Stay Another Day

Year: 1994

Written By: Tony Mortimer

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East 17 released this Christmas track in 1994 and it was met with immediate a huge success. The song was a hit around the world, securing the number one spot in many countries. This was to be the British pop band's only UK number one. The band's lead songwriter Tony Mortimer wrote the song which later won him an Ivor Novello song writing award. The song was released on Monday 21^st November.

From East 17's second album, 'Steam', it was the third released single and East 17's first ballad. When talking about this song, Tony Mortimer describes how this song is about his brother Ollie who had previously committed suicide. While Mortimer was the main song writer, he was aided in composition of this song by song writer Dominic Hawken (he was once Boy George's keyboard player) and by his co-manager Rob Kean.

'Stay Another Day' paints a Christmas feeling to the song; this is helped by the inclusion of Christmas bells on the track. This addition no doubt helps alert people to the fact that the song is being advertised as a Christmas song. Although the song features bells, the song is unusual in that there are almost no drums throughout the song; the end of the track features a small inclusion from the timpani.

The most notable cover of this Christmas hit has come from Girls Aloud, when they covered this song as a B-side to their debut single, 'Sound of the Underground'. Glasvegas have produced a notable cover of the song.

'Stay Another Day' had an excellent chart performance round the world. Released on 21^st November in 1994, it first entered the charts at a respectable number seven, however, by the following week, the song had climbed up to number one, a position where it was to remain for five weeks. This performance meant 'Stay Another Day' became the 1994 Christmas number one and the large sales meant it was the third best-selling single for 1994. In the UK alone, the song sold 778,000 copies, meaning it went platinum in the UK. As well as being certified Platinum in the UK, it was also certified Gold in; Austria, Germany and Sweden. The Christmas classic was also number one in Sweden, Ireland and Denmark.