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noyed me, as a fan appointed.” ngle Scared Of The doesn’t disappoint the bombastic ir biggest hits. ming it: “If I wasn’t ld love this record!” in: “It’s so nice rd that we want to and again.” “ABBA on speed”, in 1997 and scored top five singles. e first reformed in ky Living TV show n. grievances caused e splitting up Steps 2001. t plaster off was e,” admits H. “It’s ul now because it’s e bridge. happier place and keep this going.” After two decades they still look shiny and amazing, even if they have swapped pop for Pampers.
“When we look in the mirror we see tired parents,” sighs Faye, despite her faultless complexion.
“People go: ‘Don’t you look well’ but we don’t look like this at 7am!”
The father of twin boys, H is not quite as hyperactive as he once was either: “What is lovely is that most of us are parents now and we all understand and support each other.
“I’m at the early stages of parenthood, so we were talking about milk this morning and weaning them off, it’s not very rock ‘n’ roll.”
Steps have been plotting their 20th anniversary celebration, including a tour, for two years.
“It’s lucky we did because it’s taken us so long,” laughs Faye. “We had over a hundred songs submitted for this album and decided what we thought the fans would like.”
The album Tears On The Dancefloor follows next month and it was a revelation for Claire.
She explains: “It’s the first time that we have ever chosen our own songs, back in the day we were told: ‘You sing this.’
Streaming
“I think our input has been the lynchpin that made it all come together so perfectly.
“Everyone has their idea of what they think Steps is, but we know how our voices blend and that made a great Steps record.”
Of course the pop landscape has changed in 2017, so will they mind not rubbing shoulders with Ed Sheeran in the Top 10?
Technophobe H concedes: “We are learning how this works with streaming – it’s not about chart positions anymore.” Claire adds: “We want Steps to be Top 5 still but we never depended on radio play anyway back in the day.
“The only time we got played on the big radio stations was when they had to because we were in the Top 10.”
What they are doing is bringing a bit of fun back to pop.
Lisa agrees: “We are not here to get into the politics but what we can offer is escapism and a bit of positivity in people’s lives.
“Music takes you to another place and time.”
Naturally there will be a cheesy new dance routine to go with the single in time for its debut on Saturday Night Takeaway.
“We are learning it this week,” Faye says excitedly.
¬ÊTickets go on sale today for the tour, which kicks off in Dublin on November 13 and hits 14 cities across the UK and Ireland.