Tag: East 17

Saturday Flashback: East 17 – Stay Another Day

This song is very, very Christmassy

Tim: Yes, we’re doing this. Because you’ll recall that last Friday we were at a pop night and you expressed doubts that this was a particularly festive song. So now we’ll probe further.

Tom: Christmas 1994. I was ten years old. You know, I think this was just after the point when I figured out that pop music existed. There’s still a copy of Now 30, on double cassette, somewhere in my parents’ house.

Tim: I will accept that this song has flaws: it has an excessive number of chorus repeats at the end, the video is utterly ludicrous and “I touch your face while you are sleeping” is one of the creepiest lyrics that’s ever been written.

Tom: It does just keep going, doesn’t it? But at the same time: that timpani roll at the start sets the scene for what’s to come so well: it’s a very, very, good pop track. I don’t think it deserves quite such an outro, but at least it doesn’t repeat-until-fade.

Tim: This is true. But you may still say that as a Christmas record, it’s flawed: the bells at the end, after all, were only added at the last minute when the cynical producer realised it would be released in December, the snowy video was made after this when they realised it had become a Christmas hit, and if you think this is a typical romantic “please don’t leave me” song, please don’t look it up on Wikipedia, because it may well ruin Christmas forever.

Tom: You know, I’ve never seen that video before, and one thing strikes me: what on earth is going on with Brian Harvey’s earrings? I know it was the 90s, but… blimey.

Tim: Strange, yes. But regardless of any of these issues, this song is, undeniably, very, very Christmassy. Why? Those bells. That’s all it is – just the bells. Because those chiming bells are more than enough to get absolutely everyone at the Christmas work do, without exception, to put down their drinks and head to the dancefloor, either with a loved one to hold onto, or as a group, arms round each other, shouting along merrily. This happened last Friday when it was the last song of the night, and it will happen at every single Christmas party from now until the end of time. And that is what makes it a festive song.

Tom: I’d forgotten about those bells. And I can’t help but agree with you.

East 17 – Counting Clouds

They’re going to Walk on a Beach. MOODILY.

Tom: As I said last time we talked about an East 17 track: it’s not a reunion. But it is without Brian, which is a bit like Take That without Gary Barlow. Only, you know, not quite as popular.

And now: they’re going to Walk on a Beach. MOODILY.

Tim: My word, that is moody walking.

Tom: Other than rhyming “song”, “song”, and “sung” in the pre-chorus, I’ve got very few complaints about this. It’s a textbook East 17 ballad, and I can see it climbing the charts if it had come out about fifteen years ago.

Tim: If…if. Big word, that.

Tom: By the end of each chorus, I find myself wanting it to kick in a bit more – like there’s so much potential waiting to burst out – and then it does, a little stronger each time.

Tim: I was thinking exactly the same – the second chorus almost had it, but not quite.

Tom: It takes a long time to work its way up to that final chorus, but it’s worth it when it finally hits.

Tim: It really is. SWAY THOSE ARMS, people.

Tom: As for that moody electric guitar middle eight: man, I hadn’t even realised I was missing that part of the 90s. I feel like I should be playing with Pogs or something.

Tim: No, Tamagotchi’s where it’s at, mate.

East 17 – I Can’t Get You Off My Mind (Crazy)

No, you haven’t slipped back in time.

Tom: No, you haven’t slipped back in time. It’s actually a new East 17 track. You might be thinking “they kept that reunion quiet”. The trouble is, it’s not a reunion. They haven’t done a Take That and disappeared properly for several years before coming back to a storm of acclaim: various members of the band have been milking the name for a while, and now the three of them that remain involved have decided to try a proper single again.

And I’ll say this: it’s not bad.

Tim: Perhaps not, but they have chosen the Laziest Method Ever™ for a music video, which always annoys me.

Tom: “East 17 Singles” would be a pretty good category for ‘Pointless’. Everyone remembers ‘Stay Another Day’, of course, but that was their only number one. Maybe a few people will remember ‘Let It Rain’. But they don’t have the big genre-spanning catalogue of Barlow’s lot – so most people will be expecting something like their Christmassy ballad.

Tim: Hmm. There was a thing about boybands on TV a couple of weeks back, with interviews with singers, managers, writers, all sorts (incidentally Terry from these guys is still bitter about being known as the Quiet One, because no-one was ever interested in him). One of the general points made (and universally agreed on) was that the worst thing that can happen to a boyband is that they decide they want to be credible, and write their own music, when instead they should realise that much as the lyricists woldn’t be good as singers, they shouldn’t do the writing. This song…somewhat justifies that.

Tom: Judged by those old boy-band standards, it’s terrible, but judged by modern pop… well, apart from the repeat ’til fade, this could be pretty much any indie-pop band. If we’re honest, it’s probably cribbing a bit from ‘Sex on Fire’, and they’ve definitely lost their best vocalist. But it’s not bad.

Tim: It’s not bad – it’s not the East 17 their fans would likely want, though, so it is good?

Tom: Depends if you’re one of their fans. I’d hazard a guess that it’s not going to absolutely light up the charts – but it’s a solid tune, and deserves a bit of attention.