Wet Leg are one of the indie rock success stories of the decade so far, but at least one person is mad about the British group's fun, catchy tunes: Doug Richards, a former member who claims that he came up with the band name and helped write some of the songs on their debut album.
In an interview with The Times, Richards asserted that he co-founded the band as their drummer. He was the longtime boyfriend of singer-guitarist Rhian Teasdale, and claims to have written the songs "Oh No" and "Too Late Now."
"I feel frightened to try and approach that subject," he said about songwriting credits. "But I did write [on those songs] and they are on the record. So I probably should get recognized."
He further claimed to have been the origin of the band's name. Although Teasdale and guitarist Hester Chambers have said that they came up with it by pairing two random emojis, here's how Richards tells it: "For years me and a couple of friends had lists of stupid band names. Anytime you'd think of a funny combination of words you'd just write it down. One of them was Wet Book. My brother misheard me and said, 'Oh you should call it Wet Leg.' Rhian wasn't sure. Seems to have worked though."
A number of the songs on Wet Leg's album are seemingly about Richards — who is particularly upset about "Ur Mum," since his mother died in 2013. He's seemingly less angry about "Wet Dream," since he said, "It was pretty funny that Harry Styles did a cover of a song about me ejaculating." He says the song is about a time he texted Teasdale to say he'd had a wet dream about her.
Richards admits to being less-than-thrilled about Wet Leg's success, saying, "It's just been completely surreal, watching them get massive. I keep thinking, 'Why does it have to be the No .1 album? Could it not just be No. 4 or something?'" He added, "The content makes it quite hard to feel happy about it."
Wet Leg haven't responded to any of Richards's claims that he helped write songs or come up with their band name. Read Exclaim!'s 2022 interview with the band here.
In an interview with The Times, Richards asserted that he co-founded the band as their drummer. He was the longtime boyfriend of singer-guitarist Rhian Teasdale, and claims to have written the songs "Oh No" and "Too Late Now."
"I feel frightened to try and approach that subject," he said about songwriting credits. "But I did write [on those songs] and they are on the record. So I probably should get recognized."
He further claimed to have been the origin of the band's name. Although Teasdale and guitarist Hester Chambers have said that they came up with it by pairing two random emojis, here's how Richards tells it: "For years me and a couple of friends had lists of stupid band names. Anytime you'd think of a funny combination of words you'd just write it down. One of them was Wet Book. My brother misheard me and said, 'Oh you should call it Wet Leg.' Rhian wasn't sure. Seems to have worked though."
A number of the songs on Wet Leg's album are seemingly about Richards — who is particularly upset about "Ur Mum," since his mother died in 2013. He's seemingly less angry about "Wet Dream," since he said, "It was pretty funny that Harry Styles did a cover of a song about me ejaculating." He says the song is about a time he texted Teasdale to say he'd had a wet dream about her.
Richards admits to being less-than-thrilled about Wet Leg's success, saying, "It's just been completely surreal, watching them get massive. I keep thinking, 'Why does it have to be the No .1 album? Could it not just be No. 4 or something?'" He added, "The content makes it quite hard to feel happy about it."
Wet Leg haven't responded to any of Richards's claims that he helped write songs or come up with their band name. Read Exclaim!'s 2022 interview with the band here.
