This is The Story of Pop: 1998, casting our eye over yet more of the biggest UK chart hits of 25 years ago, every Thursday at 9am. This week: the bright but brief resurrection of one of the decade’s biggest boybands…
- Artist: E-17
- Song: Each Time
- Released: 02/11/1998
- Writers / Producers: Brian Harvey / John Hendy / Terry Coldwell / Ivor Reid / John Beckford / Mark Reid
- Highest UK Chart Position: #2
- Weeks on Chart: 15
Since emerging from Walthamstow in 1992, East 17 were quickly positioned as the bad boys of early 90s boybands, with their streetwise image and laddish appeal. Selling over 18 million albums worldwide, they had notched up an impressive 18 top 20 singles, including the million selling Christmas number one from 1994, “Stay Another Day”.
However, the release of a greatest hits album in 1996 was, in typical 90s fashion, the point where things started to unravel. The band had just had one of their biggest hits with their cover of Shai’s US R&B hit “If I Ever Fall In Love”, renamed as “If You Ever”, for a duet with Gabrielle, peaking at #2. It was suggested by the band’s lead vocalist Brian Harvey, who was gaining more confidence as a vocalist, especially on their live tours.
What then happened and how it happened is still the subject of debate to this day, particularly surrounding the involvement of their notoriously ruthless and dictatorial late manager, Tom Watkins, who had also managed Pet Shop Boys and Bros. But what is known is that it was following Brian’s comments in an interview to a tabloid journalist in January 1997 advocating drug use – specifically ecstasy – that things went pear shaped.
Brian was then controversially sacked from the band in an intense storm of media scrutiny, that even reached the House of Commons at Prime Minister’s Question Time, with the band’s main songwriter, Tony Mortimer, turning on his heel and quitting a few months later. But for remaining members Terry Coldwell and Jon Hendy, they remained loyal to Brian, and reinstated him, as over a year later, they attempted to forge a comeback.
Signing with Telstar Records, Resurrection was their first album as a trio, and marked their progression to pursuing more of a soulful, R&B led sound. Written and recorded almost entirely in home studios, the band had also renamed themselves, simply as E-17. The first single, “Each Time”, took notable influence from 70s era Stevie Wonder, and was critically very well received, and backed with a big budget video to match.
To the surprise of many, it appeared that their audience had not deserted them, as it went straight into the UK charts at #2 upon its release in November 1998, eventually going onto sell over 200,000 copies and hitting the charts in many of the European territories where they’d had big success before such as Germany and Switzerland.
But of course, the real litmus test was the release of the Resurrection album, which could only peak and debut at #43 – a far cry from their previous albums, which had all been top 10, multi platinum sellers. When the release of the second single, “Betcha Can’t Wait” in February 1999, failed to reverse the decline (it missed the top 10, peaking at #12), Telstar decided to cut their losses and the band were dropped. It had appeared their moment had passed.
There have been numerous reunions and reformations in the 25 years since then. Now, under their original name, in a lineup comprising Terry as the sole original member, along with Robbie Craig and Joe Livermore, still continue touring and releasing music to this day. But when the story of 90s boybands is recounted, it is impossible to do so without doffing your baseball cap in the direction of East 17, and the impact they made on pop music in that decade.
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The Niche Reference 