On The Spot – East 17′s Tony Mortimer Exclusive Interview

Few days ago we had the chance to chat directly with East 17’s Tony Mortimer from UK about the band’s upcoming Australian tour in June.

SR. Hi Tony, very cool to have a chat with you. Our first question is obviously how do you guys feel about the band coming to Australia for a full Tour?

TM. We are very excited, as we have a lot of memories from Australia so we are very looking forward to be back there. It’s just great to be back, you know…I`m very happy to be there once again and hang out. We just wanna arrive, put great shows for our fans and also walk around in our free time. Personally I would love to revisit some places there as well and see some iconic places, like the Australian Town House Hotel which is closed down now I think.

SR. What can the East 17 fans expect of the shows?

TM. They can expect mostly old songs, we will obviously play a couple of new stuff, but we want people sing around songs they can remember, we really want a good old school sing along with them and have a really good time there.

SR. You wrote most of the songs for the band. Which song would you say is your favorite one and why?

TM. Mmmm…I kind of like ‘I’ts alright’, because it has a bit of everything in it, it’s a good classical, it is a bit down, a ballad and a tempo one, so it`s the kind of song you enjoy while you perform it. It’s probably one of my favorite out of the old ones, still I`ve got a lot…I kind of like ‘Thunder’ as well…but I think “It’s alright” is the one who gets the crowd with more intensity.

‘I’ts alright’…it’s a good classical, it is a bit down, a ballad and a tempo one, so it`s the kind of song you enjoy while you perform it”

SR. Speaking of that song, “It’s alright”, back in time it was the biggest East 17 hit in Australia. What do you remember about that song while writing it?

TM. I basically wrote it to myself because at that stage I was full of work and running out of time, so I didn’t have so much time to enjoy the music industry because they are very pushy, calling you asking you to “write more songs, we need more songs and blah blah”…and sometimes you get the rights of a song and sometimes not, so it was a very tense and stressful time for me. So that song was a relief and I wrote it to myself, just sitting on the piano and singing to myself without even knowing the success it would have later on.

SR. You were also doing a solo career for a while writing songs. How do you feel about changing from solo artist to be back on the band?

TM. Well, I never stop writing songs to be honest, so when they ask me to come back I`d already have a lot of songs and ideas so I was kind of ready to go. To be honest I prefer to be in a band, because you can share with more people and have a good laugh together, have a drink at the bar and have a conversation about other things…It’s much nicer, but also a bit more stressful because there is more people counting on you so it is not easier either.

“I prefer to be in a band, because you can share with more people…”

SR. What can you tell us about the latest album Dark Light? How was the creative process?

TM. We started writing and we starting doing some dancing stuff…and then we thought this was enough, this sound was not like us anymore, so we started thinking of real songs to put together on how they will work with a real live band and that sort of stuff.

“This album is really what we are now in our heads…”

This album is really what we are now in our heads, towards live music and I think it is the right decision to make instead of basing it all on the old stuff.

SR. We know this is a delicate topic, but have you had the chance to speak with Brian Harvey?

TM. Not at all..we haven`t had any time for nothing, we just have been too busy.

SR. What is next for you as a musician?

TM. At the moment I have 5 or 6 ideas for the next East 17 album, because I don`t want to be caught on time and postpone personal projects because of the deadlines which happened to me before. I want to be able to go on holiday with my family. For that reason I`m already writing a lot and I can say I have some songs ready to go, and I`m very excited about that.

We are also going to the US next year, and a couple of more tours coming up abroad, so there is a lot of  work in front of us and we are having fun with it. Also we are working with this fantastic record company that is an old school model, very supportive and giving us the freedom to work our way, taking a lot of pressure off from us, so I`m really grateful with them.

SR. What are you and the boys planning to do while in Australia?

TM. I already know almost all of Australia, but I haven`t been to Perth yet, so I would love to go there. I`m also very looking forward to Sydney as it is one of my favorite cities in the world and Melbourne. Also excited about Adelaide because I haven`t been there for a very long time, so wanna see how the city looks like now.

In Sydney I really wanna touch down, and go out just to walk and walk with the guys and obviously visit some bars around to have a drink with them.

SR. Just to finish off. How can the East 17 fans meet the band in Australia?

“…hopefully the same fans will go and wait for us with their children this time ha ha ha.…”

TM. I haven`t seen the schedule yet. I would love to see if there will be meet and greets, and I would love to speak with the management to organize that. I remember the old days when people wait for us at the airports and hotels, that was wonderful, hopefully the same fans will go and wait for us with their children this time ha ha ha.

SR. Thanks so much for your time. We wish you a safe trip next month with the guys to Australia.

TM. Thanks to you for all, looking forward to see you there.

Check the East 17 Australian Tour dates here