Steps - Scared of the Dark

OP, Thanks so much for introducing me! Honestly, I somehow managed to never know them before, but I thought this was pretty great.

So Claire has slimmed down again. Surprised the awful H was invited back. Their reunion clips on Youtube are a good watch. Especially the roundtable bitchfest they had at each other.

That was fun. Didn't know them at all. A good remix would make it kickass.

I'm assuming the gay guy is the one who kept his T-shirt on? That was lame.

R1 Their gimmick was that each of their songs had a simple dance routine. In any British gay club from 1997 - 2002, if they played a Steps song literally the entire dance floor would do the dance in unison.

This is their signature song, it's a cover of Tragedy by the BeeGees.

This is them talking about why they split up. I felt sad when it turned out they hated each other.

I was obsessed with this song as a kid.

Were they the ones with the TV show?

Nope, that was S Club 7.

In Andrea Arnold's Oscar winning short film WASP the main character is a Beckham-worshipping, impoverished young single mum wants a night in the pub with her dream man (played by Danny Dyer!). She can't find a sitter so she takes the kids along and stashes them in the car park out of sight. She can't afford food so she buys them a packet of crisps and performs the dance to Steps' 5,6,7,8 to keep them happy before sneaking back to her man.

Lee was such a hot piece of ass. I admit I liked Steps' ABBA-lite music but I stuck with them as long as I did because I lusted after Lee.

H was a right little cunt. I despised him then, I despised him after watching that reunion programme and I despise him now. Nasty, vicious, evil little Welsh slut. Mind you, I wanted to hug Faye and Claire so much after that. Lisa? Well, no. She always reminded me of a Pekinese...

r8, thank you. Completely blanked.

Me too R6

My fav is It's The Way You Make Me Feel. The dance is dope.

Tomasz is a big fan too:

Who tf is Tomasz? LUL

R16: here ya go -

There are previews of the songs on their new album on their instagram page. Story of a Hear is written be Benny Andersson!

One of them was in the West End JOSEPH. H, maybe. I'm not sure what he was billed as.

R11 It always seemed like Lisa felt very entitled to pop stardom. Which was ironic as she had the weakest voice in the group.

Just bumping this to say their album Tears on the Dancefloor managed to get:

#2 Official album chart

#1 Official download album chart

#1 Official sales album chart

#2 Official physical album chart

#7 Official vinyl album chart

#28 Official streaming album chart

Weirdly, their Ultimate Collection re-charted in the top 20 at #16. Meanwhile, Scared of the Dark peaked inside the top 10, but only at #8. Which isn't brilliant, but it had zero radio airplay and the album is selling well, so I doubt they're too bothered..

OP, I loved bubblegum pop. Steps, S Club 7 & 8 and less bubblegum type Blue. That's a fun Steps video you posted.

I would have loved for S Club 7 to do new material like Steps. S Club keeps recycling the same songs the few times there has been a reunion. Jo, Bradley and Tina are now doing S Club 3 gigs at pubs. Same songs like S Club Party.

I never could get past Jo O'Meara's racist behaviour and remarks (and chain smoking) on Celebrity Big Brother. Especially when she imitated her accent and laughed! That's why I say "would have loved" if they did new material. She and Bradley have performed at Gay Pride parades but that's not a pass for CBB.

I follow Paul Cattermole on Twitter. He should of had a bigger career.

The video is the embarrassing reunion for SC7 when they performed at a Children in Need fundraiser. Jo's smoking caught up with her.

Who the hell would think that racket of noise upon noise in OP's linked video is good stuff?

[quote] Who the hell would think that racket of noise upon noise in OP's linked video is good stuff?

I do. Plus, the 17k who gave it a thumbs up on yt. No worries if it's not your brand.

This is Story of a Heart, written by Abba.

With their risky-dink production values and unthreatening lack of attractiveness, Steps were perfect for people who found Sonia and Big Fun too urban and sophisticated.

Was that guy always called "Ian H Watkins", or is the "H" a recent addition to distinguish himself from the lostprophets paedo, Ian Watkins?

Back in their prime he just went by "H" but that might have been for the same reason, to avoid confusion with the other Ian Watkins. That guy wasn't a known sex offender then, just in much cooler bands than Steps.

Thanks, R28

Their new song Neon Blue is out. H is totally looking his age, and they even gave Lee a line!

They're currently in concert, supported by Vengaboys, Aqua, and Blue!

Is Lee the straight one? If he is, it figures...

Who is the fat gay blond?

In that reunion video when Lisa said there was favoritism, H turned and replied "I can see why you would think that." I LIVE for shade like that!

Her post-Steps single:

This is Lisa's song Electric that ended her solo pop career.

She had taken part in a reality TV show about her trying to get a hit, and she'd agreed to publicity that if she didn't get in the Top 10 hit, she'd quit pop. It duly enterd the chart at, I think, 13, and she was very upset about it. It fucking funny.

Why do people hate H?

He's the only one I know since I used to watch Celebrity Big Brother and he was a somewhat funny contestant. He sang a parody version of Never Going to Give You Up and also revealed some gossip about a supposedly womanizing music star who was always propositioning him. I'd never even heard of Steps, but they were never popular in the U.S.

CBB was also where I first heard of "Lady Sov," but I'm pretty sure that was a seperate year. She seemed quite nice in spite of her allegedly "difficult" reputation.

Speaking of CBB, WTF ever happened to "Basshunter?" Is he still a thing?

Wow you just sent me hurtling down memory lane OP. I remember Steps...and S Club 7, Vengaboys, Aqua, and of course 5ive. I never liked any of them but I will admit I seem to remember most of their songs.

R36 I think Basshunter gave up singing a few years ago and produces now.

Thanks, r38.

R39 He also hit his 30s hard.

Lee is HOTTT!!!

Love Steps. Agree H was/is a little shit and got the face he deserved. Claire looks and sounds great. Lee is hot as fuck and is aging like a fine wine.

I'm surprised, though, that Scared of the Dark wasn't a bigger hit in the UK. It's one of their best songs.

I think they may have waited too long to finally give the reunion the big effort. They actually reunited a few years ago but you could tell they weren't really into it.

They just released a beautiful 6-disc set called Party on the Dancefloor of their recent tour.

Wow, great pick, thanks!

(When I read this thread's title, I thought it'd be about Tre45onous Tramp's literal downfall since he's apparently afraid of steps...)

Of course the hot brunet is straight while the dumpy doughy blond is gay....

R42 My vague recollection is that it was revealed that H had been sleeping with the band's manager the entire time behind the other members' back -- didn't go over well.

I saw them in concert in London last week and they were so much fun. (I'm American, btw)… but why does the gay one have to be my least favorite member? :-/

No-one liked H. Even when he was young.

H was kinda cute… 20 years ago…

R45, yeah, H tried to pull a Diane Ross and hog the limelight by sleeping with their manager.

H and Claire teamed up as a duo after the group split. What a dumb decision.

OP, why not just turn on a light?

R9 how grim is that. Is the director a rich cunt?

I have never heard of them but I live for this kind of pop. Buying the new album tomorrow. Any other British or European groups in the same style? I’m still listening to Charlotte Peretti after discovering her on DL.

I might enjoy it drunk in skanky disco. British schlager music.

R49, they prolly thought they were the main attractions and figured they'd be able to make more money by only splitting it in half instead of five ways.

H and Claire's song DJ was okay. Her bits were the best of course.

Lisa Scott-Lee was beyond tragic. Anyone remembers that reality show which was supposed to be the lead-up to launching a hit single and a successful solo career, only to flop massively? Oh, I stand corrected - it was a Top 10 hit in South Africa!

I didn't think Lisa's song was that bad. But I did enjoy her discomfort at promising to quite music if it didn't go top 10 and then not getting top 10, which was really fucking funny.

H & Claire recorded another post-ABBA Benny & Bjorn song, "Another You, Another Me." It's a beautiful song but Claire's screeching in the choruses is painful and it doesn't really work as a duet.

H and Claire seem a little bit more humble now. But post-breakup they seemed like such assholes. And Claire's weight went up (way up) and down. The group seems like they are in a better place now.

Scared of the Dark, Dancing with a Broken Heart, Story of a Heart and Neon Blue are all great singles and better than anything on that shitfest Light up the World.

These guys are so much better than the Spice Girls… I mean, come on!!!

Claire's releasing a solo single, with an album later in the year.

"5,6,7,8" was wildly popular when I visited London in the summer of 1998. You couldn't walk into a gay bar or club without hearing it. I learned all the words and dance moves, because it was such a fun song. (Thanks for posting the link to it, R6.)

And understand one thing: I'm usually not like that.

I was actually surprised on my return to the US to discover that no one had heard of either Steps or their catchy tune. A couple of years later I was at a casual party given by a gay friend who lives in my neighborhood in Santa Barbara. There was recorded music in the background. All of a sudden I heard the fiddle introduction, followed by, "It's time to begin, now count it in…" and I leapt—LEAPT, I tell you—to my feet, began the line dance (by myself) and sang all the lyrics. (I know. "MARY!," right?)

Understand one other thing: at the time, I was in my mid-40s, and I was the youngest person at the party.

I never told anyone in attendance how or why I happened to be so familiar with such an obscure song from outside the US that no one here has seemingly heard of. Sometimes it's nice to just keep people confused.

I want to thank you OP for this thread. I’ve never heard of them but I’m obsessed now. Just bought the new album. Very fun dance music that I’ve been looking for.

Great story r62. I've always been fascinated by the "divide" in music between the U.K. and the U.S. Something like Chain Reaction by Diana Ross was huge in the U.K. but a flop in the States. Jennifer Rush's The Power of Love was a number one smash in the U.K. but Laura Branigan and Celine Dion's versions did better in the States.

Then the groups: Steps, S Club 7, Girls Aloud, Blue, Take That, Boyzone, Five, Five Star, etc. Some of them had a little success in the States; most of them had none.

Steps did a cover of Chain Reaction.

I love Steps, Girls Aloud and Sugababes. I'm kind of glad they weren't popular here but at the same time I wish I could have seen them live.

r65 good point.

It's a shame the regrouped Sugababes didn't take off.

Video

I saw Steps live in the US - they opened for Britney Spears on her first US tour at an amusement park in VA. They were brainless fun then and still are now.

Steps' new live album is quite good. They do all their vocals live.

They all sound great live and I love their whole presentation.

Looks like a fun summer tour.

Lisa's really starting to look middle aged.

Give me Lee, naked, on a platter.

Claire is a fat girl's name.

Claire - fabulous voice. Here's Claire pre-Steps in short-lived girl group TSD.

I tried to convince my ex to see Steps with me last year and very nearly managed to when I told him Vengaboys were the supporting act but he still ended up refusing.

Lee at his hunkiest

One of the classic moments of British television was Lisa Scott Lee being forced by MTV to either score a top 10 hit or quit pop forever as part of her reality show, culminating in a live special in which her chart placing was announced (number 13) while confetti rained down on her head.

I saw them last month. Lee is so fit and trim… he looks very pretty as he does his little dance moves.

Steps were originally planned to be based around Lisa and H - in fact, the original line up had three different members other than Lee, Faye and Claire. For whatever reason the producers decided to go in a different direction and held more auditions. Maybe that's where Lisa's sense of entitlement comes from. How humiliating it must have been when they found two other girls who could sing circles around her.

I like Faye more than Claire.

r83 Faye is underrated. I think her tone is slightly more appealing than Claire. I like Claire and like her voice, but sometimes her voice is too strong and lacks nuance.

I agree, Faye has a great voice. She's also very pretty and has a lovely personality.

Here's the full clip (@ 4:24) where a majority of MTV viewers vote for Lisa to drop out of the music business. This is sooo cringeworthy.

Poor Lisa though.

@ 10:42, announcing that Lisa failed to make the Top 10.

Yikes!

Marry me, r62!

Claire promises it isn't the end for Steps.

Steps were a HUGE GapKids favorite!!!!!!!

Their CLASSIC "Happy Go Lucky" is on the September 2001, May 2002, and June 2003 GapKids In-Store Playlists!!!

"Deeper Shade Of Blue" is on the July 2000 GapKids In-Store Playlist!

[Quote] Then the groups: Steps, S Club 7, Girls Aloud, Blue, Take That, Boyzone, Five, Five Star, etc. Some of them had a little success in the States; most of them had none.

ALL of those groups were GapKids staples in 1999 to 2005!

H is morphing into Sir Elton.

Which one did the cover of Kylie Minogue's "Better the Devil You Know"?

R94, they did the "Better The Devil You Know" cover as a group.

Claire's solo album comes out this Friday. Faye is currently on Strictly Come Dancing.

I should have known that Lee was the hetero one and dumpy looking "H" was the gay one. Such rotten luck.

That cover of Better the Devil You Know was ill-advised. Never really took off in the States but Tragedy and One For Sorrow got some airtime in the gay bars. That Lee is a cutie.

Lee is still as cute as ever!

Lisa's aging rapidly.

This is weird that this thread got bumped - I was just watching one of the Steps Reunion episodes earlier.

Faye is in the finals of Strictly Come Dancing (Dancing with the Stars).

Claire's solo album entitled "My Wildest Dreams" comes out tomorrow... at long last.

The album cover is like a parody of Frau Realness.

One of the reasons I like DL, besides the snarky bitchiness, is threads like this. I had never heard of the Steps and now I’m crazy about them. Fun dance pop is actually hard to find. I love Claire and just got her new album. I’d love to see them live.

According to Claire in a recent interview, Steps will start recording their next album this summer and release it next year.

Although Steps really never took off here in the States, I was aware of them via “Tragedy”, and always thought Lee was such a cutie. He still looks great, as R98 indicates. H ... not so much. And those white trousers were ill-advised!

Yeah, Lee is as cute as ever!

BTW, Claire is opening for Céline Dion at her London concert this summer.

I'm sorry this music is terrible. The dance moves on anyone, especially middle-aged adults is just tragic. That said, I;m loving this thread and hearing about turn of the century gay pop.

All the queens in the audience.

Claire was in a girl group called TSD before Steps. They released some singles in Japan, one of them was a cover of "Baby I Love You" by The Ronettes.

I used to get them mixed up with the Vengaboys

So the blond guy is the mean gay one?