He rose to fame as a 90s boyband heartthrob and sang on one of the most iconic Christmas tunes of all time.
But now, John Hendy has swapped his days of live performing and globetrotting for a surprisingly normal job.
Now aged 55, the former pop star was an original member of East-17 alongside Tony Mortimer, Brian Harvey, and Terry Coldwell, founding the band in Walthamstow in 1991.
They went on to score 18 top 20 singles and four top 10 albums, becoming one of the UK’s most popular boybands during the early to mid-90s.
At the time, they were seen as an edgier version of Take That, with their shaved heads and tattoos, and their music was more political and influenced by hip-hop and R&B.
Of course, East-17’s most famous track remains 1994’s Christmas number one, Stay Another Day, which, despite its devastating backstory (Tony penned the tune about his brother’s suicide), has stood the test of time and reentered the charts year after year.
But despite what Hugh Grant’s character in About A Boy (2002) made us believe, it’s not always possible to live off the royalties of a festive single forever, with John now earning a living via manual labour.
On social media, he documents his revived career as a roofer, a job he had before his East-17 days.
With 6,000 TikTok followers, he films his trade, hosts livestreams to chat to fans, and posts sweet videos with his wife and kids.
In one video, John films himself working on a roof in Lewisham, hi-vis jacket on and tools in hand.
He’s in high spirits, clearly enjoying his work eight years after officially leaving East-17.
Not that anyone forgets his roots, of course, as fans in the comments often recognise John and ask about his boyband days.
‘I still listen to easy17 songs on YouTube nearly every day… can’t believe you just popped up on here 🙌’, @lins00004 commented on one video.
‘literally if you turned up scaffolding id still ask for your autograph east17 was my teens !’, said @myemarvzf5n.
Others have declared John a ‘proper grafter’ and an ‘amazing person’, but his followers have also questioned where his ‘millions’ are.
East-17 band members
East-17 has gone through a number of iterations, with Terry Coldwell the only constant member. The current lineup includes:
- Terry Coldwell
- Robbie Craig
- Joe Livermore
Past members include:
- John Hendy
- Brian Harvey
- Tony Mortimer
- Blair Dreelan
- Terry John
‘no hate . but how is this guy still working when he sold the records he did . he should be retired and living it up somewhere hot . great resurrection album e17’, @chrishaslam1 said.
‘Nothing but respect for this man – royalties and fair distribution should see him retired and taking life easy – very unfair but what a lovely guy – humble ♥️’, added @riaannsi.
Alas, despite their popularity and maintaining a strong fanbase, East-17 made £125 per week each in their early days. Their late manager, Tom Watkins, increased their wage by £25 every four months.
And while Tony, the band’s frontman and songwriter, continues to pocket an estimated £97,000 each year from Stay Another Day, John, Brian, and Terry were not included in the royalties.
Consequently, John has fallen on hard times in recent years and has spoken openly about his bank balance being a far cry from what fans might assume.
During the coronavirus pandemic, he and his family had to move into a hostel for 18 months.
Still, he’s insisted he has ‘no regrets’ and thinks it’s important to ‘get a grip’, rather than dwell on what he might have had.
Speaking to the Daily Mail in January 2025, he said: ‘I haven’t even got a house, and people think you’re millionaires and that, and I’m thinking, “I don’t even got a house out of it.”
‘We should have all come out with a house, at least.’
On why he wouldn’t swap places with his wealthier mates, though, he added: ‘It’s people’s dream, innit? We’ve had the dream.’
‘Obviously, people say, “Oh yeah, you know, it’s hard work, and it does this, and it does that.”
‘But at the end of the day, you wanted to be in the band; you want to become famous, so it’s part and parcel. You can’t have one thing and not the other sort of thing.’
‘I do get it, like, when people say, “Oh, get a grip,” and that, because when I look at footballers, I think the amount of money they’re on, like, £300,000 a week, and you’re like, “How do you justify that?” I just think they’re overpaid,’ he also said.
Ultimately, John left the group after falling out with Terry and new member Robbie Craig. In 2023, Terry expressed doubts that a reunion with the original four would ‘ever happen’.
‘No one talks in the band, not one member,’ he revealed.
Having undergone several lineup changes over the years, Terry is the only original member remaining. A version of East-17 continues to perform at nostalgia events.
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