Biography
Born in Walthamstow, London, in 1974, Brian Harvey rose to prominence as the frontman of East 17, the boy band that most directly challenged Take That throughout the 1990s. His exceptional singing ability was frequently eclipsed by a string of tabloid scandals and provocative off-stage behavior. Initially recruited merely to supply backing vocals and dance routines for the Tony Mortimer-led outfit, Harvey unexpectedly landed the lead role once label bosses overheard his voice in the studio and elevated him accordingly. East 17 notched sixteen Top 40 singles and three Top Ten albums before Harvey’s 1997 dismissal, triggered by a radio appearance in which he seemed to endorse ecstasy—an admission that provoked widespread outrage given the group’s largely adolescent audience. He returned the following year alongside John Hendy and Terry Coldwell (but without Mortimer) as the reconfigured E-17; their single “Each Time” reached number two, yet the accompanying album failed commercially and Telstar parted ways with the trio. Harvey later contributed vocals to True Steppers’ “True Step Tonight,” then moved to Edel Records, where “Straight Up (No Bends)” and the Wyclef Jean-produced “Loving You (Ole Ole Ole)” both entered the Top 30, although his planned debut album Solo never materialized. A 2004 stint on the jungle-based reality series I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! preceded a near-fatal 2005 incident in which he was run over by his own vehicle. Subsequent club appearances with Hendy and Coldwell gave way to an unsuccessful 2007 bid to represent the United Kingdom at Eurovision, ultimately awarded to Scooch, before Harvey resumed his solo path in 2010 with the release of “Going Backwardz.”
Albums
