Why Wet Leg Deserves to Be Recognized at the Grammys: An Isle of Wight Music Teacher’s Perspective
On stage at the Grammy Awards in LA – Wet Leg have come a long way since they met on the Isle of Wight
A former music teacher for Grammy-winning band Wet Leg said the indie stars deserved their success.
The Isle of Wight musicians scooped two Grammys at the Los Angeles awards on Sunday, less than two years after their first live performance.
Peter Pontin, co-principal of music college Platform One in Newport, said Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers met in 2010 during their BTech.
“It’s great to see them receiving the recognition,” he added.
At the age of 16, the couple entered the island’s only independent conservatoire to pursue a two-year degree focused on performance, composition, songwriting, sound recording and music theory.
Recalling the early days of her musical career, Mr. Pontin said: “Hester played the guitar, she was very creative, very artistic, in her fashion and jewelery making.
“Rhian was quite quirky, a bit Björk-like, there was something very different about her.”
Isle of Wight duo Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers of Wet Leg with their Grammys in LA
The course helped build the women’s confidence, allowing them to emerge as “creative all-rounders,” Mr. Pontin said.
During this time, they met two other musicians there, Ellis Durand and Josh Omead Mobaraki, who would become members of the band when it formed in 2019.
“They worked together, they were a pretty small cohort and they were pretty close,” Pontin said.
“Everyone had talent”
Over time they got into the gigging circuit, performing twice a week: “It was busy, lots of opportunities,” added the music teacher.
Although the way to the mainland was difficult because of transportation: “The rush to get the last ferry back made it difficult, but we used to do as much as we could.”
They are “academically strong and motivated, there’s no doubt about that,” he added.
“They all had a talent, they were a nice bunch of students, a good combination of personalities.
“They deserve the success they’ve had. Coincidence plays a role, but so does the right sound at the right time and in the right place.”
Wet Leg performed at Glastonbury last year after enjoying stellar success in 2021 with their hit song Chaise Longue
Wet Leg could still get used to the flattery.
Following the awards ceremony, where they won Best Alternative Music Performance and Alternative Music Album, Rhian Teasdale said: ‘This is so funny thank you so much what are we doing here? I don’t know it. But here we are.
“We can’t count. It’s very bizarre, very magical.”
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