Whatever happened to... Steps?

With a succession of hits cheesier than Wayne Rooney's socks after a hard day's training, Steps notched up 15 million album sales in the late 90s, finding fame and fortune across the globe. But despite the matching outfits, fixed smiles and carefully choreographed dance routines, it was just too good to last. Aiming to set the world alight as a duo, band members H and Claire decided to pack it all in on Boxing Day 2001 and Steps were no more. With Lisa still hoping to return to the top ten and Faye off the radar, we called up Lee - now a trained fitness instructor - to relive some memories.

Why do you think Steps were so popular?
"I think we were something different. Abba and Bucks Fizz were around before us but there hadn't been a mixed boy-girl band for quite some time. We had something you either loved or hated. Although saying that, we did have a hell of a lot of closet fans! I think we were really open and honest and not trying to be cool. It was cheesy pop, but it was clever and that's why it worked."

How do you rate the music you released?
"To be honest I actually loved some of our songs and would have bought a few if I wasn't singing on them. I think 'It's The Way You Make Me Feel' was a really nice, classic ballad. 'Deeper Shade Of Blue' was also a really big song for us because it started to pull in a different type of fan for us. I never hated any of them though."

What's your favourite memory of being in Steps?
"I don't mean this in a big-headed way but we did so much that it's hard to think of one particular thing! Obviously winning a Brit Award was an amazing achievement. I think we thoroughly deserved it after losing out the previous year to Belle & Sebastian. Travelling around lots of different countries and meeting all our fans was always really cool. Once when we were in South East Asia, 64 armed security guards had to make a tunnel for us to walk through because our fans were so mad. Those unreal things stand out to me."

You split up when you were still very popular. Why did that happen?
"When some people have something on their mind that they want to do, then they'll do it and you can't really stop them. It came as a real shock to me. It was all very sudden and I would have liked to have done it differently. I would have apologised to the fans and had a proper goodbye to thank everyone for their support."

What are the chances of a Steps comeback?
"We get asked this a lot and it's a difficult one to answer. To be honest we didn't talk much after we split up and it's only recently that we've all started to become friends again. Claire's wedding was a turning point when we were all photographed together for the first time. A reunion definitely could happen, but it would have to be the right time and nothing has been spoken about properly yet. We've had time apart and there's water under the bridge so never say never."

Click 'play' below to watch the video to 'Deeper Shade Of Blue':



What was your favourite Steps song? Would you like to see them make a comeback? Use the space below to leave your comments.