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Steps' Official biggest singles revealed: Tragedy, One For Sorrow, Deeper Shade Of Blue and more

As Lisa, Lee, Claire, Faye and H celebrate 25 incredible years in music, we reveal Steps' Official biggest singles of all time

 

 

By Carl Smith

This week, pop royalty Steps commemorate 25 years in music with the release of their Platinum Collection. Currently on course to become the band's fourth Number 1 album, ahead of competition from Aitch and actual Madonna midweek, it's a record positively bursting with bangers spanning a quarter of a decade.

 

And, since we've got a whole new appreciation of Steps' back catalogue of late, we thought we'd better update you on Claire Richards, Ian 'H' Watkins, Lee Latchford-Evans, Faye Tozer and Lisa Scott-Lee's Official Top 20 biggest hits in the UK to date.

 

It's time to begin, now count it in...

 

5. Better Best Forgotten

Album: Step One

Released: 1999

Combined UK chart units: 394,000

The fifth and final single lifted from Steps' debut, Better Best Forgotten is anything but. And while its accompanying music video is by no means a favourite of the band's (the metallic blue was a choice), the track remains a stone cold Steps classic.

 

4. Last Thing On My Mind

Album: Step One

Released: 1998

Combined UK chart units: 408,000

Following-up polarising debut single 5, 6, 7, 8, things could've gone either way. Would Steps be destined for 'one-hit wonder' status, or could they defy all odds and go the distance?

 

Thankfully, it was the latter. Second single Last Thing on My Mind, a cover of the 1993 Bananarama track, gave the group their first-ever Top 10 single; peaking at Number 6 in February 1998.

 

3. One For Sorrow

Album: Step One

Released: 1998

Combined UK chart units: 509,000

Heralded by Lisa as the song that 'really made people listen,' Steps' third single One for Sorrow comes third on the list. Peaking at Number 2 in May '98 and becoming the group's highest-charting single at the time, the ballad proved Steps were no one trick pony.

 

Vocals for days on this one, mate.

 

2. 5, 6, 7, 8

Album: Step One

Released: 1997

Combined UK chart units: 721,000

While Steps' techno-come-country creation might've been denounced as a novelty tune, solely suited to the confines of a school disco, their debut has racked up an impressive 721,000 combined UK chart units in its time.

 

5, 6, 7, 8 may not have ever made the UK Top 10, but it remains a staple of the band's live shows and, tbh, we wouldn't want it any other way.

 

1. Heartbeat/Tragedy

Album: Step One

Released: 1998

Combined UK chart units: 1,400,000

In at the top spot, boasting an incredible 1,400,000 combined UK chart units to its name, is Steps' first-ever UK Number 1 single. A double a-side of Step One ballad Heartbeat and their iconic cover of the Bee Gees' Tragedy, previously unreleased at the time, the Platinum-certified single remains Steps' biggest to date.

 

Steps' Official Top 20 biggest singles on the Official Chart

 

TITLE ARTIST PEAK YEAR

1 HEARTBEAT/TRAGEDY STEPS 1 1999

2 5 6 7 8 STEPS 14 1997

3 ONE FOR SORROW STEPS 2 1998

4 LAST THING ON MY MIND STEPS 6 1998

5 BETTER BEST FORGOTTEN STEPS 2 1999

6 LOVE'S GOT A HOLD ON MY HEART STEPS 2 1999

7 CHAIN REACTION STEPS 2 2001

8 SAY YOU'LL BE MINE/BETTER THE DEVIL STEPS 4 1999

9 IT'S THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL STEPS 2 2001

10 DEEPER SHADE OF BLUE STEPS 4 2000

11 STOMP STEPS 1 2000

12 AFTER THE LOVE HAS GONE STEPS 5 1999

13 SCARED OF THE DARK STEPS 37 2017

14 WHEN I SAID GOODBYE/SUMMER OF LOVE STEPS 5 2000

15 WORDS ARE NOT ENOUGH STEPS 5 2001

16 HERE AND NOW/YOU'LL BE SORRY STEPS 4 2001

17 STORY OF A HEART STEPS 173 2017

18 MERRY XMAS EVERYBODY STEPS 2012

19 WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS STEPS 2020

20 SOMETHING IN YOUR EYES STEPS 2020

©2022 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

 

https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/s...nd-more__18480/

 

I can't believe 5,6,7,8 is #2 :lol:

 

Better Best Forgotten should probably hit Gold in a few weeks with One For Sorrow potentially going Platinum next year.

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Spanning a quarter of a decade 👀

 

!

 

lack of proofreaders strikes again

Futher proof that 5,6,7,8 was ROBBED of a top 10 peak as one of their most enduring hits and a classic of the kids disco.

 

And that the forgettable Stomp was a non-#1 oop- :kink:

Better Best Forgotten should probably hit Gold in a few weeks with One For Sorrow potentially going Platinum next year.

Better Best Forgotten is already certified Gold! It achieved it in 1999, thanks to certifications being based on shipments in those days. At the rate it's selling it's on course to sell over 400,000 sometime in Spring 2023. Unfortunately we won't know for sure unless OCC randomly tell us, but we won't find out from BPI due to it already being Gold.

 

One for Sorrow isn't on target to reach Platinum that quickly. Its total was 484k in May 2021 and it's now 509k in August 2022 - a 25k increase in 15 months. 81k to go until Platinum. At this rate it'll take 4+ years to make it to Platinum.

Is 5,6,7,8 the biggest selling non top 10 song? It must be right up there

 

It was up there for a long time but lots of other stuff overtook it in the download era, talking about pure sales only. The Jason Mraz tracks that peaked at No.11, Christina Perri's A Thousand Years and loads of others I think exceeded its sales in the download era. Probably hundreds of others will have overtaken it with streaming now too.

Funny that Steps' six biggest hits all came in the 1990s as they were in the charts for around two years either side until the split, but sales were much bigger in the late 90s. Chain Reaction did feel like their biggest hit in a while in late 2001, so not a surprise to see it high here.

 

That is very low for Stomp, barely ahead of Scared of the Dark, but it was a bit of a fluke No.1 on a quiet release week and on a very low sale for 2000, usually they were known for missing out on No.1 on high sales at No.2 (they've had a habit of doing this with their albums the last few years now instead).

How much has Scared of the Dark sold? Such an incredible comeback song for them.
How much has Scared of the Dark sold? Such an incredible comeback song for them.

 

Nobody has definite sales but it has sold more than summer of love which has sold 164,000 so it's above that. I once saw someone say it had sold 170k a few years back so perhaps that is correct

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