing his emotional buttons.
There is so much criticism of music, certainly of pop music: of it being worthless, throwaway and soulless. When I was recounting the story to Elvis Costello a few years down the line, telling him about Reg's big tearful eyes filling up, he said: "It was tears of sheer joy that his bank balance was about to swell to the tune of a few million!" He might be right, but I prefer my version.
We were lucky not because we had a giant hit, or because Richard Curtis asked us to be a part of Four Weddings, but because we were part of Reg's music.
Thank you, Reg Presley.
Graeme Clark
Bass guitarist, Wet Wet Wet
