Isle of Wight band, Wet Leg, have risen to great fame since signing to Domino Records earlier in the year.
Having been longtime friends and supporters of the band, News OnTheWight spoke to Rhian Teasdale today to seek the answer to a commonly-asked question, ‘Where did the name Wet Leg come from and what does it mean?’.
The emoji band name game
Rhian explained to News OnTheWight,
“We started the band just for fun as we were both working full time jobs that demanded a lot of our time and energy, so we took a little while choosing the name Wet Leg.
“We basically chose it after hitting 💦 and 🦵 on the emoji keyboard.
“We were playing a sort of game where we’d make band names out of different emoji combinations. Then we got to wet leg and it just kind of stuck.”
Teasdale: A good reminder to not take ourselves too seriously
Anyone who has listened to Wet Leg’s songs or watched their videos will know how much fun the band have making music. Rhian went on to say,
“I think we liked it because it was just such a dumb name for a band. It’s a good reminder to not take ourselves too seriously.
“When we had our first meeting with our manager he wasn’t so keen on the name and asked if we’d considered changing it to something else?
“We stuck by our guns though. I think it’s important to have trust in your own bad taste, otherwise stuff just gets a bit boring.”
Wet Leg counter claim on name
In a video interview by DIFFUS, published on 7 April 2022, the band claimed with a smile that the phrase ‘Wet Leg’ was an old Isle of Wight saying for people who are Overners (people who come from the Mainland), “because they have to get a leg wet to come over the seas to come to the Island.”
Set in gold
For the last few years, Hester has made a name for herself making jewellery on the Isle of Wight. She put those skills to great use to make Rhian and herself band necklaces.
Rhian explained,
“Mine has a pendant that reads ‘Wet’ and hers is exactly the same, but reads ‘Leg’.
“So from that point on the name wasn’t ‘set in stone’ so to speak, but it was definitely set in gold at least.”
They’re so hot right now
As well as appearing on BBC2’s Later with Jools earlier in the year, being selected as one of Vevo’s DSCVR 2022 Artists To Watch, receiving incredible praise from the likes of Iggy Pop, appearing on the front cover of Dork magazine and taking the No. 2 spot in NPR’s 100 top tracks of the year, the band have now also been added to the BBC’s Sound of 2022 longlist.
Who is in the band?
Founded by Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, when Wet Leg are on the road the band also includes the likes of Ellis Durand on bass, Henry Holmes on drums and Josh Mobaraki on guitar and synth.
You can find out more about the band by visiting our Wet Leg Archives.
Sociable success
Being such sociable humans, it’s no surprise to see the Wet Leg Instagram account has gone from a few thousand followers to now having over 46,000.
The band also have 25,000 followers on TikTok and over 11,000 followers on Facebook.
Wet Leg by Wet Leg
Their debut album, Wet Leg, comes out on 8th April 2022 on Domino Records. You can preorder your copy directly from the band’s Website or locally through Ventnor Exchange.
Check out Wet Leg’s music videos below:
Article edit
11.33pm 26th Apr 2022 – Added in the the DIFFUS claim for the name.
