Welcome all to the BJ rate of the year, the one you've all been waiting for, it's time to find out what we all think of Steps just before they get their reunion properly underway! I'm currently counting up the results of the singles rate, but we shall start with the all important member rate to find out who Buzzjack have deemed their favourite Steps member!

5. Lee Latchford-Evans - 51 Points

 

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The forgotten Steps member, every band has one -> Mikey Graham (Boyzone), Jason Orange (Take That), AJ (BSB), Sean (5ive), Nicky (Westlife). Poor old Lee got a bit buried in the background but lets not forget that for the first single at least, he was the lead vocalist and kick started the line-dancing craze across the nation with those dulcet tones of his. Post Steps he took part in the MTV show Totally Boyband and became part of 911 with other forgotten band members (Dane Bowers, Jimmy 911, Bradley S Club, somebody from New Kids On The Block) but left before their debut single was released. Shame.

4. Ian 'H' Watkins - 55 Points

 

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Not Ian Watkins, lead singer of Lostprophets, H - standing for hyperactive - was the lead male vocalist in Steps. Not that that meant a lot, he'd pop up every now and then if a song required a female/male play-off, e.g. Deeper Shade Of Blue and When I Said Goodbye, but you didn't generally hear his voice much. He did however make his presence felt in interviews and the like and was always one of the more famous band members, far more in the media spotlight than Lisa for example at the time. Post Steps he has done acting and also did well in Celebrity Big Brother in the year of Shilpa-gate, managing to successfully distance himself from all of that business. He only finishes 4 points ahead of Lee though!

3. Lisa Scott-Lee - 97 Points

 

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Lisa was always the slightly reserved, quiet member of Steps. She was a little quirky with her ever changing hair colour and a role model for girls with braces circa 2000/2001. She sang occasionally but was easily the weakest of the three females vocally, and often sounded a little shrill. Post Steps, well, Lisa broke out of the shackles and became media persona Lisa Scott-Lee. After a flop solo career, although the only member with a solo top ten hit solely to her name it should be noted, she became a reality star appearing in her own show Totally Scott-Lee, as well as Dancing On Ice, where she memorably slipped over as she skated on during the contestant introduction one week! And lets not forget Celeb Air which she was ditched from after she went partying in Ibiza whilst on duty. All of this without even mentioning the whole 'I'll quit my solo career if Electric doesn't go top ten' saga. It debuted at #13, ouch...A truly iconic woman, but clearly NOT the same Lisa that was a member of Steps, and I for one never imagined that she'd be the one that would chase desperately after fame after the band.

2. Claire Richards - 115 Points

 

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Just pipped to the post then is 'the voice of Steps'. It quickly became apparent that Claire had the most powerful voice in the band (and a mouth the size of a house) and from One For Sorrow onwards she was largely relied on as the lead vocalist. Her bellowing vocals were distinctive in a Melanie C sort of way and she did all of the ad-libs as well, notably her operatic notes on It's The Way You Make Me Feel, standing her in good stead for a later appearance on Popstar to Operastar where she finished third behind Joe McElderry and Cheryl Baker. Of course, post Steps life wasn't all good for Claire. After breaking up the band to form the imaginatively titled duo H & Claire with Mr Watkins, they scored three top ten hits in 2002 before disbanding soon after, well worth it then. And from that point onwards her weight started to balloon and some very unflattering pictures of her were posted to shocked forumites a few years later. Still not really being able to control her weight she seems to look like a completely different woman every single week these days, but having lost 5 stone in weight myself between about 2003-2008, I can massively relate to how hard you have to work to keep it off.

Poor Lee :( I actually liked him, he sometimes looked a little bit Ben Affleck in the early days :lol:

1. Faye Tozer - 120 Points

 

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Fayemous at last! Steps' second singer Faye had a voice less powerful than Claire's and was as such pushed to the back quite often. She did provide lead on a number of their singles though, Last Thing On My Mind and Love's Got A Hold On My Heart for example. She always seemed extremely pleasant and likeable and lets face it, the dreads were THE iconic hairstyle of late 1998, who else could pull off such a brave look in such an era. Ok, Alda but she was a nutjob anyway...

 

Post Steps, Faye really hasn't kept herself in the limelight like the others and perhaps that's why it's so refreshing to see her again after such a long absence. She scored a top ten hit in 2002 with Russel Watson and has made brief panto appearances but other than that she's been keeping herself to herself and raising her family. Bravo and a warm welcome back to 'the heart of Steps'.

Faye :wub: I adored her back in the day and still do :wub:

Poor brave Lisa :( I love Faye too though, good for her finally getting her chance of the spotlight again over Claire!

Poor brave Lee more like. He was my first crush, or something :(

Ok, the rate results are counted and shall begin shortly, shocked at how high/low some are personally :o

Nice to see Faye win, I'm not really surprised, she's probably the most likeable. Faye did that celebrity version of that Wedding programme, when they rate each others! :lol:! LISA SHOULDA WON THO!

23. Too Busy Thinking About My Baby - 3.53

 

 

UK #2, 2001

 

This was twinned with It's The Way You Make Me Feel, well the name of the song featured on the single sleeve at least so chart sources have taken it to be a double a-side despite the lack of a music video. A cover of the Marvin Gaye classic, it wasn't particularly inspiring and was a product of the ITV Motown Mania show, which didn't quite live up the the legacy of 1999's ABBA Mania. It's the only song in this rate to score an average below 5...

22. When I Said Goodbye - 5.03

 

 

UK #5 - 2000

 

A straight duet between H & Claire, perhaps an early sign of things to come? It was a fairly Disney-esque love song, a piano ballad but nothing massively outstanding which is relfected in its low score. As was normal for Steps it started off well in the midweeks (neck and neck with The Corrs' Breathless for #1 in the first set) before sliding back to #5 in the end...There's not really a lot more to say about this song!

21. I Know Him So Well - 5.13

 

 

UK #5 - 2001

 

Another ballad, granted they weren't Steps' strong point! A cover of the classic Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson song (also recently covered by Geraldine McQueen and Susan Boyle), it was nice enough but hardly offering anything new or relevant. The double a-side to Words Are Not Enough, it's fair to say that it wasn't the greatest end to their chart career...

I kinda liked that one (When I Said Godbye), I recall Faye's amazing outfit more though :lol:

Edited August 26, 201113 yr by Regina

20. Thank ABBA For The Music - 5.31

 

 

UK #4 - 1999

 

A performance especially for the Brits, like some have been recently this was deemed strong enough to have a standalone single release, although a video wasn't made. A collaboration between Steps, Tina Cousins, Cleopatra, Billie Piper and B*Witched, it was a fairly big hit and spent three weeks inside the top five on release. The medly comprised Take A Chance On Me, Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia and Thank You For The Music. One would assume that their 'bonus track' of Dancing Queen on the new Ultimate Collection will sound exactly like the part of that song from this medly, how exciting!

19. Words Are Not Enough - 5.57

 

 

UK #5 - 2001

 

Staying in ballad territory, the whole band got a turn on vocals on what was to be their last ever single (or at least for 10 years!). Released as one of the new tracks on Gold - Greatest Hits, it was decidedly less interesting than both other new tracks Only In My Dreams and Baby Don't Dance, so god knows why they twinned this with I Know Him So Well. Most likely because it was for the Christmas market and ballads do tend to sell better around xmas...the video was nice enough but looks incredibly dated now, what with the 'cutting ede' animation.

Lisa was ALWAYS my favourite. I use to pretend to be her when singing and dancing along to my CDs, (Age 6/7 I must add).

 

No surprises in the bottom five for me, though I do really love 'Words Are Not Enough'. :wub:

Not too surprised yet, i knew 'Too Busy' would be last, i honestly never knew it was considered a double A-Side with ITWYMMF anyways, given the fact its not on the GH, was never performed on tour to my knowledge and has no official video. When I Said Goodbye took forever to grow on me, its pretty boring, there was much better left on the album I Surrender and Never Say Never Again come to mind, but if they were going for ballads I Think It's love or Since You Took Your Love Away would have been much better.

 

I actually liked I Know Him So Well, it was a weird single choice given that it was a pretty old track when they picked it, but i think the vocals were nice on it.

Edited August 26, 201113 yr by Propilot87