TAKE 17 (1997)



On set at the East 17 vid! (Hey Child)

Hidden behind a maze of industrial warehouses in a massive East End studio, East 17's new single Hey Child is blasting out at an earth-shattering volume! Stumbling through the darkness we finally come across Tony Mortimer singing and gazing soulfully into the camera. When the music stops his face breaks in to a grin as he shares a joke. After one last shot it's time for lunch and Tone takes us off for a chat. Sprawled out on a comfy leather sofa, Tony starts to wind down from a hard morning's work and he's in the mood for a gossip...

You were looking all deep and meaningful for the camera then, what were you thinking about?
That was my happy face! (Starts giggling cheekily) I have to focus, so I think, 'Right they're watching this at home, what are they seeing? What are all the body language experts reading?' That helps me concentrate.

It's a real heart-warmer of a song - what's it all about?
I wrote it for Atlanta. One day she's gonna grow up into a princess and leave me for some prince... or some vagabond like her father was! If I could've written, 'Oh baby, baby, it's a wild world, it's hard to get by just upon a smile.' They're brilliant lyrics and really true but someone's already wrote them! I had to think of something different, so I wrote things like - live life your own way, but I'm here for you if you make a mistake or get nervous.

Now you'll have to write a song for Ocean as well.
Yeah (laughs) called Stop Getting Ill! (Ocean's just been in hospital with breathing problems, but she's better now). She's completely different to Atlanta. She's only one-and-a-half but she can hold her own. Probably because she's got a big sister always punching her! She's a little geezer bird, whereas Atlanta's a little ballet dancer type! Ocean's been through a lot, so she's a survivor. Top girl!

The other three had their wives and babies in the video for Someone To Love. How come you didn't?
I don't want to use my children as a cheap selling point for a video. And that's the way it came across to me. My family is part of my life that's I'm not wiling to compromise. It's nothing to do with anyone except me.

Were you angry when a magazine printed pictures of Tracey and Atlanta?
I didn't like it and it offended me, but that's printed now. I'm not personally going to put them in magazine though. If my kids choose to be stars when they grow up, that's cool.

You said that if Hey Child wasn't a single, you'd leave the band...
No, the question was, "What would you do if you weren't allowed to sing in East 17?' and I said that I'd leave because that's the whole reason that I am in East 17. That's like asking me what would I do if I wasn't famous. Anyway, what was supposed to be a good moment in my career turned out wrong because some geezer wanted to make a couple of quid out of me. That's the game I'm in and I should expect things like that to happen.

So you didn't say it on purpose to make sure your song got released?
No! It came out sounding like I through a big tantrum and said, 'Release my song else I'll leave the band'. Thing is, there was no way they weren't going to release it because we haven't got another single! But hey, it's sold us a few more albums!

Did you prepare for being 'the singer'?
When I did it in rehearsals I couldn't get into tune at all and the harder I tried, the worse it got. But I thought to myself, 'Just get out there and do it' so I did. In rehearsals, I picked up everybody else's vibes and the vibe going round was 'you're not a singer what are you doing?' That pressure overcame me.

Finally, was having a Christmas No 1 the highlight of your career so far?
Nah! Loads of things have made it good - touring, the first time we played Wembley, winning awards... we've had a most excellent career, so far! When I think back to the bands that started out at the same time as us, we're the only ones still around. The only band that's had more success than us is Oasis. But they're one of them one-in-a-million bands that pop up once in a generation, so, hey, I'll allow that!