Tony Mortimer was the lead singer and songwriter with boy band East 17, penning tracks like Stay Another Day, Steam and House Of Love. Now, 12 years after he left the band and three years after their London comeback gig, he’s back to perform all the old hits live on stage, starting off tomorrow at London’s Monto@229. RealMusic Blog shared a sofa with Tony to talk comebacks, Take That, getting older and if there’s another East 17 reunion on the horizon…
Why are you choosing now to come back?
“When I left the band, I left totally. But the comeback gig exorcised all the negativity I’d stored up about the songs, so now I can sing them. The other three are still gigging, but they’re my songs so why shouldn’t I sing them too?”
And how are rehearsals going?
“The first one was horrific, I couldn’t remember the words or anything. I’m still learning them, but there’s a lot of words…”
How was the comeback gig you did with the guys in 2006?
“Really hard work and full of different emotions. I like to please people so I was giving myself a tough time trying to do that. Being on stage was amazing though - by song three I was quite tearful and amazed by the fans’ reaction.”
Can you see yourselves doing a Take That and reforming with new material?
“I’d love to perform with the guys again, but in the near future a reunion is unlikely. They’re gigging at the moment but we’re in different places right now. I wouldn’t write it off though - they can’t hate me forever…”
Is Brian as big an idiot as he portrays himself?
(Nodding his head and laughing) “No.”
What have you been up to since the band split?
“I’ve been writing and producing - I’ve got loads of things to write about having raised a family. The topics are different now I’m older - I write songs about still loving someone even though they’re fat.”
Will you be recording a new album too?
“No - I just plan to gig for a while and get a vibe going then if the fans like it, I’ll carry on. But if they slaughter it, maybe I’ll have a rethink…”
Will you play new material?
“They’ll be a couple of new songs, but only two because it’ll go quiet if I do too many won’t it?”
Which of the old ones are you looking forward to doing most?
“Slow It Down because it’s quite funky. Thunder because I rock out on that one and House Of Love still sounds powerful. I’m not looking forward to It’s Alright because it’s quite tricky, but we’ll do it nice with a piano. Doing these songs now is odd though, because I wrote them when I was much younger. For instance, Deep is a song about teenage passion but I’d need Viagra and a back massage to fulfil that now.”
Any dance routines?
“God no! I’ll be standing firmly behind my guitar and if anyone asks I’ll blame my dodgy knees.”
East 17 were the bad boys of boy bands, the antithesis of Take That. Were you mates on the sly?
“We saw each other a lot in the early days and I always got on well with Mark. It’s hard for him now because he’s a creative bloke but he’s clearly not as talented as Gary at songwriting or singing. Mark tries, but he’s a little George Formby-esque isn’t he, especially on Up All Night. Shame, because he’s a really sweet guy and Gary’s a bit boring vocally.”
What do you think of their comeback?
“It’s great that they’re getting on and I like that they’ve updated their sound too - it would have been terrible had they come back with their leather and jelly look. I remember our manager showing us that video (for Do What You Like) and telling us that was our competition - I thought we’d have no problems. Little did I know that was what the people wanted - if I’d have known I’d have gone home and slapped some jelly all over Brian…”
Do you still live in Walthamstow?
“No - I sneaked out under cover of night in the early 90s. I live near Stansted airport now which is lovely and villagey - we go out cycling to keep the pounds off.”
Do you still get recognised?
“I do since I’ve lost a few stone now. When I was bigger I went through an anonymous stage which was wonderful having had fame.”
What do you do when you hear one of your songs on the radio?
“Turn it off - that goes for all East 17 and Take That songs. I like stuff like Lady GaGa too and Lily Allen - although that could be because I fancy her.”
Is it right you were Reggie Kray’s pallbearer?
“Yes. We were mates and we wrote a song together called Falling Rain, based on a poem he wrote when he was inside about wanting to stand in the rain. When he died he asked me to carry the coffin and I was truly honoured. I was so scared I was going to drop it, but I didn’t.”
What’s the most played song on your MP3 player?
“The Script - I really like them.”
If you could be the lovechild of any two artists, who would you choose?
“John Lennon and Yoko Ono.”
Given the choice, would you rather walk sideways like a crab or jump like a kangaroo?
“Sideways like a crab - I don’t do jumping. It’s the landing I have trouble with…”
Tony Mortimer will be playing the Monto@229, London on Thursday May 28th. Tickets, priced at a totally bargain £8, are available from: www.tonymortimeronline.com and www.ticketweb.com
(Clare Lydon)
