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Love them or hate them, chances are you know a few Steps songs. Hell, who are you kidding? You knew every move to the Tragedy dance routine, so don't even bother trying to deny it.Once one of the biggest bands of the late nineties and early noughties, Steps sold over 25 million records worldwide spawning classic hits such as One For Sorrow and 5,6,7,8.
However, when members H and Claire decided to leave the group in 2001, the pop party came to an abrupt end.
But as the group become a subject of a Sky Living documentary to mark the 10th anniversary of the split, Lisa Scott-Lee and Lee Latchford-Evans chat exclusively to Eleven about building bridges, those Britney rumours and dueting with Tinie Tempah.
The first part of the documentary showed a clear divide in the group. Are things still awkward between you and the other members?
Lee: I think me, Lisa and Faye were the most hard done by over the history of Steps. It was very tough to come back and talk about stuff. We were upset, gutted and shocked more than anything. I didn't believe it. There's even a part of me now 10 years on going 'did it happen?'.
Lisa: We've all been honest and we've talked about it. It was like therapy, that's why it was quite emotional. Steps was such a massive part of our lives and now we are in a really, really good place. We've all aired our views and been able to build bridges.
It was reported last week that Britney Spears played a part in the split. What's the story there?
Lee: She wanted me and she didn't want H!
Lisa: There's no truth in that. People have picked up on the fact that when we supported her on tour in America and Canada, four of us were on the tour bus and H flew because he had insomnia. He's the worst sleeper I have ever met. I felt for him because it's hard when you're trying to promote something. He chose to fly and I think the media like to see that as having special treatment. We understood his reasons and that had nothing to do with the split. That was very early on, so it was nothing to do with Britney. Her conscience is clear!
So, the question on everyone's lips, what is next for Steps then?
Lee: Everyone thinks that they all know what's going on and what's happening, but even we don't know how it ends.
Lisa: We wanted to just be really honest and show the fans what happened with the split, because they never knew. Everyone has guessed over the 10 years. Our Ultimate Collection is our way of thanking them for their support but then from there we don't really know what is going to happen. It's quite exciting really. If they love the album and they want to see us touring, if the demand's there we'd love to do it.
Lee: I don't think we could do it with just our mums in the audience! That wouldn't pack out an arena would it? We wouldn't want to do it and fail. We've always said we would never want to tarnish the name of Steps.
Are there any plans to release new material?
Lisa: We haven't actually talked about that because that again is something that's possibly in the future...
Lee: A tour is quite easy because we've got a back catalogue and it would be very nostalgic. To actually look that far ahead into the future and look at the way the market is now, which is very different to back then. I think we would fit in, there's a place for us.
How would you see the sound of Steps in 2011?
Lisa: You have to look in the charts now and see what's current. I've always enjoyed dance music. I would like to see us go more down a pop-dance route, like Cascada.
Lee: Everyone always says to us that the chorus Lady Gaga's Judas is Steps all over. A few songs out there that when you take away the image of us and just listen to it, you start to think actually that could work. It does do that circle and I think it's come back around to us actually. Name me a boy/girl band right now.
Are you fans of your old stuff now?
Lee: For me, some of the songs definitely. I've always said from day one when I went to the audition, it was a job and I did the best I could and made great friends and had the best experiences. There's definitely songs in there I think are wicked tracks. They're very cleverly written and performed very well!
What's your favourite Steps song?
Lee: It's quite easy for me - It's The Way You Make Me Feel.
Lisa: That's actually the group favourite, we all like that but I also like Deeper Shade of Blue because I like the dance.
Is there a particular outfit that makes you cringe looking back?
Lisa: All of them! But do you know what, I wouldn't change anything because every costume went with every song and they all had their place is Steps history.
What was your most embarrassing moment in the band?
Lisa: We wore a lot of sequins in the band and there was a time when we were doing Party in the Park where there was over 100,000 people, and I had sequin trousers on and the sequins got stuck at the knees so I couldn't actually walk off the stage! I had to do a kind of crab-walk off stage.
Lee: No, that was just part of the routine!
You had a clean cut image as a group. Were there any scandals in the band we never knew about?
Lee: The biggest scandal is in the show. It's what happened behind the scenes of the split and there was a bit of a divide. We did keep up the Steps tradition of being happy and all that, which most of the time was easy because we were. But we were human and we had exciting times, we travelled the world, of course there's darker times - we're only normal. But we're not rock and roll stars either.
H came out after he left the band, was that hard to conceal while you were in the band?
Lee: We were both shocked! (laughing)
Lisa: We felt quite protective over him because he was a bit more immature than the rest of us. We felt like we needed to look after him, so whenever the subject came up, we'd all very quickly move it on. It's fascinating the way it's changed now, doing interviews 10 years on, the line of questioning is very direct. We can be honest and H has obviously come out in that time, there are no secrets and it's a very personal thing coming to terms with that.
Earlier this year Blue reformed and did Eurovision. Is that something Steps would ever consider?
Lisa: No!
Lee: I think that would be a big no.
Lisa: We got asked to do Eurovision quite a few years ago, after the split, and to be honest I don't think it would be the right move for us. It's a gamble, talking about the politics side of it, we're never going to be as popular as a country. And as much as Steps could be Eurovision, I don't think it's something that we'd do.
Lee: It's an honour to be asked to do it, it's a really credible thing - there you are representing your country, that's fantastic. But realistically, no-one seems to do well out of it.
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Lee: The process has always been there but it's never been filmed and they never made such hype about it. It's a double edged sword - you have this amazing opportunity to get out there and hit a load of people in a special way and get your talent out there. On the flip side is when the people are not very good and they're shown quite a lot of. That side of it I don't really agree with and unfortunately that's the side that everyone wants to watch which is quite sad because it's supposed to be about talent.
You've both dabbled in reality TV. Would you do anymore?
Lisa: No!
Lee: We're doing it now!
Lisa: Our show is more of a documentary. I wouldn't want to do another reality show unless it was something where you were learning a skill, like Strictly. I wouldn't do pure reality again. I loved Dancing On Ice. It was amazing and it's actually one of my highlights. I loved all the costumes.
Maybe Steps could get their own reality show once the documentary finishes?
Lisa: Well the show is kind of like that but it's nice it's a documentary and not a reality show. We were very heavily involved in the whole process and felt very strongly we didn't want to do it like that.
Lee: I also like the mystique at times, because when we were about there was no Twitter, Facebook, iTunes or YouTube - we just had tapes and CDs! The world is now very reality based and it's almost a quick fix for people and what I like about Steps is that people still want to know what it's like, without showing it warts and all.
Who is the rudest celeb you've met?
Lisa: We bumped into Christina Aguilera in America... It was when she was just starting out, she had big minders and we were in the corridor and they literally pushed us out the way to make room for her because she was coming through.
Lee: We've met a lot of people from the biggest stars you can think of to people just starting out. It's those big stars that you love and admire who are all really nice people, they're quite down to earth. Yet the people who are up and coming who haven't got that level of success and think they've got it, they're the ones that have the attitude. They've got so much more to learn.
Who's the biggest celeb name you've got in your phone?
Lisa: We're all about our family and friends really. Our best friends are the friends we've had over the last 15 to 20 years, not necessarily celebrities.
Lee: We used to do the scenes of going out to clubs and meeting loads of people, but haven't done that for years, and part of that is just fake at the end of the day. It's nice to go out with your mates and have a drink and a laugh, but over the time we've all met people, but wouldn't call them everyday and be like 'hi!'
So you wouldn't want to be stumbling out of clubs with the cast of TOWIE then?
Lisa: I mean I haven't got anything against them and I haven't seen much of the show because I live in Dubai.
Lee: It's huge though, and dare I say it, it's because there isn't anything else out there.
Who is your dream collaboration?
Lisa: It's more about producers these days, they're like artists in their own right. I think someone like RedOne we'd love to work with. He's done amazingly for Gaga and I can see that would really work.
Lee: Mark Ronson would be interesting. I met Tinie Tempah a while ago and he was a really sweet guy. He was actually a bit of a fan.
Lisa: Really?!
Lee: Yeah, I'm not going to say he was a big fan, but he was a really lovely bloke to talk to and he knew of Steps because it was his era. He's doing very well, so that would be pretty cool and I mean that because he's such a nice bloke.
Lisa: It would be interesting!
Steps Reunion continues at 9pm on Wednesday on Sky Living. Steps: The Ultimate Collection is released 10th October.
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Watch the band in action in the Deeper Shade of Blue video.
