East 17

EAST 17. English boyband first active between 1991-97. They 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 was unique for the time, occasionally blending rap and pop in songs. Best known singles include ; House of Love / Deep / Its Alright / Around the World / Steam / Let it Rain / Thunder / Do You Still / If You Ever / Hey Child / Each Time and their Christmas No1 "Stay Another Day". In January 1997, Brian Harvey was engulfed in a drug-related controversy when he claimed that he had taken Ecstasy pills on a night out, stating in the press that "It's cool to take drugs" and claiming that Ecstasy "can make you a better person". This act went against the group's "boy band" image and there was a huge media uproar. With the group's career and reputation tarnished by the affair, Harvey was swiftly sacked and Mortimer decided to leave several months later, due to creative differences between himself and the rest of the group. The band's split in 1997 has been described as "one of the greatest break-ups in pop history". As of April 2012, East 17 had sold 18 million records worldwide.