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Here is something to write about during my "extra hour" of overnight time as a result of the clocks going back: boy-and-girl groups are always popular and exciting to listen to and look at - a mixture of fine talent and sound. In the 1970s there was the Brotherhood of Man; in the 1980s there was Bucks Fizz; and in the late 1990s - well, there certainly were five segments of one of them: Lee Latchford-Evans; Faye Tozer; Lisa Scott-Lee; Claire Rchards; and of course, Ian "H" Watkins (please do not confuse him with anyone else called Ian Watkins); and they had reminded me of coming home at around 4.30 pm and drinking Sunny Delight stright from the chilled compartment of the fridge which was what 1998 was all about. Either that or the Good Friday agreement, or Richard Bacon departing from Blue Peter. Steps was what 1998 to 2001 was all about on anything from chat shows to comedy revues. Top of the Pops which was now on Friday evenings hosted the five-some quite bit during the final couple of years of the second millennium, and the first couple of years of the next one. According to the TV Pop Diaries website, they actually made their first TV appearance on Children in Need in 1997, rubbing shoulders with Boyzone and tbe Spice Girls. and songs like 5-6-7-8 (certainly very popular with children's birthday paries at the time), helped revive the keep-fit and line dancing craze in which Irene Cara and Olivia Newton-John (and Lionel Blair almost to a degree) was briefly responsible for around 15 years before. Top of the Pops kicked off 1998 with that song in the charts. They were refreshing, succulent, and made me think of floresent colours in the atmosphere. Perhaps it was the break that pop music had needed back then?
Guest appearances on TV ranged from a post-Easter 1998 appearance on The Freddie Starr Show in the same week as their new hit Last Thing On My Mind was seen on Top of the Pops aka their second home, just like a lot of chart acts. On Princess Beatrice's 10th birthday, they guested on the National Lottery - on Tour; (for Lotto anoraks everywhere: it was Lottery Number: 274 - the numbers for that draw were: 2; 5; 17; 21; 45; 47; and the bonus one was: 25); and they appeared again two weeks later - the same day as they appeared on Mashed. Eight days later, they appeared on Fully Booked (the show which forced Grange Hill repeats onto Saturday morning BBC 1 during the summer months). One for Sorrow was performed on the 1,800th edition of Top of the Pops 4th September. On 7th November they appeared on Live and Kicking (I think that the Lord Mayor's Show that year was on the following Saturday, although the Royal Festival of Remembrance which would otherwise be on the same day in most other years, was on that evening). The then HRH Prince Charles' 50th birthday saw them on Channel 4's The Vibe. The Pepsi Chart welcomed them on 18th November, and ironically for a group which performed on Children in Need the previous year, their first performance of the Bee Gees' cover version Tragedy was on the same edition of Top of the Pops which was shunted onto BBC 2 becaise of that year's charity menathon on the same time on BBC 1 - perhaps that would have been an arguement for Top of the Pops to return to Thursdays evenings like it was before 1997? Steps' Tragedy was a lot sexier than the Brothers Gibb's version, mostly because it was the late 1990s when it was made!
Just one week later and they were back on Britiain's Number One chart show (number one, geddit?) with Heartbeat (at which time, my own "heartbeat" was going all over the place, and it had nothing to do with Aidensfield in the 1960s or Morph). A pre-Christmas O Zone appearance three weeks before the big day; a "just after the omnibus edition etc..." Sunday afternoon treat of seeing them on the Smash Hits Poll Winners' Party on 13th December. Cleopatra invited them on their Christmas Eve special, and the Living and Kicking year review on Boxing Day., and going into January 1999, appeared on its Friday teatime spin-off. They were back on Saturday mornings, guesting with an almost "Sir" Elton John on 6th February. They made an appearance on the still Richard-and-Judy in residence This Morning on 8th February. The BRIT Awards on 17th February. Faye Tozer made a guest appearance on Never Mind the Buzzcocks two days later. Better Best Forgotten premiered on Top of the Pops in March (forgotten it isn't by Yours Truly). They were on Live and Kicking on 3rd April, and also that almost forgotten flop that was the Reeves and Mortimer game show Families at War, which is not to be confused with Happy Families (as in "crank up your Granny"). A Spring Bank Holiday special of Top of the Pops on the final day of May. A "Popumentary" (I am 99% certain that there's no such word in either the Chambers', Websters' or the Oxford dictionaries, be it sound like portmanteau, or not) of CD:UK on 26th June. They were on Gaytime TV (becaise of H, perhaps?) on 29th June. Three days later, and we woke up to them on GMTV. A CD:UK appearance along with Mel "G" - was that Mel B or Mel C? - I can't quite remember. Pop Zone and Fully Booked interviews happen in July; Love's Got A Hold On My Heart premiered on Top of the Pops in the same month. Andi Peters meet the group on Channel 4 on 6th September. Another appearance on This Morning in October, one day before Lisa and Lee host the Pepsi Chart Show on Channel 5. A guest appearance on Abbamania in November. And an appearance on (Dale's) Winton's Wonderland on Christmas Eve, performing a cover version of the Kyle Minogue number Better The Devil You Know (not to be confused with Sonia's 1993 Eurovision entry for the UK). And of course, a pre-Queen's Message appearance on Christmas Day Top of the Pops.
The main programme that I associate Steps (because it stands out so much in my memory and has such a strong influence on me - I was staying at a relative's house wen I saw it, and asking what the H in Watkins' name could actually stand for), was a TV special which was seen on ITV on Boxing Day (or as the 26th December was a Sunday that day, the day after Christmas Day, aka Christmas Sunday, for any pedants out there). It was called Stepping Out and was made by a now, defunct independent production company, Straight TV (which folded in around 2006-2007) for LWT. (The Videoplus+ code was: 7303046 if it helps). The group (aka our heroes, geddit again?) were appearing as themselves, although their real names were still often referred to as also being character names. They were portrayed as superheroes for some reason, and a young TV reporter, (who seemed to be dressed as if she was doing a "Stars in their Eyes" tribute to Sandy Olsson out of Grease, and looked as if she about to perform You're The One That I Want, even if the hairstyle was a bit too dark and in the wrong style), was curious about this fact and wanted to find out more about those five - indeed, I thought that she was an actual sub-Danielle Nicholls children's TV presenter rather than an actress in character. In fact, I thought that the TV reporter character was literally a stereotype of what an average Steps fan actually looks like. It seems that Lee Latchford-Evens almost became the John Travolta to her Olivia Newtion-John in this episode. It was such a fascinating programme to watch as a viewer who knew very little about it being on at the time, tand I woud love to see it in full again - perhaps even get a complete recording of it. Around a fifth of it has been on YouTube for a few years now - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wdelUik9FQ - but I would love to see the who damn thing again from start to finish! It was on there in around five seperate ten minute parts around 2008 to 2009 before it disappeared.
These days, since Steps split up in the early 2000s before getting back together again briefly many years later, they seem to do their own things. All five of them seem to have their own different agent. However, it has been 25 years since Stepping Out, and having a look at the list of pantomimes in 2024, I do know that Lee Latchford-Evans is appearing in Jack and the Beanstalk at the Watersmeet Theatre in Rickmansworth (and so no doubt that not only will he play the Giant, but he will also provide the "steps" in which to climb the beanstalk itself? Boom-boom). Meanwhile, Faye Tozer will be appearing in Sleeping Beauty (presumably in the title role) at the New Victoria Theatre in Woking, and will have a chance to work with panto veteran Christopher Biggins at the same time! When I post my brand new autograph book to those theatres just before Christmas for them to sign, I might just actually ask Latchford-Evans and Tozer about Stepping Out as I am sure that nearlya quarter of a century on that they will still remember appearing in the show! It woud make a great Christmas present, 25 years on! I hope that Father Christmas has something like for me this year!
Guest appearances on TV ranged from a post-Easter 1998 appearance on The Freddie Starr Show in the same week as their new hit Last Thing On My Mind was seen on Top of the Pops aka their second home, just like a lot of chart acts. On Princess Beatrice's 10th birthday, they guested on the National Lottery - on Tour; (for Lotto anoraks everywhere: it was Lottery Number: 274 - the numbers for that draw were: 2; 5; 17; 21; 45; 47; and the bonus one was: 25); and they appeared again two weeks later - the same day as they appeared on Mashed. Eight days later, they appeared on Fully Booked (the show which forced Grange Hill repeats onto Saturday morning BBC 1 during the summer months). One for Sorrow was performed on the 1,800th edition of Top of the Pops 4th September. On 7th November they appeared on Live and Kicking (I think that the Lord Mayor's Show that year was on the following Saturday, although the Royal Festival of Remembrance which would otherwise be on the same day in most other years, was on that evening). The then HRH Prince Charles' 50th birthday saw them on Channel 4's The Vibe. The Pepsi Chart welcomed them on 18th November, and ironically for a group which performed on Children in Need the previous year, their first performance of the Bee Gees' cover version Tragedy was on the same edition of Top of the Pops which was shunted onto BBC 2 becaise of that year's charity menathon on the same time on BBC 1 - perhaps that would have been an arguement for Top of the Pops to return to Thursdays evenings like it was before 1997? Steps' Tragedy was a lot sexier than the Brothers Gibb's version, mostly because it was the late 1990s when it was made!
Just one week later and they were back on Britiain's Number One chart show (number one, geddit?) with Heartbeat (at which time, my own "heartbeat" was going all over the place, and it had nothing to do with Aidensfield in the 1960s or Morph). A pre-Christmas O Zone appearance three weeks before the big day; a "just after the omnibus edition etc..." Sunday afternoon treat of seeing them on the Smash Hits Poll Winners' Party on 13th December. Cleopatra invited them on their Christmas Eve special, and the Living and Kicking year review on Boxing Day., and going into January 1999, appeared on its Friday teatime spin-off. They were back on Saturday mornings, guesting with an almost "Sir" Elton John on 6th February. They made an appearance on the still Richard-and-Judy in residence This Morning on 8th February. The BRIT Awards on 17th February. Faye Tozer made a guest appearance on Never Mind the Buzzcocks two days later. Better Best Forgotten premiered on Top of the Pops in March (forgotten it isn't by Yours Truly). They were on Live and Kicking on 3rd April, and also that almost forgotten flop that was the Reeves and Mortimer game show Families at War, which is not to be confused with Happy Families (as in "crank up your Granny"). A Spring Bank Holiday special of Top of the Pops on the final day of May. A "Popumentary" (I am 99% certain that there's no such word in either the Chambers', Websters' or the Oxford dictionaries, be it sound like portmanteau, or not) of CD:UK on 26th June. They were on Gaytime TV (becaise of H, perhaps?) on 29th June. Three days later, and we woke up to them on GMTV. A CD:UK appearance along with Mel "G" - was that Mel B or Mel C? - I can't quite remember. Pop Zone and Fully Booked interviews happen in July; Love's Got A Hold On My Heart premiered on Top of the Pops in the same month. Andi Peters meet the group on Channel 4 on 6th September. Another appearance on This Morning in October, one day before Lisa and Lee host the Pepsi Chart Show on Channel 5. A guest appearance on Abbamania in November. And an appearance on (Dale's) Winton's Wonderland on Christmas Eve, performing a cover version of the Kyle Minogue number Better The Devil You Know (not to be confused with Sonia's 1993 Eurovision entry for the UK). And of course, a pre-Queen's Message appearance on Christmas Day Top of the Pops.
The main programme that I associate Steps (because it stands out so much in my memory and has such a strong influence on me - I was staying at a relative's house wen I saw it, and asking what the H in Watkins' name could actually stand for), was a TV special which was seen on ITV on Boxing Day (or as the 26th December was a Sunday that day, the day after Christmas Day, aka Christmas Sunday, for any pedants out there). It was called Stepping Out and was made by a now, defunct independent production company, Straight TV (which folded in around 2006-2007) for LWT. (The Videoplus+ code was: 7303046 if it helps). The group (aka our heroes, geddit again?) were appearing as themselves, although their real names were still often referred to as also being character names. They were portrayed as superheroes for some reason, and a young TV reporter, (who seemed to be dressed as if she was doing a "Stars in their Eyes" tribute to Sandy Olsson out of Grease, and looked as if she about to perform You're The One That I Want, even if the hairstyle was a bit too dark and in the wrong style), was curious about this fact and wanted to find out more about those five - indeed, I thought that she was an actual sub-Danielle Nicholls children's TV presenter rather than an actress in character. In fact, I thought that the TV reporter character was literally a stereotype of what an average Steps fan actually looks like. It seems that Lee Latchford-Evens almost became the John Travolta to her Olivia Newtion-John in this episode. It was such a fascinating programme to watch as a viewer who knew very little about it being on at the time, tand I woud love to see it in full again - perhaps even get a complete recording of it. Around a fifth of it has been on YouTube for a few years now - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wdelUik9FQ - but I would love to see the who damn thing again from start to finish! It was on there in around five seperate ten minute parts around 2008 to 2009 before it disappeared.
These days, since Steps split up in the early 2000s before getting back together again briefly many years later, they seem to do their own things. All five of them seem to have their own different agent. However, it has been 25 years since Stepping Out, and having a look at the list of pantomimes in 2024, I do know that Lee Latchford-Evans is appearing in Jack and the Beanstalk at the Watersmeet Theatre in Rickmansworth (and so no doubt that not only will he play the Giant, but he will also provide the "steps" in which to climb the beanstalk itself? Boom-boom). Meanwhile, Faye Tozer will be appearing in Sleeping Beauty (presumably in the title role) at the New Victoria Theatre in Woking, and will have a chance to work with panto veteran Christopher Biggins at the same time! When I post my brand new autograph book to those theatres just before Christmas for them to sign, I might just actually ask Latchford-Evans and Tozer about Stepping Out as I am sure that nearlya quarter of a century on that they will still remember appearing in the show! It woud make a great Christmas present, 25 years on! I hope that Father Christmas has something like for me this year!