East 17

East 17
East 17, promo tour in Cologne, 2012
Background information
Also known as	E-17 (1998–1999)
Origin	Walthamstow, London, England
Genres	Pop, dance-pop, Europop, hip hop
Years active	1991–1997 1998–1999 2006–present
Labels	FOD Records (2011–2014) Telstar Records (1998–1999) London Records (1991–1997)
Members	John Hendy Terry Coldwell Robbie Craig
Past members	Brian Harvey Tony Mortimer Blair Dreelan

East 17 are an English pop boy band group currently consisting of original members John Hendy and Terry Coldwell and newest addition to the line-up Robbie Craig. The original line-up also featured Brian Harvey and Tony Mortimer.

The group achieved 18 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, aided by strong tabloid interest in their 'bad boy' image compared to the 'clean cut' image of rivals Take That. Their style blended pop and hip hop in songs such as "House of Love" and "Let It Rain".

The group have currently (based on BPI certifications) sold a minimum of 1.8 million albums and 1.8 million singles in the UK alone. As of April 2012, the group have sold 18 million records worldwide.

The group began in 1991 when Tony Mortimer was promised a record deal with London Records after he presented his own material. The deal was granted under the condition that he form a group, which was the format London Records were looking for. Mortimer later formed East 17 with Brian Harvey, John Hendy and Terry Coldwell.

The group was named East 17 after the postcode of their hometown, Walthamstow. The original roles in the band were soon altered when Brian Harvey, who was intended to be a back-up singer and dancer was made into lead singer due to his vocal talent.

Mortimer wrote the vast majority of the group's songs, which often contained rap verses vocalised by him to complement Harvey's more fluid 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: