Famed for being the edgy rival to the squeaky clear Take That, East 17 paved a brand new method for boybands within the Nineties.
With their shaved heads, tattoos and ‘dangerous boy’ picture they grew to become an on the spot hit with the women, dominating the charts and splashed throughout the tabloids.
Initially fashioned of Tony Mortimer, Brian Harvey, John Hendy, and Terry Coldwell, they shortly grew to become one of the crucial common boybands of the last decade.
But issues got here crashing down when lead singer Brian was sacked from the group in 1997 after boasting about his drug use.
Within the years that adopted, East 17 had a number of lineup modifications, with the unique singers occurring to have different fortunes.
The quartet have had very public bust ups, suffered monetary hardships and excluding Terry, they now not carry out.
This month marks the thirtieth anniversary of their hit Christmas single, Keep One other Day, which grew to become a global hit and offered greater than 1.4 million copies.
So three a long time on from the band’s heyday, MailOnline spoke with John and Terry to seek out out the place all of it went south for East 17.
The celebrities of East 17 have revealed how their lives turned out after discovering fame in one among Britain’s largest boybands of the Nineties (L-R Brian Harvey, Terry Coldwell, Tony Mortimer, John Hendy)
This month marks the thirtieth anniversary of their hit Christmas single, Keep One other Day, which grew to become a global hit and offered greater than 1.4 million copies
Terry and John have each had their ups and downs on the subject of funds.
When East 17 have been fashioned they have been signed on 1,000,000 pound report deal however their late supervisor Tom Watkins solely paid them a wage of £125 every week – raised by £25 each 4 months.
‘I have a look at different bands and see what they have – bands who have not written their very own songs and so they’re nonetheless dwelling in multi million pound homes,’ Terry mused.
‘I would not say it stings as a result of I am not that kind of particular person… simply that the band ended. I went out and obtained a standard job as a result of I had children and that is what you gotta do.
‘A job’s a job. I’ve all the time seen East 17 as a job – the greatest job on the planet do not get me mistaken – nevertheless it’s a job.
‘I am no greater than the man sweeping the road. We’re on the identical, we have simply obtained totally different jobs.
‘There was a time the place I labored for Volvo, I would drive the automobiles to the franchises and I used to be in all probability doing about 14 hours of driving a day.
‘It was lengthy hours however actually crap cash – about 45 quid a day for 14 hours – however you gotta do what you gotta do to feed the children.’
Three a long time on from the band’s heyday, MailOnline sat down with John (left) and Terry to seek out out the place all of it went south for East 17 and the way they’ve rebuilt their lives
In the meantime, John now makes a dwelling as a roofer.
‘Once I began working roofing I believed I used to be gonna get actually badly put down,’ he confessed. ‘However I’ve had respect from folks saying good for you getting again on the roof after what you’ve got been via, what you’ve got finished.
‘Some folks say to me, “you could haven’t any cash”, I am like, effectively we by no means obtained any cash! That is what folks do not get.’
John is aware of the worth of cash all too effectively. Just lately, he fell on exhausting occasions and ended up homeless.
He had moved to Spain along with his spouse Nina simply earlier than the pandemic hit and with lockdown crippling his enterprise he quickly realised he needed to transfer again.
‘We did not have any cash’, John defined. ‘I needed to borrow cash from my cousin to get the flight again. Then we did not have wherever to stay, nobody would put me up.
‘My cousin paid for a resort for about 10 days after which I needed to get on Common Credit score. We ended up being put in a hostel and I lived there for a yr and a half.
‘It was dangerous. You’d stroll down the hall there’d be crackheads in there. It was throughout Covid time as effectively and we needed to share a toilet. We needed to share a kitchen. We have been in a room with bunkbeds with the children.
‘It was the worst. I would gone from all alright upbringing, to wow now I am a star, then again to normality after which proper again down.
‘I would not want it on anyone. Now after I see folks out on the street begging for cash, I all the time give them a few quid or one thing.’
John now makes a dwelling as a roofer. Just lately, he fell on exhausting occasions and ended up homeless, along with his household having to maneuver right into a hostel an expertise he ‘would not want on anybody’
Terry makes his dwelling persevering with to tour below the East 17 title however with totally different bandmates – Robbie Craig and Joe Livermore. They’ve a brand new single popping out subsequent week
After leaving East 17, Tony Mortimer stepped away from the highlight to concentrate on songwriting and his household life and resides on a farm, though this yr he re-released their iconic festive basic Keep One other Day to have fun its anniversary.
Brian Harvey has had a troublesome few years, being stabbed in 2001 to just about dying in a weird automobile accident in 2005.
In March 2021, Brian was arrested on suspicion of malicious communication – and posted the second he was confronted by cops on his YouTube channel.
He has since constructed up a big following on social media.
Terry makes his dwelling persevering with to tour below the East 17 title however with totally different bandmates – Robbie Craig and Joe Livermore. They’ve a brand new single popping out subsequent week.
‘We run our personal future now’, Terry defined. ‘We do all our personal bookings, we handle ourselves. There’s by no means any strain to launch something.
‘Me and Robbie have by no means had an argument in 11 years and we discuss to one another actually 4 or 5 occasions a day. We’re greatest mates, nevertheless it’s our enterprise as effectively.’
It actually appears calmer than the unique lineup.
Brian Harvey (proper) has lengthy been vocal about his disdain for his bandmates on-line. This week, John took to Instagram to hit again at Brian
East 17 have famously fallen out over time – not afraid to ship some very slicing remarks about each other.
Simply this week, John was caught in a disagreement with Brian Harvey – with the pair taking to social media to hit out at each other.
So is there any likelihood of reunion?
‘That might by no means occur!’ John confirmed. ‘We tried a reunion earlier than after which Tony wished to beat up Brian and in order that ended on the day, we met the manufacturing workforce.
‘Then there was one other time we tried it and nothing occurred with that.
‘If issues have been totally different and we did all get on then it will’ve been good to get on the market and do a one-off tour for the followers.
‘However when you look on the social media websites, every little thing that is occurring in the mean time. it is a nightmare.’
Brian, notably, has lengthy been vocal about his disdain for his bandmates on-line.
This week, John took to Instagram to hit again at Brian, telling him ‘cease f***ing banging on about every little thing… simply transfer on along with your f***ing life, you are getting on my f***ing tits bruv.’
In response, Brian launched a collection of recordings of John from their final telephone name in 2019.
With their shaved heads, tattoos and ‘dangerous boy’ picture they grew to become an on the spot hit with the women, dominating the charts and splashed throughout the tabloids within the Nineties
Explaining how the trade happened, John shared: ‘I had followers telling me Brian wants assist [because of his social media posts].
‘However he does not need assistance, it is only a cry for consideration. However they stored on bombarding me so I believed I would ring him.
‘Then I advised him one thing about me that I’ve by no means advised anybody and I did not know he was recording me. He is posted it and the way dare he. He had no proper to do this.
‘I used to be saying to my good friend that it is attending to the purpose the place I would need to go spherical there and kind the geezer out however he was saying do not do this since you’ll simply find yourself getting nicked!
‘He advised me to get a solicitor as a result of it is simply not proper.
‘I simply simply wish to be glad in life and transfer on and that is what I attempt to say to Brian.
‘Simply transfer on in life mate. Why hold digging up the previous? It was 33 years in the past, , no one else is speaking about stuff like that.’
Terry additionally does not maintain a lot hope of a reunion with the unique lineup.
‘I’ve tried to get us collectively over time nevertheless it all fell via. I’ve sort of had sufficient actually.’
Just lately, Terry, John and Tony featured on BBC2 documentary Boybands Perpetually however filmed individually and did not catch up afterwards (clockwise in 2016, Brian, John, Tony and Terry)
Tony not too long ago re-released their festive basic Keep One other Day to have fun its thirtieth anniversary
Just lately, Terry, John and Tony all featured on the BBC2 documentary Boybands Perpetually to reminisce on their time within the band.
The trio have been filmed individually and had no need to catch up afterwards.
‘We do not discuss,’ Terry defined. ‘However I do not maintain any grudges. There have been good occasions and there have been dangerous occasions however that is like in any job. We lived collectively principally, we labored for 3 years with no day without work so after all we argued about issues.
‘However I am grateful for the occasions I shared with them.’
Whereas there’s clearly some outdated wounds that point has but to heal for John and Terry, they defined that they nonetheless look again at elements of their East 17 journey with fondness.
There is not any escaping the reminiscences round Christmas, with Keep One other Day performed religiously across the festive season.
So now it is on its thirtieth anniversary, do they ever get uninterested in listening to it?
‘I really take pleasure in it extra now,’ Terry confessed. ‘It is the legacy that is been left behind.
‘Once I’m up in heaven – hopefully not too quickly – the good grandkids can say oh my nice granddad sang that!’
‘Once I was youthful and within the limelight and it will begin enjoying in Tesco I would pull my cap proper down.’
In the meantime, John is simply happy to see one among their hits remains to be a fan favorite.
‘I like listening to it as a result of they do not play none of our different songs!’ he laughed. ‘I feel we had about 28 hits. So it is fairly good to listen to it.’
East 17’s fame got here crashing down when lead singer Brian was sacked from the group in 1997 after boasting about his drug use
The music video for the Christmas hit noticed the foursome don giant white padded coats.
But sadly, John and Terry now not personal the long-lasting equipment.
‘I am in all probability on my fourth or fifth white coat now,’ Terry laughed. ‘The outdated one fell aside.’
As for John he misplaced his coat throughout a foul breakup.
‘I left her home with a few luggage and my coat was up within the loft,’ he defined. ‘I am by no means going again there!’
But whereas the coats have not lasted the take a look at of time, it appears issues are trying higher for John and Terry.
