Steps are back with a new Christmas themed album, which also houses their first new song together as a band for more than a decade.
One of the biggest pop bands of the late 1990s suffered a rather tumultuous spilt in the early noughties, but were brought back together in a documentary series last year before heading out on a sell-out arena tour.
With another, smaller tour planned, we talked to the group about the reunion and look back at the past.
The new single Light Up The World is the first new track you have recorded in eleven years, what made you choose that one?
Faye - We were listening to a few of the tracks for this album and it was one of the first tracks we heard that everyone was unanimous about and we all thought it was a brilliant track. We didn’t have to make a decision, we just knew instantly that it was a great track for all of us. It’s very exciting. It was written by Karl Twigg and Topham, both guys that we worked with originally all those years ago, so it was a nice bridge to the new album.
What makes a great Christmas song for you guys?
Claire – It has to be like a winter warmer. I have to say I’m quite partial to a Christmas album; I’ve got quite a few in my collection.
Faye– Are they all Michael Buble?
Claire – Only two! I’ll probably have to buy the re-issued one he’s bringing out. My favourite though was one I had growing up on vinyl. It was a Disney one, and it had Goofy and Mickey Mouse singing Christmas songs. It was amazing!
Lisa – We do so much travelling as well I got to say I love to download Christmas albums just to travel home and get myself proper exciting.
Lee – Driving Home For Christmas, that’s the one for me!
The new tour’s got a new feel to it right?
Lee – Yeah, we’ve got a live band for a start that we’ve never had before and it’s going to have lots of Christmas songs from our little album Light Up The World as well as some of the old hits. So it’s almost like an ‘Evening with Steps’ style of show rather than the big arena spectacle that we’re used to putting on.
What was it like then doing the arena tour and seeing all those fans every time?
Lisa – I think it’s been incredible, we were blown away by the support we had and it was quite emotional as well because it’s been ten years, so it was very special and I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.
You just recently did a massive dance-a-long to Tragedy in front of a massive crowd wearing masks of yourselves. What was that like?
Lee – One word; surreal. It was a bit weird.
Faye – It was exciting that when we came back with this reunion tour that so many people remembered the choreography and it was really good fun to get close to the public and finish off the world record of the most people doing the dance. It was great fun.
Last year you had the reality show where you all buried the hatchet. Was it odd doing that on-camera?
Claire - I’m sure most people would have preferred to do it behind closed doors but I think it was like therapy in a way. It was good for all of us and it enabled us to draw a line underneath everything that had happened and for us to be able to move on to a brighter future.
So Lee, is it true that you and H hadn’t spoken in about seven years?
Lee- It was a long time yeah. I think of everyone in Steps, I think it was H who I hadn’t spoken to the longest so it was probably an important thing to do. It was so good to do too and everything changed for me at that meeting, he just couldn’t keep his hands off me (H roars with laughter).
H – And Lee loved it!
Lee – So now we’re more than friends…. (continues to laugh)
Did you know that it’s nearly the fifteenth anniversary of ‘5,6,7,8’ coming out? What are your memories looking back at that?
Claire – Memories though, I think I’ve blocked most of them out actually!
Faye – 5,6,7,8 was literally the beginning of everything for us, getting to know each other, doing the video in Spain…
Claire – My very first hangover…
Lee – My memory of 5,6,7,8 is all of us wearing red and black, which is the same as we’ re weari ng today.
Do you ever have a chuckle looking back at the old music videos?
Lisa – Yeah, but it’s funny looking back because sometimes I wonder what we were thinking there, but it was all good fun. Every song we liked to have a different colour scheme and we experimented with various hairstyles, some better than others, but it was all good fun.
Finishing up then, Light Up The World is out now, but are there any plans for a full comeback album?
Faye – We’re taking this one album at a time, we’re very excited that we’ve got this one out and we just hope that people enjoy this. We need to take a little break too, think about new music. We’re doing something brand new with the tour so that’s what we’re concentrating on.
Light Up The World (both the album and the single) are out now.
FemaleFirst Cameron Smith
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