Steps began in the Spring of 1997. Lisa Scott-Lee had been touring the UK and europe as a professional singer/dancer; Faye Tozer was the big star of a cabaret band at a major London hotel; Claire Richards was biding her time after the collapse & seperation of her first group, "TSD"; Lee Latchford was performing in a variety of theatre productions, & having almost become a professional footballer; and Ian Watkins (affectionately known as "H" for hyperactive) had completed his summer as a holiday camp kids entertainer. Lisa met up with H first and then hooked up with Lee, Faye and Claire. They became Steps and their lives then changed forever.

The premise behind Steps is that life is always sunny in StepsWorld, and Steps would almost always be found partying & clubbing. They recorded "5,6,7,8", taking its essence from the huge line-dancing movement which had swept across Britain during the 90s but imbuing it with great helpings of pop to appeal to teenagers. They found a producer, "The Hitman" Pete Waterman, (part of PWL the magic behind 80's pop senseation "Bananarama" and early 90's group "Boycrazy" They signed to Jive records & released "5,6,7,8" in November 1997.

It entered the UK charts at No. 18 and hung around the Top 40 for 3 months, outselling Peter Andre, Jamiroquai, Louise and many others. The band appeared on Top of the Pops among many other TV programs and with every tv appearance, more people bought the single. It was out of control! Smash Hits described Steps as "five gorgeous poppettes", while the video to "5,6,7,8" shot up Box Tops and took up residence. "5,6,7,8" took Europe by storm and went Platinum in Australia. Soon, Steps were a global phenomenon.

But now they had a small problem-how to follow up a hit like "5,6,7,8"? The solution-one of the greatest pop gems ever recorded:" Last Thing on My Mind". "Last Thing on My Mind" was released on 20 April 1998, with a fantastic video which was shot in Cuba. The following week it burst into the UK Top 10 at No. 6. Three weeks later it was still in the Top 10. Selling over 200,000 copies!

CHART PEAKS ----------- Album "Step One" Chart Peak: #3

Singles

"5,6,7,8": #16

"Last Thing On My Mind": #6

"One For Sorrow": #1