Steps are back! But not how you might think…
The iconic 90s five-some are heading back to the stage – the musical theatre stage, if you will. Their new show, Here & Now, has already received rave reviews in the UK, and this year, it’s coming to Ireland for the first time.
We caught up with Ian ‘H’ Watkins and Lisa Scott-Lee ahead of the launch at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre.
And of course, we had to ask if they have fond memories of Ireland…
“When we came to Ireland, we were welcomed with such open arms. The reception, even at the airport, was crazy, security were on such high alert because there were so many fans waiting for us,” H tells VIP.
“It was back in the day when I think pop music was at its best, you had bands to follow around, there were smash hits, people were queuing up for albums… Those are my memories of being here – fan mania!”
He says that they were actually in Dublin for the MTV Awards, and that he ended up rubbing shoulders with some serious stars.
“At the MTV Awards I had a dreadful cold so I was going home early, and I remember being in the queue for the limo with Alicia Silverstone and Missy Elliot, and Missy had her arm around me and I was like ‘this is so weird!'” he says.
The new musical isn’t about Steps the band – rather it’s an original story set in a seaside supermarket called Better Best Bargains, where a summer of love that some pals dreamed of suddenly feels like a tragedy.
Here & Now is a jukebox musical, which means we’re going to be treated to a whole load of our favourite Steps songs like Tragedy, Chain Reaction, 5 6 7 8, Deeper Shade of Blue, and more!
Lisa says that she feels lucky to still be able to work with her bandmates after all these years… and of course, give the fans what they want.
“We’re very lucky to have a wonderful fan base for almost 30 years now,” she says. “We were never focused on the critics, we were focused on the fans – we’re happy to still be in fashion!” she says, while H chimes in: “We were never really in fashion, so we can’t go out of fashion.”
She adds that the current 90s resurgence helps a lot too, “My daughter is in a musical right now and I took her shopping for rehearsals clothes, and I’m not kidding when I say she looked like me in the 90s! It’s all coming round again.”
H adds: “We arrived on the scene at the end of the Brit Pop era with Blur and Oasis, and they’re very cool bands. When we released 5 6 7 8 people were like ‘what the hell is this’ and rightly so.
“We bridged the gap between cool and camp. Back in the day our fans brought their mums to our shows, now those fans have their own children, so it’s a real full circle moment. It’s nice to see they’re brainwashed too! (laughs).
“Here & Now is banger after banger, hit after hit, but it’s also told through a story so it’s different. Sometimes the tracks are stripped back for more intimate moments. Chain Reaction is such a huge moment!
“Back in the day Steps was our life, we didn’t know any different. Now we have lives, we have businesses, we have families, and it’s nice because we can really dip in and out from Steps. Our surnames will always be ‘from Steps though’, that’s the obligatory pop name!”
You can book tickets for Here & Now, running from September 23 to October 4th in the Bord Gais Energy Theatre, here.