A couple of them have registered companies under their own name (Faye Tozer Ltd for example) and they're all directors of Steps Music LLP, which is the label the new music is being released on. It sounds like they're all quite business savvy and haven't chucked away their money like other bands of the time.

They must have been very savvy financially wise as they all seemed to have held some of their fortune. All the other groups from their time, S Club 7, Blue, 5ive etc have all had the opposite and have openly spoken about been broke for years. My impression from Steps was Lee always seemed to be the sensible one in the group as in seeking opportunities etc. This to me was very apparent in the Sky Living series they did.

Yes, Lisa is well-known, but infamous more than famous. I've always thought of her as what Dannii Minogue would have stayed as if she'd never had the chance to reinvent herself as a darling of the general public.

 

Claire and H definitely the front two and of the two of them, Claire, as the face of the band. Although there was also the issue back in the day of Faye and Claire looking quite similar which could be confusing!

 

I will say, no harshness to them, but Faye's dancing is just a little bit off sometimes in the group sequences in the video.

This album is being released exclusively through their label/company as far as I can tell so there must be a lot of money between them if they're able to finance it unless they were just banking on the tour doing well (which it has). I don't know where the money has gone when all the other groups of their era seem to go bankrupt or need the money etc. They might have just financed/invested their money well :lol:

 

Well, there's the fact that they made bank off touring, but also probably the fact that they didn't accept unfavourable deals - I know some of these groups from this time actually didn't have traditional record deals, but were hired as staff by the record company. I believe that was the situation with S Club 7 - they were paid a set fee from their record company but none of them actually own any rights to their own material. Add living above their means, not making great investments and you'll eventually go broke in a few years time. It was also the same with Pussycat Dolls - everyone but Nicole Scherzinger were essentially "the hired help" to build a group, which is why they were so heavily unbalanced.

S Club seemed have made hardly anything when in S Club 7, i cant remember which of them were interviewed a few years back saying they made very little from their time and only had enough to survive.

S Club seemed have made hardly anything when in S Club 7, i cant remember which of them were interviewed a few years back saying they made very little from their time and only had enough to survive.

 

You need to put S Club into context - they were essentially created by Simon Fuller because the Spice Girls kicked him to the curb after being so heavily monetized in every way to the point of exhaustion. So he created his own group that he could earn cash for - it was never about the members, they never left their management like Spice Girls did when they were still Touch. They never negotiated better deals for themselves, hence all the money went to the people in charge.

What happened with S CLUB 7 shows what a tough industry it is. On the outside looking in i believe most would have assumed S CLUB 7 members were doing very well financially as at their peak they were doing very well. We have often heard how important contracts are but in the music industry they seem more critical than in most other industries.

19 years ago to the week 5,6,7,8 was #1 in Australia.

Who would have ever thought that 19 years later they would still be so successful.

Could Faye just be the hottest person on the planet? I think so.

Could Faye just be the hottest person on the planet? I think so.

 

I think not.

 

But she's damn gorgeous in the Neon Blue video, especially when she has that bow in her hair .

Could Faye just be the hottest person on the planet? I think so.

 

I agree! I bat for the other team but I'd be tempted lol

They all (except Lisa) i feel have aged very well. Lisa looks like she has to put in more work than the others to hold her years.

They all (except Lisa) i feel have aged very well. Lisa looks like she has to put in more work than the others to hold her years.

 

I see what you mean about Lisa. That must be the stress of the Totally Scott Lee years!

I don't think Lisa looks that bad, it's just unfortunate that Claire and Faye (especially Faye) look so damn good. The short hair defo suits Claire.

Claire looked good only with a long hair (It's The Way You Make Me Feel, H & Claire period).

Claire looked good only with a long hair (It's The Way You Make Me Feel, H & Claire period).

 

And I thought *I* had bad eyesight.

It's been 20 years since Steps released '5, 6, 7, 8' (released Monday 10th November 1997). Where it all began!

 

 

It entered the UK charts at #17, and eventually peaked at #14 in January 1998. It was certified Gold for sales exceeding 400,000 in March 2017, which makes it their third best selling single behind 'Heartbeat'/'Tragedy' and 'One for Sorrow'. It was a huge #1 hit in Australia, and reached #2 in New Zealand and Belgium.

 

'5, 6, 7, 8' was not indicative of the music that Steps went on to release with further singles and their albums. It's a techno-pop song featuring line-dancing inspired lyrics, and Lee Latchford-Evans provides most of the vocals! Pete Waterman's vision for the group was to recreate the sound of ABBA, with a dance-pop style - and Claire Richards took the helm as lead vocalist.

 

 

Steps achieved a consecutive run of 15 Top 10 hits in the UK (starting with their second single), but it is '5, 6, 7, 8' that has become their most enduring hit in the digital age. It is their most viewed video on YouTube with 15.8m views, which is more than double the number that 'Tragedy' has achieved. On Spotify, '5, 6, 7, 8' has been streamed 9.6m times.

 

 

I have to admit that this is one of my least favourite singles by them, but I do appreciate it for being the starting point for a group that went on to become one of my favourite ever pop acts. :heart: It's also fun to see them perform it on tour.

 

20 years on and they've achieved another Top 10 album (which if you ask me is their best to date!) and they're about to embark on an arena tour. :wub:

Hard to believe it's 20 years,that's scary. The song has aged well to be fair to it.

It's time for a combined greatest hits by steps,aqua snd vengaboys,90s blitz.