Tony Mortimer would be up for an East 17 reunion, but has joked he would have to lose weight first.
The 49-year-old singer/songwriter has not performed with his bandmates – Brian Harvey, John Hendy and Terry Coldwell – since 2013 and although there are no plans to get back together with the guys anytime soon he won’t rule it out in the future.
But Tony admits he’s not in the same shape as he was in the group’s 90s heyday and would have to go on a diet to shift a few pounds.
When asked about the possibility of a reunion on ‘This Morning’, he said: "You can never say never but I’ve got to lose about eight stone, I can’t do those moves anymore."
This year marks 25 years since East 17’s ‘Stay Another Day’ was the UK Christmas number one and Tony admits he feels "blessed" that his song has become part of the nation’s festive playlist.
He said: "It doesn’t feel like 25 years, I haven’t changed."
The musician also spilled that ‘Stay Another Day’ was meant to be just an album track on the group’s second studio LP ‘Steam’, as the ballad – which was a departure from East 17’s trademark sound – was a deeply person song that Tony penned about the death of his brother.
Speaking to hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, he said: "It was a very delicate album track that was never going to be released but people liked it. It got released and became the biggest hit we ever had.
"My brother committed suicide a couple of years before, so I used that to turn a song about loss into a love song. It was a really personal song."
Tony has contributed to a new version of the song which is being released to raise money for Calm, a charity that aims to prevent male suicide. He plays piano on the track, which is sung by a choir of 100 school children from Waltham Forest.
Tony Mortimer won’t rule out East 17 reunion
