East 17

East 17 are a pop boy band comprising Tony Mortimer, John Hendy and Terry Coldwell. Tony Mortimer is the group's frontman and primary songwriter. Formed in Walthamstow, London in 1991, the group have achieved eighteen Top 20 singles and four Top 10 albums, and were one of the UK's most popular boy bands during the early to mid-1990s. The group went on to sell 20 million records worldwide. Their boy band style was unique occasionally blending rap and pop in songs such as "House of Love", "Steam" and "Let It Rain".

Career

Formation

The band began in 1991 when Tony Mortimer was promised a record deal after he showcased his own material. The deal was granted under the condition that he form a group, which was the format London Records were looking for.

The group was named East 17 after the postcode of their hometown, Walthamstow.^[1] The original roles in the band were soon altered when Brian Harvey, who was intended to be a back-up singer and dancer, was heard singing along during a recording session. He was duly promoted to lead vocalist. The group's other members are Terence Coldwell and John Hendy.

Peak of success (1992-1997)

Mortimer wrote the vast majority of the group's songs, which often contained rap verses vocalised by him to complement Harvey's more fluid R&B style vocals. The group was usually seen as a grittier, more political and hip-hop or rap-aligned group than rival boy band Take That, as noted by Guy Adams of The Independent;^[2]

East 17 scored twelve Top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart between 1992 and 1998.^[3] Their debut album, Walthamstow, shot to #1 on the UK Albums Chart. It featured a string of Top 20 singles, including "House of Love" and "Deep". "It's Alright" became a major success in Australia, reaching #1 in early 1994 for seven consecutive weeks, and #3 in the UK in 1993. The lyrics to some of their songs, such as "Let It Rain", had political undertones, talking about war, peace, equality, love, and other political issues. Their popularity reached Mongolia, particularly with the song "It's Alright", helped by music television channels, Channel V and MTV.

In 1994, upon the release of their second album, Steam, they scored their only UK number-one single with "Stay Another Day", which remained at the top for five weeks and was also that year's Christmas number-one. Following the somewhat low-key release of the next album, Up All Night, their drop in appeal became apparent compared to previous albums. The album's songwriting duties were split among the four members of the group, rather than Mortimer alone, although all of the singles released from the album were penned by him.

East 17 also appeared on the Childliners record The Gift Of Christmas, alongside acts such as MN8, Boyzone, E.Y.C., Sean Maguire, Deuce, Ultimate Kaos, Let Loose, Backstreet Boys, Peter Andre, Michelle Gayle and Dannii Minogue. In 1996, the group hit #2 with the track "If You Ever", a duet with the singer Gabrielle.^[4]

Decline (1997-1999)

In January 1997, Brian Harvey was engulfed in a drug-related controversy when he claimed that he had taken Ecstasy pills on a night out, stating in the press that "It's cool to take drugs" and claiming that Ecstasy "can make you a better person".

The act went against the group's "boy band" image, and there was a huge media uproar, leading to questions being raised by John Major in the House of Commons.^[2] With the group's career and reputation tarnished by the affair, Harvey was swiftly sacked and Mortimer decided to leave several months later, due to creative differences between himself and the rest of the group. The band's split in 1997 has been described as "one of the greatest break-ups in pop history".^[2]

Coldwell and Hendy later reinstated Harvey and attempted a comeback in 1998 renaming the group "E-17"^[5] and landed a record deal with Telstar Records after recording an album's worth of self-written material in their home studios. Their first single as E-17 was "Each Time," which reached #2 in the UK. But without Mortimer's songwriting influence, the group's initial success soon wavered, and after disappointing sales of the next single "Betcha Can't Wait" reaching number 12 in the charts, and their album Resurrection failing to make the UK Top 40 and not selling as much as the record company would have liked, the band were dropped by their label in 1999 and subsequently split up.

Life After East 17 (1999-2010)

In 2001, Harvey launched himself as a solo artist in a collaboration with Wyclef Jean on the Top 20 single "Loving You (Ole Ole Ole)", but returned to E-17 to perform numerous gigs on the nostalgia circuit with Coldwell and Hendy. On the ITV1 docusoap Redcoats, the group were shown performing at a gig that was held at Butlins in Bognor on a bill which also featured Keith Harris, whilst in 2005, Harvey, Coldwell and Hendy performed a gig in Mongolia. Harvey made the news in May 2005 when he accidentally ran himself over, and required surgical treatment.^[6] He suffered severe, life-threatening injuries as a result, falling into a coma for several weeks following the incident.^[6]

On 4 February 2006, Harvey appeared on the UK music television show CD:UK, where he announced that East 17 might make a comeback with its four original members. In mid-February 2006, the group reformed, and played their first comeback concert on May 30 at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London.^[3] After reforming for the one-off gig, it was reported that East 17 had split up again, since Hendy was unable to fully commit to the band because his roofing business which took up a lot of his time. Friction also flared up again between Harvey and Mortimer, who were "involved in a punch-up",^[2] resulting in the latter's departure, with the remaining members continuing to perform as a three-piece at various club events.^[2]

A Channel 4 documentary, East 17: The Reunion, which charted the group's rise and fall, along with their subsequent attempt to re-launch, was broadcast in May 2007.^[2]

East 17 performance in Sibiu, Romania, on New Year's Eve 2007.

East 17 continued to perform as a three-member group without Mortimer. They played at the University of Strathclyde on September 24, 2006, after DJ Colin Murray was unable to attend. Since then, the group has performed in clubs around the UK as well as becoming regulars on the 1990s themed Butlins Big Weekends. A new single, "Fuck That" was due to be released in early 2008,^[7] but was ultimately cancelled.

The group performed at the 2009 Glastonbury Festival on 25 June in the dance lounge minus Tony Mortimer.^[8] In November 2009, all four members of the band re-united again in aid of the Born Free Foundation, performing two of their best known songs—"Deep" and "Stay Another Day"—for the Wild & Live! event at the Royal Albert Hall.^[9] After the performance, the band agreed that it would be best if they never sang together again, however, according to a BBC Radio 2 interview with Zoe Ball in December 2009, songwriter Tony Mortimer mentioned that the band are on 'talking terms' and are planning a comeback for 2010.

Dark Light (2010- )

Tony Mortimer returned to the lineup with Coldwell and Hendy in 2010. Brian Harvey left as his commitment to the group was questioned by the rest of the group, as he has been missing rehearsals and cancelling gigs. In 2011 T-Mobile used the East 17 song "House of Love" in a Royal Wedding "spoof" commercial, bringing the group a new generation of fans. In April 2011 it was announced Blair Dreelan had joined the band for their 'Back To The Future' tour in August and September 2011 to promote their comeback single 'Secret Of My Life', which reached 20th in the charts. On 28 September 2011 Dreelan left the group due to contractual obligations.

East 17 have finished recording their fifth studio album Dark Light, along with a new single titled "Can't Get You Off My Mind" set for release in 2012.

Discography

References

External links

• East 17 - Official website
• East 17 Fan Site
• The Independent - On the Road with East 17