Brian Lee Harvey (born 8 August 1974) is an English singer from
London. He was the lead singer of pop group
East 17. The later incarnation of the band, E-17, had two top 20 singles on the
UK Singles Chart between 1998 and 1999, with the album ''
Resurrection'' peaking within the top 50 of the
UK Albums Chart. After leaving E-17, Harvey signed a record deal with
Edel Records and had two singles released in 2001, "Straight Up (No Bends)" and "Loving You (Ole Ole Ole)".
Career
Harvey's vocal style emulated
R&B and
new jack swing
New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle, new jack swing was mos ...
vocalists from the United States. His vocals put him into a position of the group's frontman, or main member, which was shared with the group's creator, songwriter, instrumentalist, rapper and singer
Tony Mortimer.
In 1997, Harvey was sacked from East 17 after making comments in a radio interview that appeared to condone the use of the drug
ecstasy
Ecstasy may refer to:
* Ecstasy (emotion), a trance or trance-like state in which a person transcends normal consciousness
* Religious ecstasy, a state of consciousness, visions or absolute euphoria
* Ecstasy (philosophy), to be or stand outside o ...
, in which he claimed to have taken 12 pills in one night, causing an uproar in the press and the matter being raised in the
Parliament of the United Kingdom. Mortimer left East 17 several months later. Harvey eventually rejoined the group under the rebranded name of E-17.
As E-17, the group had two top 20 singles on the
UK Singles Chart between 1998 and 1999, with the album ''
Resurrection'' reaching the UK Top 50.
In 2000, Harvey collaborated with
True Steppers with the song "
True Step Tonight" featuring
Donell Jones, which peaked at number 26 on the
UK Singles Chart.
After E-17, he signed a record deal with
Edel Records and had two singles released in 2001, "Straight Up (No Bends)" (No. 26 UK) and "Loving You (Ole Ole Ole)" (No. 20 UK).
In 2004, Harvey appeared in the
fourth series
Fourth or the fourth may refer to:
* the ordinal form of the number 4
* ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971
* Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision
* Fourth (music), a musical interval
* ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
of "''
I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!''". Harvey walked out of the jungle after six days due to the passing of his grandmother.
On 17 March 2007, Harvey performed a song entitled "I Can" for ''
Making Your Mind Up'', the United Kingdom's national final for the
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
. The song was written by singer
Conner Reeves. Harvey was eliminated after the first round of voting and the eventual winners were
Scooch.
In 2014, he released a new single, "Invisible".
In 2019, he was making music with rapper Cryptik Soul. He was featured in the song "A Ghetto Luv Story" on Cryptik Soul's album ''Killer's Blood''. The album was supported by the singles "Come & Save Me" and "Bang 'Em Up" which also featured Harvey.
Personal life
Harvey was married to dancer Natasha Carnegie with whom he has a daughter.
On 12 December 2001, Harvey was attacked with a knife in a club car park in
Nottingham.
In May 2005, after being diagnosed with
clinical depression, Harvey was hospitalised after an alleged suicide attempt.
On 31 May 2005, he was re-admitted to hospital in a critical condition after falling under the wheels of his own car.
In an interview with
GMTV
GMTV (an acronym for Good Morning Television), now legally known as ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited, was the name of the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor/licensee, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 ...
, Harvey described reversing his
Mercedes-Benz and suddenly feeling sick as the result of eating too many
jacket potatoes, and after opening the door to vomit he accidentally stepped on the accelerator pedal instead of the brake, which resulted in him being thrown under the moving car.
Discography
Studio albums
East 17
* 1992 – ''
Walthamstow
Walthamstow ( or ) is a large town in East London, east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London and the Historic counties of England, ancient county of Essex. Situated northeast of Chari ...
''
* 1994 – ''
Steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
''
* 1995 – ''
Up All Night''
E-17
* 1998 – ''
Resurrection''
Solo
*2002: ''Solo''
Singles
*2000: "
True Step Tonight" (
True Steppers featuring Brian Harvey and
Donell Jones) – No. 25
UK
*2001: "
Straight Up (No Bends)
"Straight Up (No Bends)" is the debut solo single by East 17 singer Brian Harvey. The single was released on 23 April 2001 and reached #26 on the UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the up ...
" – No. 26 UK
*2001: "
Loving You (Ole Ole Ole)
"Loving You (Ole Ole Ole)" is the second single from Brian Harvey's debut solo album, ''Solo''. The track is a collaboration with The Refugee Crew. The single was released on 15 October 2001, reaching #20 on the UK Singles Chart.
Music video
...
" (Brian Harvey and
The Refugee Crew) – No. 20 UK
*2002: "Senorita"
*2007: "I Can"
*2010: "Going Backwardz"
*2019: "Come & Save Me" (Cryptik Soul featuring Brian Harvey and Shotti)
*2019: "Bang 'Em Up" (Cryptik Soul featuring The Styles Of L, Kryptic and Brian Harvey)
*2023: "Imitation Love" (Rocket Dubz featuring Brian Harvey)
*2024: "NyteRidaz" (Cryptik Soul featuring Shotti and Brian Harvey)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harvey, Brian
1974 births
Living people
English male singers
English pop singers
East 17 members
Singers from London
Sony Music Publishing artists
British contemporary R&B singers
People educated at Sir George Monoux College