East 17 to Release Greatest Hits Collection Just in Time for Christmas

By MACKENZIE CUMMINGS-GRADY

East 17 are marking 35 years in music with the release of a new greatest hits collection.

The boy band behind Stay Another Day was formed by Tony Mortimer in 1991 with Brian Harvey, Terry Coldwell and John Hendy. They made their breakthrough the following year and are now preparing to release remastered editions of some of their biggest hits.

Titled The Best Of, the collection will arrive on December 4 and feature a brand new Megamix created by The Alias.

Fans will be able to get their hands on the release in CD and vinyl editions, alongside an expanded 2CD/DCD package featuring 10 remastered remixes and 16 restored official music videos.

The set will also include previously unreleased photographs taken by Lawrence Watson, who made a name for himself documenting the New York hip hop scene during the 1980s.

Arriving just in time for Christmas, the album will feature the group's festive classic and 1994 Christmas Number One, Stay Another Day.

Tony previously admitted that although Stay Another Day "doesn't make" him millions, the much loved ballad continues to provide him with a steady source of income.

Speaking to the Daily Star newspaper in 2024, he said: "They still play it on the radio, and I'm grateful.

"It doesn't make me billions, unfortunately, in case you wondered! But it always puts a bit of food on the table and some petrol money, definitely.

"It's not a million a year, or whatever."

However, he made it clear that the song's significance has never been about the financial rewards. The emotional track was written following the death of his brother Ollie, who took his own life.

He continued: "It's about the song, and the recognition of people loving it, and the fact that it's going 30 years later."

Meanwhile, Tony has ruled out a future East 17 reunion, revealing that he and his former bandmates have not been in touch for "several years".

He explained: "Me, Terry and John were in a record company, and that, kind of, ended badly with the company. So, we haven't really spoken since then.

"I think East 17 is viewed by the outside as a living thing, but it doesn't really exist anymore, but with us.

"Obviously the name does, and Stay Another Day always brings it back every year... We'll always be joined by it. It's weird."

All editions of The Best Of East 17 are now available to pre order.