More about: Steps

Steps, of course, are a British pop band who formed in the late 90s. Its members - Claire Richards, Ian 'H' Watkins, Faye Tozer, Lisa Scott-Lee and Lee Latchford-Evans - auditioned for a place after seeing an advert in the newspaper back in 1997. They quickly skyrocketed through the charts, both nationally and internationally, with tracks like '5,6,7,8' and 1999's BeeGee's cover 'Tragedy'. Fast forward 23 years and the group have the potential to be just as huge. 

Due to the current state of affairs, we have to conduct our interview with Steps over Zoom, though this does mean that all members of the band are present and correct from the comfort of their own homes. H is the first to speak. "Everyone says it’s a comeback but it’s not really," he grins. "Even though you don’t always see us, we’re constantly being creative so there’s work bubbling behind the scenes.”

“The seed [for the new album] was planted on the last tour: one of our singles ‘What the Future Holds’ landed on our management’s desk and that was the catalyst for this whole campaign. So it’s been 3 years in the making. The reaction has just been incredible!" he continues.

We ask Claire to talk us through the new album and how Steps have brought new elements to their sound. “I think the last album we made a real conscious effort to make as many bangers as we could - it was all up-tempo and there was nothing slow on there - so with this album we’ve recorded a few ballads. 'What the Future Holds’ is very much new Steps and ‘Something In Your Eyes’ is a real nod back to the music we did originally in the 90s.”

"It's got an ABBA-esque feel to it" she continues, referencing a band that have had plenty of influence on Steps: their 2001 Greatest Hits collection was, like ABBA, named Gold, while the quintet have performed ABBA medleys in the past. “It’s just real, full-on, in your face pop music" she finishes.

There's plenty still that references the Steps dedication to in your face pop, one being the video for ‘What the Future Holds’, a futuristic visual with lots of neon lights, choreo and sparkly outfits. “It just lends itself to it doesn’t it?" Claire smiles. "The title opens up that door for a creative that does put it in the future. It’s funny: someone said to me that the original Mad Max movie was set in 2020. It’s not quite as neon as we are but it has got a little bit of that feel to it to me.”

To be a pop band as loved as when they first started out over 20 years ago is a huge feat, especially considering how much things have changed since then. “There was no internet, no social media...we used to travel up and down the country to do bits of promo and nowadays you can just do what we’re doing now – we can be on Zoom, we can hit millions and millions of people within one little video tape and put it out there for the world to see” Lee tells us. “As well as that, we’re not just putting nostalgia music out to say thank you, we’re saying 'come on board, let’s get some new fans and let’s keep it going.' It actually feels amazing and we’re very lucky and blessed to still be doing what we love.” 

Though it's been three years since Steps' last album Tears On The Dancefloor, they have not stopped working. All the while, whether they were on our screens and our stages or not, there was always stuff in the pipeline and work to be done. "We’re always looking 2 to 3 years ahead", Lee says, "obviously a lot of things have changed this year due to Covid, but we’re always looking to the future and thinking ‘what can we do next? Will there be another album? Will there be a summer tour?’ We’re happy to keep on as long as the fans want us!”

For many, Steps were the soundtrack of a childhood: millennials grew up learning the dance routine to ‘5, 6, 7, 8’ and hearing 'Tragedy' on the radio. But what was it like on the other side? Steps were, after all, thrown into the showbiz deepend. Lisa talks us through the audition process, spotlighting it as a day that sticks out to them all: down to the outfits they had on, they remember it all. “Quite quickly we met with Pete Waterman [record producer] and we were offered our record deal which was incredible; we were kids, I was 20 when I auditioned for Steps and I found out on my 21st birthday [that I’d made it into the band]. It’s just things like that you’ll never forget.”

Waterman told them “hold on tight kids, this is a rocket and it’s gonna go off,” and it’s still going off to this day. “He kind of gave us that foresight then and he had that belief in us and saw the potential in Steps. Being so young we weren’t sure what to expect and hearing ‘5, 6, 7, 8’ at the audition I was thinking 'what is this?!' It’s either going to be a really big hit or it’s going to be a flop. It could’ve gone either way. Fortunately for us it was a big hit and it was in the charts for 14 or so weeks. So many weeks! It did really mark our place in the pop industry.”

Ever-changing, the music industry can be a hard beast to keep up with. Faye admits they’re definitely not trying to compete with anyone else though. “When we choose our songs, we choose it for the fans, when we have all those demos on the table we’re really considerate to think about what they want to hear. We agree to a certain extent what we need to deliver. As for the sound of it and whether it’s relevant and whether it stands up to other people’s pop music I think that’s down to production, and as long as we put down some really great vocals and it’s got that Steps sound we’re good.”

The Steps sound is also a Steps experience. H in particular is vocal about the atmosphere their music and shows want to create. “We’ve always said we have an open door policy: the Steps world is all-inclusive. It doesn’t matter how you identify! Come to a Steps concert and live your best life and be your authentic self. That’s what it’s all about, bringing people together and flying the flag for humanity.” 

“I think the word I would use is probably ‘camp’, we’re camptastic!” he adds.

Gearing up to an album release and a supposed tour when the whole world is in lockdown isn’t easy for anyone, and making decisions to postpone said events doesn’t come without its hardships. What the Future Holds was originally due to be released in March before we were all flung into chaos. But it's a positive note that Steps strike. One of gratitude, positivity and light. "[The lockdown] is changing everyone’s perspectives. We’re definitely using social media a lot more...it brings more interaction with our fans which is great as they’re the ones who keep us here.”

What The Future Holds arrives 27 November via BMG.

More about: Steps