first pick-up and last drop-off because of
where I lived. Sometimes I’d be picked
up at 5am and dropped off at 2am. I
was shattered but one hundred percent
committed to the cause and you can
bounce back when you’re young!
It was pretty tough going looking back.
We were all really naive and had no idea
about how the record industry worked.
It was a rocky road at times and we had
no choice but to take the advice and
direction from our management. But look
what we achieved. Against all the odds
our little, line dancing Pop group gained
global success, multi million record sales,
sell out tours and a Brit Award.
What are your favourite memories
from being in the group?
We went to Singapore to do a showcase
for Zomba records and Britney was
doing the same. We watched her perform
from the balcony of the hotel while she
performed in front of the ‘big wigs’. It
was an incredible trip and a taster of the
crazy lifestyle we were going to become
accustomed to. We opened for her ‘Hit
Me Baby One More Time’ tour across
the U.S. and Canada and hung out with
N’Sync a little too. There was another trip
to L.A. when Lee, Lisa and I had gone out
and bumped into Englebert Humperdink’s
son and ended up at his house which
belonged to ‘the’ Jane Mansfield and we
swam in the famous heart shaped pool!
As a band when the pressure was off we
used to laugh a lot. Sometimes we were
so tired we were delirious. We would sit
in a recording studio trying to read scripts
for international radio and we’d be bent
double. The first time we heard ourselves
on the radio was a real moment and
standing on the stage at Wembley on our
first arena tour. I loved making our videos
too. So many great things to look back
on. We had a really exciting five years.
Were you always close as a group or
were there times you came together
and drifted apart?
When the group first got together we
wrote to each other as pen pals before
the promotion started. I went and
stayed over at Claire’s and met her
family so I probably bonded with her
first. Throughout the years, naturally the
group’s dynamics changed. H to me
was like an annoying little brother and he
would make a point of winding me up. I
knew his heart was in the right place but I
found him quite hard work. He won’t mind
me saying so as he’s one of my dearest
friends now and I love him to bits. Lee is
like your sensible older brother and has
always remained impartial. He’s a grafter
and it takes a lot to rub him up the wrong
way.
Lisa and I found that we had loads
in common as we had very similar
backgrounds and we both loved to party.
It all depended on what was going on in
our private lives and where we lived and
what curveballs our management threw at
us a s to how close we were to each other.
But we have a bond and share memories
and experiences that no-one else has and
I consider the guys to be more like family
than work colleagues. Stuck for life! Ha!
Was the decision for Claire and H to
leave something you discussed as a
group or was it a shock for the rest of
the band?
The Steps split was well documented on
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