Former member of Wet Leg claims he inspired band name, says he “probably should” have two writing credits

A former member of Wet Leg has alleged that the band’s name was the result of a misheard conversation between him and his brother, and has said he “probably should” get writing credits on two of their songs.

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The indie outfit is fronted by Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers on vocals and guitar, along with Ellis Durand on bass and Henry Holmes on drums. The band have previously claimed that their funky moniker was the result of combining random emojis together on a keyboard.

In a bizarre new interview with The Times, former member and ex of Teasdale, Doug Richards, has alleged that this was not the case. “For years me and a couple of friends had lists of stupid band names,” he explains.

“Anytime you’d think of a funny combination of words you’d 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.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Richards also claims that he co-wrote two of the band’s songs, Oh No and Too Late Now: “I feel frightened to try and approach the subject. But I did write [on those songs] and they are on the record. So I probably should get recognised.”

Richards alleges he was asked to leave the band following his break up with Teasdale, though a reason as to why their relationship ended (and subsequently his time with the band) has not been disclosed.

Wet Leg have currently been on the road supporting Harry Styles, and have been announced as support acts on the forthcoming Foo Fighters UK tour in Summer 2024. The band shared last October that they were working on a new record, which Teasdale said would be “like the last one, but longer, bigger, better, faster, stronger and more fluorescent.”

Find all their latest tour dates on their official website.