As I mentioned in posts earlier this week, I have been really excited about this week’s Friday Feature because it is the introduction of a new monthly feature here on the blog! Much like the monthly Spotlight posts that are the last Friday of every month, moving forward the second-to-last Friday of the month will be the Then and Now post! Then and Now is, essentially, a post showcasing an artist or group of artists who became popular several years ago and are still prominent today or are coming back into prominence. It is all about taking a look at their careers and their looks and styles then and now. I’ve got some really fun ideas for these posts in the coming months and I knew exactly where I wanted to begin with this new feature – Steps!
STEPS THEN
For those who aren’t aware, as they never achieved too much success here in the US, Steps were an extremely popular pop music group out of the UK. They were formed in 1997 by producers Steve Crosby and Billy Upton when they all answered an ad in the Stage. The band was initially being formed with the sole intent to release one single that the two men had written, “5, 6, 7, 8,” and simply end it at that as a one-hit wonder. The single was released to pretty massive success, in spite of never having reached the UK Top 10, it remains one of the biggest-selling singles of all-time to have never reached the Top 10. In spite of the initial plan for them to only be a one-hit wonder, Steps were signed to Jive Records and began working with pop mega-producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman and went on to release three massively successful studio albums. Also, in spite of “5, 6, 7, 8” never reaching top 10, Steps released 14 consecutive Top 10 Singles in their career. I wanted to showcase some of the greatest singles of their career, so I gathered up some of their best music videos below!
5, 6, 7, 8 (1997)
Last Thing On My Mind (1997)
One For Sorrow (1998)
Heartbeat (1998)
Tragedy (1998)
Better Best Forgotten (1999)
Say You’ll Be Mine (1999)
Stomp (2000)
It’s The Way You Make Me Feel (2000)
Here & Now (2001)
I Know Him So Well (Live) (2001)
Dancing Queen (fan made video) (2011)
Steps had a 5-year run of massive success, with hit albums, singles, television presenting and appearances, as well as several hugely successful arena tours! It was in 2001 before the last show of their “Gold Tour,” 2 of the bands members, Claire Richards and Ian ‘H’ Watkins, announced their intentions to leave the band. The official announcement was made on Boxing Day 2001 and Steps were officially over. Just a few short months later, however, H & Claire announced their intention to continue on together as a duo. The split was widely known not to be very harmonious and the other three members stated that they were completely blindsided by the announcement that the other two would be leaving. H & Claire gave an interview to the TV morning show Daybreak promoting their debut single as a pair, “DJ,” and discussed the split a bit. Check out this interview below.
In the time after Steps split, each of the members went on to their own different lives and careers until 2011 when they released “The Ultimate Collection” and announced that they would be embarking on “The Ultimate Tour” as a reformed band. They also announced a docu-series on Sky Living called “Steps: Reunion,” which followed each member of the group in their lives now and as they all met up for the first time in 10 years and weighed the decision on whether or not to move forward as a group. It’s been a fascinating series and it’s follow-up, “Steps: On The Road Again” was just as brilliant! Before discussing that too much further, I wanted to discuss and showcase each individual members lives and careers in the time between the split and their reunion, as well as recreate looks from a few of the bands members.
CLAIRE RICHARDS
Before Steps, Claire Richards was in another pop group called TSD, which found very little success before being dropped from their label. Within Steps, Claire kind of became the “lead vocalist” and was offered more solos than any of the other members, which caused a lot of tension between her and the other members. After leaving the group, as mentioned above, Claire went on with fellow Steps member, H, to release a record as a duo, called “Another You, Another Me.” They released 3 top 10 singles from this record but the album as a whole flopped. After H & Claire split in 2003, Claire married Mark Webb, a dancer for Steps, and left the music industry. She later divorced and a had a child with another man and settled into a life outside of the public eye. It wasn’t until 2011 that Claire was seen again when she took part in a reality television series called “Popstar to Opera Star.” Claire made it all the way to the semi-final but lost out to Cheryl Baker, from 1980s pop group Bucks Fizz. Claire gave a really brilliant performance on the show of “Queen Of The Night” from Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.”
For Claire’s look, which was the look that actually inspired me to do a post about Steps, I recreated a look from the first series of “Steps: Reunion,” from Claire’s “confessional” interviews in the first few episodes. I don’t know what it was exactly about the look but as soon as I saw it I knew that I really wanted to recreate it. It features a really gorgeous, glossy pink lip and really bright gold eye shadow that I just thought was gorgeous. Throughout the series, some variation on this style seems to have been Claire’s signature look throughout the series.
PRODUCTS USED:
FACE:
Covergirl TruBlend Foundation in Natural Beige
Clinique Line Smoothing Concealer in Moderately Fair
Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Protector Finishing Powder in Natural Beige
Wet N’ Wild Color Icon Bronzer in Princess
EYES:
Urban Decay Naked Palette Eye Shadows in Naked (brows,) Half Baked, Darkhorse, Smog, Sidecar and Creep
Revlon Liquid Eye Pen in Black
Milani Liquif’Eye Metallic Eye Liner Pencil in Black
Revlon Grow Luscious by FabuLash Mascara in Blackest Black
LIPS:
Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Sweet Tart
Playboy Cosmetics Lip Gloss in Pink Sugar
IAN ‘H’ WATKINS
‘H,’ which he has stated stands for hyperactive, was kind of the “male lead” of Steps, as he got pretty much all of the male lead vocal lines throughout the entirety of Steps career. H was also gay, although he did not come out publicly until 2007, and was involved in a relationship with Steps manager, which caused some friction among the group. This friction was only furthered by the fact that he became close with Britney Spears during the period when Steps opened for her on her “Baby One More Time” tour and frequently travelling separately from the rest of the group to travel with Britney instead. After the split, as well as the split from H & Claire, H went on to pursue a career in theatre. After attending a musical theatre course at the Royal Academy of Music, H starred in his own reality television series called “H Side Story,” which followed him as he pursued his career in acting. H appeared in a large number of pantomimes, as well as a televised production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, before finally making it to the West End in 2007 in a production of “Fame.” That same year, he went into the “Celebrity Big Brother” house, as well as going on to appear in series such as “Bargain Hunt Famous Finds” and in an episode of the smash hit series, “Skins.” I did want to feature a video from his time as half of H & Claire, from their biggest hit single, “DJ.” Check that video out below.
LISA SCOTT-LEE
After Steps split, Lisa initially served as manager of a pop group formed by her three brothers, 3SL, which found minimal success and was eventually dropped from their label. After this, Lisa decided to pursue a solo pop career and released her debut solo single in 2003, “Lately,” which made the UK Top 10. She released a second single, “Too Far Gone,” and was set to release her debut album, “Unleashed,” however her label, Mercury Records, feared her success would be limited and dropped her, so the album was shelved. Lisa began filming for a reality television series, called “Totally Scott-Lee,” which followed her as she attempted to re-build her career. She was challenged, as part of the show, to get a top 10 hit with her next single or else she would be forced to quit the music industry. That single was called “Electric,” and it peaked at number 13. Lisa said that she regretted having stated that she would leave the music industry. She still released her debut solo album, “Never Or Now” in many countries across the world but to little success, although the digital version of the album has found new success in 2011 thanks to the success of the Steps Reunion. Lisa also went on to appear on the reality series “Dancing On Ice,” as well as appearing in the series “CelebAir” I have featured the video for “Electric” below, as well, because it is kind of brilliant!
For Lisa Scott-Lee’s look, I noticed that throughout the Steps Reunion series, Lisa kind of has a signature look, as seen in the promo images for the series. I really loved this look, although it is very different than any look that I would normally do on myself. I love the way it came out, though, and may have to consider doing more like it in the future. I have to mention that the pics of this look are different than the pics of the other two looks because I did this look a few weeks back but never got to do this post at that time due to the computer issues I had at the time and I have changed the lighting in my bedroom since then.
PRODUCTS USED:
FACE:
Calvin Klein Infinite Hydration Moisturizing Foundation in Toasted
Clinique Line Smoothing Concealer in Moderately Fair
Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Protector Finishing Powder in Natural Beige
Tarte Mineral Bronzer in Park Avenue Princess
Urban Decay Urbanglow Cream Highlight in Wicked
Stila Make Me Blush Cheek Color
EYES:
Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo Cream Eye Shadow in Too Cool
Urban Decay Book Of Shadows Volume 4 Eye Shadow in Zephyr
Urban Decay Naked2 Eye Shadow in Blackout
Revlon Colorstay Liquid Liner Pen in Black
L’oreal Extra Intense Liquid Pencil Liner in Carbon Black
Clinique High Impact Mascara
Maybelline Master Shapes Brow Pencil in Soft Brown
LIPS:
Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Balm Stain in Charm
LEE LATCHFORD-EVANS
Lee has been probably the quietest member of the group since the split. He’s appeared on the West End a few times, as well as performing in several different pantomimes and such over the years. He’s also appeared in several different reality series, including “Fear Factor,” “The Games,” “I’m Famous & Frightened,” “The Match” and even won “Commando VIP.” He also took part in a series called “Totally Boyband,” which aimed to take former members of previously split pop groups to form a whole new band called Upper Street. Lee was sacked from the band prior to anything being released, though, due to disagreements with the rest of the band. Lee also attempted to form a band of his own, called “The Latch,” which released a music video called “Miracle,” which can be seen below. Prior to the Steps reunion, Lee had settled into a life out of the spotlight working as a personal trainer and operating a business called Famously Fit. He also manages a band called A Girl Called Alice, featuring his fiance Kerry-Lucy Taylor.
FAYE TOZER
After the split, Faye has gone on to become a pretty accomplished actress, mainly in the theatre, touring with several different productions, appearing in a number of pantomimes, as well as actually doing a few different films. Faye has really not done anything in music since the Steps split, aside from a gorgeous duet with classical music star Russell Watson, whom she toured with based off of the success of their duet, “Someone Like You,” the video for which can be seen below. She also featured on two tracks from Plastic Cinema. Faye also married and divorce since the band split and gave birth to a child. Faye has definitely been the most instrumental in pushing the rest of the band for a reunion, featuring heavily on the Reunion series as the one really pushing for them to continue and record new music.
For my Faye Tozer look, I decided to actually film a tutorial for the look she wore in the “confessionals” for the “Steps: On The Road Again” series that I completely fell in love with. It is a really gorgeous, fresh, natural look featuring a gorgeous purple smokey eye and soft peach lips and cheeks. I absolutely adore this look and Faye herself. Check out the tutorial and images of my recreation of this look below!
PRODUCTS USED:
FACE:
Calvin Klein Infinite Hydration Moisturizing Foundation in Toasted
Clinique Line Smoothing Concealer in Moderately Fair
Covergirl TruBlend Minerals Loose Powder in Translucent Light
Stila Illuminating Finishing Powder in Rose Gold
Revlon PhotoReady Cream Blush in Coral Reef
EYES:
Urban Decay Eye Shadows in Grifter, Flash & Midnight Cowboy Rides Again
Sugarpill Cosmetics Eye Shadow in Poison Plum
Pop Beauty Lid Silver Palette Eye Shadow in Shade 4 (pale lilac)
Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eye Pen in Black
Revlon Grow Luscious by FabuLash Mascara in Blackest Black
Stila Matte Eye Shadow in Champara (brows)
LIPS:
Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Peach
Revlon Colorburst Lip Gloss in Peony
STEPS NOW
Steps announced their reunion in fall 2011, marked by the release of “The Ultimate Collection,” as well as “The Ultimate Tour,” and the series “Steps: Reunion.” They started the reunion with their first live television performance in 10 years, which was one of their first television performances where they also sang completely live vocals, on popular UK morning show “This Morning.” They performed two of their biggest hit singles, “Tragedy” and “The Way You Make Me Feel.” Check out these performances below.
Tragedy (Live at This Morning)
It’s The Way You Make Me Feel (Live at This Morning)
“Steps: Reunion” and it’s follow-up series, “Steps: On The Road Again,” were both massively successful. The Ultimate Tour sold out and had to have dates added, as well as the “Ultimate Collection” album reaching number one on the UK Charts. It is very clear to say that Steps are definitely back! Where they go from here is yet to be seen, although it is said that it will be documented in a third series, tentatively titled “Steps: Looking Ahead.” They’ve talked of possibly releasing a Christmas album or perhaps an album of new original material but nothing official has been announced yet. Whatever they do next, it is sure to be a fascinating time in the world of Steps!
So, there you have the very first “Then and Now” post here at Beausic! I have a lot of really fun ideas planned out for the “Then and Now” posts moving forward and I am really excited to share them with you guys in the months to come. I also just wanted to say that I am really happy with the way that this past week has gone and I really appreciate you all sticking with me and celebrating this birthday week with me! Next week, though, it is back to business as usual. Until then, though, I wish you all a beautiful weekend and a beautiful life!
Jason
beausic 
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