East 17's hit Stay Another Day 'puts a bit of food on the table' each Christmas
East 17 classic 'Stay Another Day' "doesn't make millions for the band, but it still "puts a bit of food on the table".
Tony Mortimer - who wrote the 1994 Christmas Number One hit after his late brother Ollie took his own life - has insisted despite regular radio play over the festive season, the song isn't the moneymaker to the level everyone assumes.
He told the Daily Star newspaper's Wired column: "They still play it on the radio, and I'm grateful.
"It doesn't make me billions, unfortunately, in case you wondered! But it always puts a bit of food on the table and some petrol money, definitely.
"It's not a million a year, or whatever."
However, the 54-year-old singer insisted the track - which beat Mariah Carey to the festive top spot in the UK - was never about the money, and he's more focused on its longevity and enduring popularity.
He explained: "That's not what it is about.
"It's about the song, and the recognition of people loving it, and the fact that it's going 30 years later."
Meanwhile, Tony has confirmed there are no plans for East 17 to ever reunite, as he and his former bandmates - Brian Harvey, Terry Coldwell and John Hendry - haven't spoken in "several years".
He explained: "Me, Terry and John were in a record company, and that, kind of, ended badly with the company. So, we haven't really spoken since then.
"I think East 17 is viewed by the outside as a living thing, but it doesn't really exist anymore, but with us.
"Obviously the name does, and 'Stay Another Day' always brings it back every year... We'll always be joined by it. It's weird."
Tony previously admitted he’d still be performing with the band if their relationship wasn’t so fractured.
Asked if they are still in touch, he recently told heat magazine: “No, we’d be performing if I were. We don’t speak.
“I’ve not spoken to them for many years now.”
Tony Mortimer - who wrote the 1994 Christmas Number One hit after his late brother Ollie took his own life - has insisted despite regular radio play over the festive season, the song isn't the moneymaker to the level everyone assumes.
He told the Daily Star newspaper's Wired column: "They still play it on the radio, and I'm grateful.
"It doesn't make me billions, unfortunately, in case you wondered! But it always puts a bit of food on the table and some petrol money, definitely.
"It's not a million a year, or whatever."
However, the 54-year-old singer insisted the track - which beat Mariah Carey to the festive top spot in the UK - was never about the money, and he's more focused on its longevity and enduring popularity.
He explained: "That's not what it is about.
"It's about the song, and the recognition of people loving it, and the fact that it's going 30 years later."
Meanwhile, Tony has confirmed there are no plans for East 17 to ever reunite, as he and his former bandmates - Brian Harvey, Terry Coldwell and John Hendry - haven't spoken in "several years".
He explained: "Me, Terry and John were in a record company, and that, kind of, ended badly with the company. So, we haven't really spoken since then.
"I think East 17 is viewed by the outside as a living thing, but it doesn't really exist anymore, but with us.
"Obviously the name does, and 'Stay Another Day' always brings it back every year... We'll always be joined by it. It's weird."
Tony previously admitted he’d still be performing with the band if their relationship wasn’t so fractured.
Asked if they are still in touch, he recently told heat magazine: “No, we’d be performing if I were. We don’t speak.
“I’ve not spoken to them for many years now.”
