Steps look back on the highs and lows of their chart-topping career as they celebrate 25 years of pop excellence.
The group launched into the charts in November, 1997 with their techno line dancing anthem 5,6,7,8 and went on score No. 1s with Tragedy, Heartbeat and Stomp.
However, things could have been very different for the Fab Five, as Lisa Scott-Lee – who was an original member of the band alongside Ian ‘H’ Watkins – admits the group wouldn’t have survived if they stuck with the initial line-up of Derek O’Brien, Maddy Chan, and Mitch Stevens.
“Myself and H were found, if you like, from the first set of auditions. And there was an alternative line-up,” she tells Retro Pop’s September 2022 issue. “In all honesty I don’t think it would have been the right line-up.
“The three other members at the time were more into a different genre of music, more into R&B – they were not into pop. So they were more into, probably in their words, slightly ‘cooler’ music, and me and H, we didn’t mind – we love our pop and we were very proud to represent this new pop group.”
Following a second set of auditions, Claire Richards, Faye Tozer and Lee Latchford-Evans were drafted in, and she insists: “That was the day that Steps was born – the Steps as we know it.
“I think we all remember it; it’s like an iconic day now, it’s gonna be engraved in our memory forever, because it was the first day that we all met together,” adds Lisa. “Me and H went along to help pick and the three guys stood out. It was definitely the right fit.
“We all have the same kind of vision and ethos and work ethic, and we have so much in common. It was the right thing to do.”
Over two decades into their career, it’s a triumph for the group to be celebrating their impeccable catalogue in style. H adds: “When we released our first single, everybody laughed at us. All of the cool cats laughed at us. The record company big-wigs wanted us to go away and then with every single they laughed louder, they laughed harder.
“And then 25 years later, none of those cool cats are around, all those music execs have probably been ditched, and we’re still here.”
And when it comes to the next chapter in Steps’ legacy, Claire maintains the band is living in the moment with their ongoing summer tour – but insists there’s more to come.
“I think we’ve come to realise since we got back together in 2011 that it is good for us to have little gaps here and there,” she says. “It also reminds people of the whole nostalgia of Steps as well, which is a massive part of what we are. So, we don’t want to keep ramming ourselves down people’s throats.
“Once we’re done with all the summer shows to end this little chapter, we’ll start thinking about the next one…”
Read the full interview in the September 2022 edition of Retro Pop, out now. Order yours or subscribe via our Online Store or use our Store Finder to locate your nearest stockist.
