Steps

The exuberant UK dance-pop group Steps scored 13 consecutive Top 5 hits during their 1998–2001 heyday. • Steps were the creation of manager Tim Byrne and songwriters Steve Crosby and Barry Upton. They posted a newspaper ad and formed the five-piece group after auditioning thousands of hopefuls. • The group’s name came from a marketing plan: The dance steps for each of the quintet’s choreographed music videos would be included with their singles. • Written by Crosby and Upton, the group’s 1997 debut single, “5, 6, 7, 8,” was a novelty blend of dance-pop and country line dancing. It reached No. 14 on the UK charts. • From there, Steps were off to the races. Famed songwriter and producer Pete Waterman signed the group to his label, dubbing them “ABBA on speed.” • Amid their remarkable run of Top 5 singles, Steps’ first three studio albums—Step One (1998), Steptacular (1999), and Buzz (2000)—all multi-platinum in the UK. • In 1999, the group supported Britney Spears on her ...Baby One More Time Tour. • After the band split in 2001, members Claire Richards and Ian “H” Watkins formed H & Claire. They released one album, 2002’s Another You Another Me. • Steps reunited in 2011 for a four-part documentary series and went on The Ultimate Tour in 2012. That same year, they released the Christmas album Light Up The World. • The group’s next two studio albums—2017’s Tears on the Dancefloor and 2020’s What the Future Holds—both reached No. 2 on the UK charts.