Generation STEPS - The #1 Steps Fansite

Gold Greatest Hits Tour

I'm Alex and this is a report of the first show in the Gold 2001 Tour. Advice to anybody going to a show is to arrive after the support acts have performed, we did and we don't regret it.

After about half an hour of advertisments on the screens, the lights went down and the atmosphere was electric, thousands of sparkling lights in the air. On the screens, messages were projected to the audience - 'Are you ready?' 'SSSSCCCCRRRRREEEEEAAAAAMMMMM!!!'

'We can't hear you! Scream again' 'Wow! Let's begin!' This was a really good way in building up the atmosphere, and after a few long minutes, the club remix of One For Sorrow started to play, and when the first verse was reached, the red curtains opened, revealing a beautiful set, lit up magically, and Steps, dancing and singing like they never have before.

I won't reveal anything more about the show, but if you're going, be sure to know everything they do is bigger and better than before, and this show manifests perfectly the dedication and professionalism that makes Steps the best and most popular group in the UK.

24th November 2001 » Sheffield Arena

Hello, I'm still on a high after the concert. Firstly the merchandise is as good as always plenty of posters, t-shirts etc and the programme is fab. Its circular shaped with a fantastic picture on the front which I wish was the Greatest hits CD cover. It is all 5 of their heads with the steps logo in the centre also a new Gold tour beanie bear.

As to the supports the guy who won BBC star for a night was first then an average boy band called D.V.S were second. The STEPS show started at 8:15 with an overture and various icons on the screen such as "are you ready" etc then there are orchestral versions of many STEPS songs and then one for sorrow starts and they just appear on stage. It appears to be a Sleazesisters edit then Deeper shade of blue other songs follow including H on his wires to do a version of CHER'S "believe" Lisa also flies of sorts to do "Bittersweet" a bonus track on the new single. Faye does a very funky version of "if you believe" and Lee does a new song which is a cross between Michael Jackson and Ricky marti n(you will appreciate this comment when you see it). Claire does "hand on your heart" from Buzz. Heartbeat is a funky remix too!. They do all the singles including "words are not enough" and baby don't dance but I am sure they did not do "say you'll be mine"!.

The video of Words are not enough is played just before the finale which starts with stomp. I thought this bit was amazing as there is a platform over the heads of people on the floor blocks over the centre of block b .They do two songs over everyone's heads and they are low!!.

Its also nice to see the dancers are the same too.

Also just before the concert the dance mix of I know him so well was played. My favourite song "You'll be sorry" was performed with amazing lasers. So many things keep coming to mind so just go and enjoy.

24th November 2001 » Sheffield Arena

Wow what a fantastic night! The support acts were pants as usual we had the star for a night winner + a boyband full of 12 year olds called d.v.s.

We were then treated to videos of the steptacular tour performances + a listen to 2 remixes one of I know him so well and the other words are not enough. Then the lights went down and an orchestral overture of some of steps songs with the screens showing words such as are you ready? + scream! + pictures(updated steptoons) this lasted quite a while about 5mins and then the curtain went back to show a glittering set including numerous gold discs, a large screen and a central door. Smoke rose and there were steps stood on 5 circular raised platforms dressed in pink/red and they burst into what I would say was the sleazesisters mix of one for sorrow (with the U.S. dance) followed by deeper shade of blue (again sleazesisters I think) then loves gotta hold on my heart. Following this my mind goes blank as to the set list, though I do know is that every single was performed apart from say you'll be mine! We were treated to an exclusive performance of Baby don't dance (with a great but complicated dance routine). Also an uptempo version of Heartbeat (kind of had a garage feel to it) with a new dance routine.5678 was not performed by STEPS but by the 5 of the dancers with large steps heads on (the ones that other bands such as boyzone have) Only one medley was included which was of better the devil you know,summer of love and better best forgotten ( I think). H was the first to go solo and appeared in the centre of the audience swinging from the roof, he swung to the stage and performed a version of cher's hit 'believe' alone with most dancers, glowsticks/lightsabres (which kept fading out) and a wicked dance routine especially when the lights went out and all you could see were the glowsticks moving and 2 green lazers coming from the stage. Faye gave us a fantstic rendition of 'if you believe' with a new uptempo garage feel, she started off hung/stood on a wall on the stage and came down and did her thing! While the arena was filled with bubbles! Lisa sung the new song bittersweet and swung over the audience sat in a chair - a great pop song. Claire's was probably the worst solo offering of Hand on your heart, brilliantly sung but nothing special. Lee was the last solo step introduced by faye and he performed a kind of Ricky Martin song (no idea of the name) which he wrote himself, with lots of explosions and hip swinging. During all of this there were set allterations such as chinese ball lanterns for after the love has gone and drapes from the roof for loves gotta hole on my heart and signs lit up saying 'step one' 'steptacular' 'buzz' and 'gold' hanging from the ceiling.

No doubt about it that the encore was the best part a HUGE catwalk+stage was lowered from the ceiling and hung above the audience, it went out about halfway and hung mid air it must have looked fantastic but as I was sat nearly directly below it I couldn't really see much. Anyway steps came on dressed in gold outfits kind of old fashioned - lots of feathers and big skirts for the girls (a top hat for faye that kept falling off) they performed the first verse + chorus of stomp on the stage then made there way to the stairs up to the catwalk and proceeded along the catwalk to the ledge/stage at the end where the performed tragedy, the steps dancers were still on stage and for the people at the front we could still see steps on the screens. The last song was chain reaction which was performed on the main stage with lots of explosions/ streamers and it must have been raining glitter/sugarpaper for about 5 minutes. Steps said there goodbyes and the curtain closed. All in all an absolutely fantastic show and if your going you'll have a great time even if your sat at the back! The best STEPS concert EVER!!!!! M@

24th November 2001 » Sheffield Arena

hi everyone!
we went to see steps on their opening night of the concert at sheffield arena.i took my daughter for the first time she's nearly 3yrs old but a massive steps fan,they started with one for sorrow as soon as they came on stage we were up on our feet and dancing away.we were very close to the stage up on the side we had an excellent view their dancing was great,singing was fab + the costumes were superb as always iv,e been to every tour at sheffield so far but this has to be the best ever.at one point theres a platform that comes down over the audience which gives the people at the back a good view so where ever your sat you can see them clearly at some point in the show.H,Lee,Lisa,Claire+faye have really proved to all those critics they are the best in pop and will be for a long time to come(hopefully). from
sandy + nicole-paige
Hull

25th November 2001 » Sheffield Arena

Can I first of all just say a big well done to Steps!

I have just left the concert feeling so good about life, and other things. They put on such a good show - musically and visually - I was really impressed and amazed.

Please dont die with shock when you read this next part, but I am almost certain that 90% of the songs tonight were live vocal!!! I found it so hard to believe myself - altho i will find out when the video is eventually released!

The vocals were soo finely done - the rejigging of the old classic Heartbeat was a real turn up for the books and got my vote - and they also changed the backing music for I Know Him So Well! The lifhting and stage effects were really smoothly done, like with H's fantastic cover of Believe (originally by plastic lady Cher) the laser lights were a real suprise and just added so much more to it all. Faye shone as always, and so did Claire.

Out of all of the songs that they sang tonight, the ones that i thought were mimed were DSOB, OFS and Stomp - altho i could be wrong.If you get a chance to go and see this tour, please do! It really is worth your money, they were so much better than they were before at previous tours - this one was easily the best concert that I have EVER been to!

Thanks for Listening, and if you read this Steps, Thanks for such a wonderful evening!!

25th November 2001 » Sheffield Arena

Sheffield - Sunday Evening - 25th November Support Acts - 3SL & Allstars

Steps began at 8.25pm and ended at 10.10pm

Claire delivered her promise when she told us on behalf of the band that we were going to see the best Steps show ever. A well crafted production showing flair and innovation to delight a full house.

Song wise, I think we received pretty much what we expected. However, there was no Say You’ll Be Mine, When I Said Goodbye or Only In My Dreams but we did get You’ll Be Sorry, I Know Him So Well & Baby Don’t Dance.

The solo songs were undoubtedly the best collection ever. Claire delighted me by performing the Buzz track Hand On Your Heart. A favourite song off the album delivered in the style of a true diva - and sung live.

H flew onto stage - literally, to begin his cover of the Cher classic Believe and a routine complete with Star Wars style light sabres. Faye produced a remix of her own song If You Believe and this classy ballad was transformed into what I can only describe as a ‘funky upbeat’ version - but it worked and appeared well received.

Lee sang a new song, the best he has done and was elevated with 2 girl dancers on a centre stage ramp, ending with a very, very big bang !

Lisa stole the solo show. She performed Bittersweet the bonus track from the new single and whilst it is impossible to rate a song by hearing it the once, it swung along very nicely and left you wanting to hear more - always a good sign. However, Lisa performed much of her song from a flying throne which travelled from the stage out into the centre of the arena. She threw flower petals to her loyal subjects beneath, to crown herself Queen for the night.

And so to the main show. The video screens teased us for many minutes with the overture. This video presentation introduced clips of each band member backed by orchestrations of their hits and were punctuated with the phrases ‘are you ready’, ‘scream’, ‘louder’, ‘ we can’t hear you’, ‘are you ready’. Well thought out and effective, the audience were fully primed when the curtain finally flew back and the opening song - One For Sorrow got the show on the road.

The set consisted of a huge video screen with a staircase each side and great use was made of floating podiums throughout the evening.

Deeper Shade Of Blue, Loves Got A Hold On My Heart followed and then we had the dancers with caricature Steps heads performing 5678 to allow for a costume change. After The Love Has Gone, Hear And Now followed and all well delivered in full and with the expected dance routines.

I love Steps and I know the fans hate you to criticise, but whilst it should be applauded that they try to be different, the version of Heartbeat was downright terrible. Perhaps other reviewers as the tour proceeds will comment on this particular point. The over all show was so good, perhaps we can reduce the sentence from murder to manslaughter of such a classic song.

The show continued at a furious pace. The new single was introduced and well performed, followed immediately by I Know Him So Well which proved to be one of the highlights of the evening.

Its The Way You Make Me Feel was sung live and then came Baby Don’t Dance. This performance will banish forever the doubts that this is not a great Steps song and will fare very strongly when released as a single.

The show was about an hour and three quarters. If only they could have stretched it to 2 hours we could have had full versions of Better The Devil You Know, Summer Of Love & Better Best Forgotten. We actually had a 3 song medley which Lee announced would end the show and we got about a minute of each song. It was great, but obviously we would have liked more.

But the show didn’t end there. The new animated video was played in full on all screens in preparation for a truly steptacular finale.

Gold outfits and a vaudeville theme for the girls, complete with feathers in their hair. Stomp began the final sequence and the band left the stage via a stair case which led to a walkway that had descended and stretched two thirds of the way down the centre of the arena. The crowd went wild as Steps, danced, sang and waved their way down the centre of the area, suspended for all to see. Tragedy followed in similar style with streamers being fired in all directions.

A return to the stage saw a thrilling climax with the final song - Chain Reaction with full dance routine. It ended on a high with pyrotechnics and the customary thank you’s from the band.

A fantastic show, that never really slowed from a frenetic pace and an awesome finale that fully deserves all the plaudits it received. The best of all the tours and if you are booked for the future dates, you should have the time of your lives.

Garry Marshall

27th November 2001 » Glasgow SECC

Firstly I have to admit this is my first ever Steps tour that I've been to, so I can't really compare them to any previous tours, however, I will say that this tour was absolutely fantastic and I can see why Steps have won awards for their tours.

Anyway to the performance I wasn't expecting to see Allstars as support for Steps so I was pleasantly surprised.

The stage was fantastic full of golden objects, strobe lighting and fireworks.

I loved the bits where H had his solo part and came flying down the arena on a swing-rope, Lisa goes over the audience in a chair and near the end when they go along the platform above the audience, that would be good for the people in the back seats!

I'm sure all of their songs were performed live and I did wonder why Say You'll Be mine wasn't featured as it is a greatest hit, but all in all it was great!

I hope this won't be their last and there are many more to come!

Paul Keegans

27th November 2001 » Glasgow SECC

Well What can I say- Amazing

The show was very late in starting, they wouldn't let us in to the arena for an extra 2 hours nearly it finally started with 3SL, Lisa scott-Lee's 3 brothers, they were really good then followed by allSTARS who were amazing!!!

The show started with Steptoons on the video screens while orcestra versions of the songs were played, then a lot of screaming as one for sorrow played followed by deeper shade of blue, i can't remember the order but the next thing to happen was H flying from the back of the arena on a trapeeze to sing believe (cher version),

The next hightlight was lisa during her solo flying to the back of the arena on a throne dropping pettals on everone!!

all the songs were in between, baby don't danse is good as is each of the solos. after the video for word are not enough is played on the screens Stomp is performed, this is the beginning of the finale.

while Stomp is on a huge platform which reatched right to the back of the arena was lowered just above our heads, Tragedy began as Steps boarded the platform, danced the whole was along and back with lots of confetti and stremers reatching everyone in the crowd wherever they were sitting! then they returned to the stage for the final song which was Chain Reaction!

It really was amazing and definetly worth going to see for yourself! I really didn't think they could out-do previous tours with the same song but the proved me more than wrong!!! I'm going again on Thursday and I can't Wait!!!!

Amazing! luv Paul x

27th November 2001 » Glasgow SECC

Well what can I say having never been to a Steps concert before I didn't know what to expect but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised !!!!

Unfortunately we were late getting into the arena due to technical problems but it was worth the wait. The show started with Lisa introducing her brothers 3SL via a video screen who performed three tracks and then Allstars got the crowd going perfoming four tracks and getting the audience to do a mexican wave.

Before Steps appeared on stage an animated video display introduced them with orchestral versions of some of their hits and prompts telling the audience to SCREAM LOUDER which they did !!!!! Thanks to the screaming girls behind me for damaging my eardrums !!!!

Below is a summary of what I think are the highlights of the show.

One for Sorrow Sleaze Sisters Mix/Deeper Shade of Blue Sleaze Sisters mix- Great intro to the show

Believe - H's cover of the Cher song flying onto the stage via a harness and performing with dancers twirling light sabres and Matrix style effects on the video walls.

Love's got a hold on my Heart - Never heard this live before and it was performed superbly.

After the love has gone - Also never heard this live before so I was pleasantly surprised !

5,6,7,8 - Performed by dancers with oversized heads very bizarre but funny too.

Heartbeat - Sung live with a more upbeat backing track which was strange but seemed to work.

If you believe - Faye's solo song from Buzz which has also being reworked to be more upbeat with a kind of garage feel to it. Worked very well and was sung live superbly.

Bittersweet - Solo song co written by Lisa and featured on the new single. Very upbeat and mature sounding started with Lisa on a treadmill on the stage to simulate her walking on the spot.In the second half of the song Lisa sits on a chair which flies out over the audience where upon she covers the audience in rose petals. Also sung live

Hand on my heart - Claire's solo from Buzz which was performed live on a stage set with candles and showed off how truly amazing her voice really is.

Baby Don't Dance - From their performance this looks set to be the next single and has a fab dance routine. Expect to see this released around Valentines Day judging by the big hearts on the video walls.

Baby get Closer to me - Well not quite sure on the title but this is Lee's solo and quite a good one at that.Sounds a bit like Ricky Martin. Big explosions, female dancers Amazing !!! and also sung live.

I know him so well - Hard to watch without having tears in your eyes. The backing track has been slightly reworked and the girls performed it on platforms which move around the stage.This was also performed live brilliantly

You'll be Sorry - My personal favourite from Buzz which was strangely absent from the Greatest Hits album. H sung live vocals and lots of tiny green lasers created the look of the video on the stage.

As well as these highlights Steps also performed It's the Way You Make Me Feel, Here and now and the latest single Words are not Enough all of which were sung live. Some of the older hits were reduced to medley's which included Last thing on my mind, Better best forgotten, Better the Devil you know and Summer of love which also had live vocals in part.

The show ends in fantastic style with a stage set that looks like it is a scene from a West End musical with signs of the names of Steps albums at the back and dancers dressed in dinner jackets. A platform is lowered from the ceiling which extends over the audience and Steps walk out on the platform performing to the WIP mix of Stomp and getting the crowd into a frenzy. They then perform Tragedy live whilst still on the platform and end by going back on stage for Chain Reaction which is also live. A fantastic finish to a great show.

All in all I have to say that this tour is unmissable. A good 98% of the show is live vocals and performed with such professionalism by Steps. A few songs such as When I Said goodbye and Say you'll be mine are absent from the show but apart from that it is a brilliant tribute to what Steps have achieved so far. Here's to the future !!!!!!!

Matt

27th November 2001 » Glasgow SECC

WWOOOAAAAAAHHHHHHHH
Glasgow well and truly went GOLD for a night.. infect I think it will be Gold until Friday.. and long beyond..... I was at the first Glasgow night of Gold and what an amazin' night it was. I'm still on a high! As soon as I entered the arena I bought a cute little Steps gold teddy (which is named Lee) and all through the performance I was waving it high in the air!

From the very moment the lights went down my excitement levels increased by an infinite amount! I loved the build up they had to their appearance on stage... "start up the orchestra" and I thought the orchestral mega mix overture was fantastic.... but then the curtains went back and all 5 were standin' there and startin to belt out one of my fav hits right away! I was not too far from the front. The whole night was fantastic, the singing, dancin and overall performing was fantastic, they know how to whip up a crowd.... infect..... The Scottish fans already know this.. but Lisa said we are the loudest fans in the whole of the UK. (We made Robbie Williams Cry in July because we loved him so much).

The night was 100% steptacular but what made it 500% even more amazin' was the fact that all of steps waved to me! I wasn't all that close to the front either.... it was because im so tall and I was jumpin and shoutin and wavin over the hundreds of little kids in front of me. Lisa saw me makin this effort 4 times and waved to me!!! Then on the Encore.... the best thing ever happened... I wont give to much away but.... everyone will get closer to Steps than ever before! At this point I was so excited I was jumpin and shoutin' and wavin' and Lee waved back and laughed (I missed it but my friend said he did) but because Faye saw Lee laugh, she looked at what he was lookin at.. and waved to me!!! It was great..... then H waved.... and then... this is no Joke.... Claire was stood right above me... Directly 2 metres away!! I was shoutin and screamin and wavin.... and she was staring right at me! I was wanting her to wave so I was shoutin and wavin' and jumpin' more than ever.. then she smiled... and I tripped and fell onto my chair!!

This concert is so good.... I would of paid £50 for a ticket! So good it should have a health warning! I have been to some great concerts, 2 Robbie Williams, Spice Girls and a Tina Turner one... and I said those will never be beaten..... well on the 27th of November...... Steps Gold took over my world! Fantastic... they got to release it on video!
Scott 18 Glasgow

28th November 2001 » Glasgow SECC

"Words are not enough" to describe the Gold Tour. It started with the Allstars who came on and really got the crowd going with their hits Bump in the Night and Best Friends.

The build up was unbelievable, we were made to scream, then after about 15 minutes of screaming our voices off, Steps came on and the setting of the stage was the best of all the concerts and the start was great.

When it came to the solos, it kicked off with H coming from the back of the arena on a ropeslide and on to the stage. He sang Cher's song Believe. There were lasers coming from the stage and then they started dancing with glowsticks. Lisa did a great song which she wrote herself and it was called Bittersweet. She came out over the audience in a chair and started throwing confetti over everyone. Faye's solo started with her standing on a wall and jumping down and doing a remix of If You Believe. Claire did a ballad which was very good, and it was called Hand on my Heart. Last of all, Lee did a really good song but sadly I can't remember the name and in this performance part of the ground raised.

The finale was the best. A thing like a bridge lowered from the ceiling and Steps danced along it for the last three songs and then confetti and smoke came out of the sides.

I was really gob-smacked by the performance and would never miss another Steps live. That was the best concert I'd ever been to and I will buy the video when it comes out.

by Jillian. (age 11)

P.S Steps can really sing live and you will see if you go to one of their concerts.

29th November 2001 » Glasgow SECC

have just been to 3 shows of the gold tour in Glasgow. The show was simply amazing the stage was simple but effective, and all the touches such as H, flying in to perform believe, then Lisa on a flying chair, and for the finale the platform coming down in the centre of the arena, allowing those at the back a much better view of their pop star idols, were extremely effective.

The opening could have been a little bit better, perhaps if they didn't just appear on stage, I think we are all use to them making grand entrances such as, the "next step tour" and the "steptacular" tour, also the performance of one for sorrow at the beginning was a bit of a let down, however it soon picked up with dsob, that would have been better to start with. >From that point on though they did it very well, however again a distinct lack of live vocals, and with cameras in their faces it was sometimes very noticeable!

They did however perform a few more songs, live, or well semi live, they seemed to just sing along over the backing track, so that if a note wasn't achievable they could simply just move there mouth and let the CD in the background do their job! I was pleased though that we could finally get to hear them sing to some of the more popular (fast) songs, live, I do think that chain reaction at the end was fully live but not sure as each night myself and the crowd seemed to drown out there voices but I think it was, however at that point I was enjoying it so much anyway I had forgot about whether they were live or not anyway!!!

Overall the show was fantastic, they really kept the crowd interested, and I strongly recommend the show to all music fans, as after all steps have made music history and deserve much more recognition than they currently receive.

Gordon
Glasgow

29th November 2001 » Glasgow SECC

I was at the Steps concert in Glasgow on 29th November. The only words i can find to describe the Steps concert is - brilliant! It was my first Steps concert ever and i loved every minute of it! I did feel a bit old coz there were loads of little kids around and i felt like the only 18 year old there! We were suppose to have the allSTARS as a support act but we never got them but got DVS instead! The start of the concert went on a bit long coz they played this video on the screen for like 15 minutes and had us all screaming! The tune for One For Sorrow started and Steps were suddenly on the stage! Their solos were brilliant! H suddenly appeared hanging above to audience, Lisa came out across the audience in a chair, Faye sang a remix of If You Believe, Claire sang Hand On Your Heart and Lee sang a new song he wrote for the tour which was really good and a part of the stage raised during it and the screams were very loud! Best part was when a platform came down from the ceiling that Steps could walk along and go right to the back! They sang Tragedy on this and everyone at the back was going crazy! There were no bad parts to the actual show but i had to sit down during the whole show coz i had some little girls behind me and if i stood up the couldn't see so i saw the back of someones head for most of the show! It was the best concert i have ever been to and that includes the a1 concert! Can't wait to see them again! *Jo*

29th November 2001 » Glasgow SECC

Ok well we got in2 our seats, and then the one for soz music started,and we screamed!! Anyway, after OFS they did DSOB then LGAHOMH, which was amazing, and then after that, while the dancers were doing 5,6,7,8, my mum and my sis saw this guy running past them, and he had a black cloth draped over his head!!! Anyway, since they were RIGHT behind the FOH sound desk, he went in there and they could see him being helped in2 this harness thingy, and then when he took the black thing off, it was H!!! they were sooooo close 2 him!! and he had silver trousers with a black top on, and he sailed over the audience, over us to the stage, and then sang Believe by Cher!! Then the girls came on and talked about how good H's solo was. Then they started singing ATLHG without the guys, who came on after about 20 seconds or so!! They were all dressed in shiny green kinda oriental clothes, and they went over 2 all the sid

Then they all came back on and talked about the christmas single, and how its out on Monday - and then they performed WANE, live, followed by the girls staying onstage on floating platforms with mist all around them and they dedicated the song to one of the dancer's mums, and all the mums in the audience!!

Then, the big wheel in the FOH sound desk started turning, and this harness thing flew high over the audience 2 the stage, and then Lisa came on 2 sing Bittersweet. Then this silver chair lifted up and she got in2 the harness and sat in the chair. She flew over the audience (we got a FAB pic of her like 5 metres away from us!) and then flew back 2 the stage. Then H came onstage while Lisa went 2 get changed, and said 'wasnt my little welsh kid lisa fantastic'?!?!' .

They all came back onstage and performed baby dont dance, which has the most complicated dance routine EVER! Then Lee began his solo like Michael Jackson, with a top hat looking down against a white background, and then sang some song he wrote himself (it was actually quite good!). Then, i dropped my mums camera, which smashed (nice one!) and wouldnt work anymore obviously, but i spent YBS and part of BTDYK trying 2 piece it back 2gether!!. Then they medleyed into SOL, and then BBF. Then, the massive silver catwalk came down, (this is the best part of a concert ever!).....

The catwalk stretched right back so the platform was aboutabout a metre above us, so if i stood on the seat and stretched out i could have touched them!. They came up the stairs at the stage, and performed stomp. They were leaning over the barrier, and then Claire came over to our side and we shoved our banner up, WHICH SHE READ AND GAVE THE THUMBS UP TO!!! she smiled at us going mental, and then they walked down the catwalk again. Then, tragedy started up and they came back. H was right next 2 us but he was looking in the other direction, so he didnt see his H reaction bit!! Anyway, Lee was making his way up the catwalk, and leaning out through the bars. Then he was about a metre and a half away from us, and leaned through so he was soooooo close!! Then, we showed him our banner, and then he stuck his tongue out and smiled. We went completely crazy and then he laughed at us!!!! Then after that we were on a high, and they made their way back down the catwalk, and the silver thing rose back up 2 the ceilin

AND THAT WAS THAT!!! I got a steps t-shirt, LOL!! and a 3SL poster!!! my sister got the gold beanie baby, and we got a programme, which is a circle and FAB!

30th November 2001 » Glasgow SECC

Hi there
Congratulations to steps on a job well done.I was at Glasgow on the 30 th of November and they were at their best yet again. To anyone who has been to a steps show before prepare to be dazzaled. The build up and opening version of One for Sorrow is great, as is the fianl but im giving no detalis away as it would really spoil it. The solo spots are excellent and so is the new songs. this is definetely their best yet. one thing i will say is that their is a great song done by lisa called bittersweet which is on the new single and H sings an old classic by Cher. I cant wait to see it again on Sky Boxoffice on the 22 nd of December. Hope u all enjoy it!

1st December 2001 » Newcastle Arena

Well I am absolutely gob smacked from start to finish ''THE'' best steps tour yet!!!

First of all we had 3sl and All-stars even though it was claimed we weren't getting them. 3sl were really cool singing 3 great songs which were really ace and they got the crowd warmed up nicely! Then came all-stars which were absolutely fab they sung ''Things that go bump in the night'' ''best friend'' ''land of make believe'' and a new track called ''please tell me'' they were really great and I loved every minute of their performance. After another 5 minutes of ''SCREAAAMMMMM'' and '' LOUDER'' and ''WE CAN'T HEAR YOU ''.......''WOW'' and an overture in organ style music (no words) to last thing on my mind , one for sorrow , heartbeat , tragedy, loves got a hold on my heart , after the love has gone, deeper shade of blue, when I said goodbye , chain reaction I think that was all? Steps eventually came on the stage was pitch black and the curtains were drawn and there they were stood absolutely still as one for sorrow started playing. The lights brightened and they started to sing as the platform they were stood on slowly moved forward and they reached the front and burst into full (u.s) dance routine flowing straight into the sleaze sisters mix of deeper shade of blue which was absolutely fantastic! both of these tracks were mimed and EVERY single track apart from these two were completely LIVE!). They welcomed us and moved on to the next song which H made us guess the finger in the air and whip it around routine of course this was Love's got a hold on my heart which was sung amazingly. From here on the track listing is pretty hazy but it went something like this: heartbeat: remixed and was A LOT better than the original complete with dance routine and vocals were amazing!

h's solo: a BRILLIANT rendition of the classic ''Believe'' by Cher. He was hanging like a trapeze act from a bar and slowly hung across the ceiling moving gradually toward the stage where he sang and danced with big yellow luminous glowing light sabers it was great!

here and now: One of my personal faves complete with dance routine 100% live I sang and danced my ill heart out to this one nearly knocking out a lady behind me :s

it's the way you make me feel: sang live and stunningly apart from Lisa I think it was Lisa or Faye forgot their line on the second verse and they said oops missed that one there! followed by Lisa saying ''lost the plot!''

fayes solo: an even BETTER mix of ''if you believe'' she and the dancers were stood on a sort of rack centre stage and gradually came off it and burst into routine in her ABSOLULY BRILLIANT dungarees that were hugely flared at the foot and had a sparkly star on the chest ! a great performance!

last thing on my mind: usual routine sang live pretty good entertainment value!

5,6,7,8: the steps dancers complete with big ugly plastic heads really good performance and kept us entertained while steps got changed.

words are not enough: steps sang this wonderfully and it was a great performance they reminded us it was out on monday and we all had to buy it!

I know him so well: the steps girls moving forward and backwards on moving platforms sang this beautifully

Lisa' solo: ''bittersweet'' a really nice song but not her best as she walked on what seemed a tread mill walking and walking but got nowhere until she climbed aboard the throne and flew across the audience throwing petals onto the audience! A great performance!

after the love has gone: brilliant to see this one back! great performance live and danced vigorously!

Claire solo : ''hand on your heart'' a great live performance complete with candles and stand in long black ball gown it was fantastic!

you'll be sorry: we certainly weren't it was fab one of my fave songs they sang live and it sounded ace!!!!!

better the devil you know/ summer of love / better best forgotten : shield your face unless you want it burnt off!!!! a huge load of flames as better the devil you know starts leads into the second verse of summer of love into the first verse of better best forgotten a great performance on all accounts!!

lee's solo: ''we've got it going on '' and on an on an on an on an on lol love that bit look out for what I mean! very Ricky martin sounding sang great and danced great!

steps disappear ed for what seemed the end of the show.....but not yet!

dressed in FANTASTICALLY sexy outfits complete with gold trimmings galore very Moulin rouge the catwalk was lowered !

stomp: the w.i.p mix of stomp started playing and they danced the first verse before climbing aboard ''the'' most fantastic platform that stretched right down the arena that they waved on and such.

tragedy: walking up and down the platform while the dancers were on stage doing the routine and steps did a tiny bit on the platform looking over the audience

chain reaction: this was the grand finally it was fantastic and although when Claire sang this she sounded 5 years old ( awww how sweet) it was stunning BEST STEPS SHOW EVER ON EARTH IN THE WHOLE HISTORY OF CONCERTS ANYWHERE!!!!!

quotes of the night: Faye commented on everyone's nurses outfits and said our side of the arena was very sparkly!

h: said that he loved Newcastle coz we were so loud

tyler : now I am SURE she called us GLASGOW!!!! NEWCASTRLE DEAR!

Claire: said we were all fab and she smiled at me a few times wit a cheeky grin in which I responded with a seductive look!!!! I mean who wouldn't !!!! lol

Overall a great performance and it will stay in my memory for ever!!!!

Thankyou steps!!!!!

1st December 2001 » Newcastle Arena

Support Acts: 3SL: The first were 3SL (Lisa's brothers). They done 3 songs one of which is going to be their first single which is out in March. In my opinon 3SL were the best support act. allSTARS: allSTARS came on after 3SL and performed their last single Bump In The Night and done 3 other songs one which is their next single and one that was their first single called Best Friend.

The Setlist
One For Sorrow (Remix)
Deeper Shade Of Blue (Remix)
Love's Got A Hold On My Heart
5,6,7,8 (Dancers only)
Believe (H solo)
After The Love Has Gone
Here And Now
Heartbeat (Remix)
If You Believe (Remix - Faye Solo)
It's The Way You Make Me Feel
Hand On Your Heart (Claire Solo)
Words Are Not Enough
I Know Him So Well
Bittersweet (Lisa Solo)
Baby Don't Dance
We Got It Goin' On (Lee Solo)
You'll Be Sorry
Last Thing On My Mind
Better The Devil You Know/Summer Of Love/Better Best Forgotten
Stomp
Tragedy
Chain Reaction

ONE FOR SORROW

Steps opened the show with my favourite song One For Sorrow. The beginning was performed like the UK version of OFS and the rest was like the US version. It wasn't the best tour opener they have done but was still my fave out of the songs.

DEEPER SHADE OF BLUE

Straight after One For Sorrow Steps went into the Sleaze Sisters remix of DSOB. Brillient performance had everyone off their butts and dancing. LOVE'S GOT A HOLD ON MY HEART After H got the audience to swing their arm in a circle, Steps went on to do

Loves Got A Hold On My Heart.
5,6,7,8
5,6,7,8 was next performed by the dancers only. The dancers had massive Steps heads on and basically looked like prats. NO OFFENCE MEANT TOWARDS THE DANCERS. But was still a very funny/interesting performance. BELIEVE (H's Solo) One word can describe thisWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW. I was very impressed considering I hate this song. H came flying from the back of Block C and i was too busy putting a new film in my camera to watch. But i still got very good pics of that performace

AFTER THE LOVE HAS GONE

Next came After The Love Has Gone. Brillient performance but thats nothing new, its always performed to perfection.

HERE AND NOW

Then came a recent Steps hit Here And Now. The version from the album Buzz was performed instead of the single version. But was still brillient to see it performed live again.

HEARTBEAT (REMIX)

Theres a new Heartbeat remix. I thought the new remix was brillient. Better then the slow version. The dance routine to it was cool. I can still see it in my mind.

IF YOU BELIEVE (FAYE'S SOLO REMIX)

What can I say. I love this song, but the 'funked up' version isn't as good as the version on the album. But Faye pulled it off and made it a brillient solo. She done a dancey bit in the like J. Lo does on her music vids. IT'S THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL I love this song. The performance would have been better if they had done the dance routine or at least had the dancers do the routine. But cant have everything, still it was steptacular and gave a massive buzz. Lisa also missed her line at one point cos she was laughing.

HAND ON YOUR HEART (CLAIRE'S SOLO)

This was sung to perfection by Claire. The whole audience was singing along to it. One of the male sat in the corner pretending to play the guitar while three female dancers pretended to backing singers.

WORDS ARE NOT ENOUGH

All I can say is WOW. This has to be one of the best performed they done together that night. Would have been better if the stewards hadn't spoiled everyones fun by telling everyone to sit down

I KNOW HIM SO WELL

H and Lee left the stage and left the three girls to perform I Know Him So Well. This was fantastic and as usual had me crying. BITTERSWEET (LISA'S SOLO) OMG......this was one of the best solo's Lisa has ever done (but i say that everytime). She sat on a chair and the chair went over the audience and was suspended just above the row i was in. On the way back Lisa dropped rose petals into the audience.

BABY DON'T DANCE

The stewards had told us all again to sit down but H had us all on our feet to learn the new dance routine. Not one of my favourite songs. All I have to say about this is:- DONT RELEASE THIS SONG!!!

WE GOT IT GOIN' ON (LEE'S SOLO)

The song was good, but the performance was the worst of the night. Sorry Lee, but needed more you shaking you butt maybe stripping :-D YOU'LL BE SORRY Not my favourite song Steps have released but was still excellent to see them performing this song and doing the dance routine.

LAST THING ON MY MIND

Last song before the finale. Excellent performance with the dance routine from when it first came out. The whole audience were up singing and dancing to this one.

BETTER THE DEVIL/SUMMER OF LOVE/BETTER BEST FORGOTTEN (MEDLEY) I would have preferred to see the whole of Better The Devil and Summer OF Love as they are two of the best songs they've released. The medley was good though.

While waiting for Steps to come back on the audience started chanting 'WE WANT STEPS' and the video for Words Are Not Enough came on the screens. Before Steps appeared on the stage the brigde suspened from the ceiling slowly lowered down over Blocks A, B and C.

STOMP
Steps appeared at the back of the stage in front of the screen and began to perform the WIP remix of Stomp while going over the brigde. On the way over I got a wave from all the members and Lee stuck his tounge at me....I'll forgive his this time. They performed the rest of Stomp at the end of the brigde that was made into a small stage.

TRAGEDY

Tragedy came next, but I could only see Lisa and H. Steps then came half way on the brigde and waved at everyone again. Towards the end of Tragedy they returned to the stage to perform the last song of the night. CHAIN REACTION Just as they got back on the stage Chain Reation started to play and the audience went MAD. They done STEPTACULAR performance that proved that they could sing. But then again they proved that over and over during the show. Steps said their Thank Yous and Goodbyes and the curtains closed.Out of all the tours Steps have done this one was the best. If you're not going you're missing out on the best tour ever.

Rachel

1st December 2001 » Newcastle Arena

Heres my review of the gig at Newcastle Telewest Arena 1st Dec:- Four rows from the stage & geared up in our nurse & doctor uniforms, me & my bandmate, Emma were in for a great night in Stepsworld after meeting Faye & Lisa earlier.

1st up there was 3SL, who cancelled their Manchester Smash Hits gig to be with us all! They were fantastic! They performed 3 great songs including their forthcoming single which I think could be a top 10 hit. Ant was most lively of the three at even waved at us, then he showed off his chest to everyone in the arena, naughty! lol!

Next up were allSTARS! They were fab also! Their 1st song was Things Go Bump In The Night, which was very well choreographed! At the end of their singing, one of the guys threw is towel into the audience, I bet that caused a scuffle! lol!

"We want Steps! We want Steps!" was heard when the lights died down & large words appeared on screen asking for screams! Then they played some of their hits without the words whilst introducing the group on the colourful cartoony screens!

The music started and it was time! Steps began!

They started off with a superb rendition of their #2 hit One For Sorrow by performing the US Mix of the song. During that time, H had noticed us both in our outfits & was waving at us, giving us the thumbs up. He nearly forgothis dance routine because of us, and they had only started! lol! After that they performed Deeper Shade Of Blue remix & got the whole crowd dancing!

Faye & Lisa were in a pink bikini-style ensemble! Really cool! Both songs were mimed but OFS chorus wasnt!

They welcomed us all and then H started to mess about with Emma by doing his "come here" wave..lol..he was flirting with her all night, naughty boy..lol!

Lisa noticed us & waved also :) Then they broke into another song..Loves Got A Hold On My Heart, which they did very very well!Then they started with their new fan-dangled remixes..lol! They sang Heartbeat in RnB style live! and I can honestly say that it was awesome! Yet again H was winding up Emma, this time Claire noticed us & waved..lol! Im suprized H never got us both on stage after the taunting & winding up he was doing..lol!

Next up was 5,6,7,8 with dancers, and very big heads!! One of the dancers kept messing about as if he were forgetting his routine on purpose, couldve been H, jk! lol!

Then it was H's solo...He flew onto the stage from the back-end of the arena to the stage & sang Believe brilliantly, and with glowsticks which gave it a techical feel, and bright!

Im not 100% sure how the songs went from there but they were great no matter what order.lol! After Believe, H left the stage, Lisa & the girls came on, applauded H & introduced their next track, After The Love Has Gone. Lee & H came back on stage & joined in. It was excellent, despite them altering the dance routine a little..lol! They warmed up the crowd again with Last Thing On My Mind before they disappeared offstage. Faye came back onstage and sang an RnB version of If You Believe on a ladder! It was fantastic! I love it! Faye noticed us and waved..lol, we practically stole the show! lol! The stage went dark then lazers blasted everywhere blinding everyone in sight lol jk! It was time for Here And Now! Excellent dance routine & very well executed. After they finished the great song, the group came back onstage to perform their best ballad yet, Words Are Not Enough...They sang it live & it couldnt have been better! They reminded us all about it being released on the 3rd before they ran offstage. Almost instantly the stage turned into clouds as Faye, Claire & Lisa came on to perform I Know Him So Well, they dedicated it to all of the mums in teh audience, aww bless! After they started to make the mums all weepy, heheh, Lisa stayed onstage to perform their B-Side, Bittersweet which was VERY sweet, believe me. Lisa also went for a flying lesson, but on a throne!! Queen Lisa! hehe! Faye came onstage after Lisas performance & said that she loved the costumes, she walked over to us and had the spotlight on us for a couple of seconds and said "especially u two"! I was like "uh-oh what we got ourselves into!" lolol!

Then Faye went on search for other cozzie wearers & poster bearers! She then introduced Lee and his solo Weve Got It Goin On, which was very Ricky Martin style, mixed with a raising stage which I thought was gonna collapse! lol! Lee then introduced his favourite song Its The Way You Make Me Feel, my all-time fav song! They sang it live & very well, with words on screen for everyone to sing along to!! Next up was You'll Be Sorry with MORE blinding lazers.lol! It was great! Then Claire finished off the solos with a brilliant live performance of Hand On Your Heart which was not faultered one bit! Excellent job Claire :)!

Then it was Steps megamix time! They sang a collection of hits in one go; Better The Devil, Summer Of Love then Better Best Forgotten which was brilliantly done yet the risk of a suntan was very high LOL! The heat was intense! They disappeared down holes in the stage after the great mix!

Leaving everyone to sing along to the video of Words Are Not Enough, a huge catwalk appeared above us all and they re-appeared on stage singing Stomp (WIP Mix) whilst dancing along the walk & then finished with Tragedy and showering everyone with confetti & silly string!! Its was fab! They came down onto the stage and performed their great single Chain Reaction before showering everyone in confetti for a second time! All in all I think this is their best tour ever for suprizes! Especially with H messing about with us & Faye also saying that she loved our outfits.

All I say now is I cant wait until next time!!

Review by Gordon Bird.

2nd December 2001 » Newcastle Arena

WHAT CAN I SAY ABOUT THIS SHOW APART FROM IT WAS FANTASTIC. I TOOK MY TWO CHILDREN TO THE TWO SHOWS (SATURDAY AND SUNDAY EVENING AND THEY WERE MESMERIZED. THE ONLY CRITICISM I HAVE GOT IS THAT THE START OF THE SHOW WAS NOT A PATCH ON LAST YEARS CHRISTMAS TOUR, MY SISTER AND I WERE SAYING AFTER THE SHOW IT WASNT EASILY REMEMBERED SYAING THAT THEY MORE THAN MADE UP FORIT. I THOUGHT MOST SONGS WERE LIVE MY SISTER DIDNT(BUT SHES A WESTLIFE FAN). THE END MUST BE THE BEST EVER STEPS WERE RIGHT NEXT TO US ON THE PLATFORM AND ALL OF THEM WAVED AT US AND SMILED MY LITTLE GIRL IS A BIG LISA FAN AND WHEN LISA WAVED AT HER SHE WAS OVER THE MOON. THANK YOIU STEPS FOR A GREAT TWO NIGHTS YOU SIMPLY ARE THE BEST AND PLEASE GIVE US MORE TO COME FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS.

2nd December 2001 » Newcastle Arena

This was the second concert of the weekend as I was lucky enough to go and see the show on the Saturday also but today i was 6th row from the front, so had an excellent view. Didnt see the support acts (wasnt that bothered really), arrived just in time for Steps, the start of the show was really good with the orchestral versions of the hits, i especially liked the bits 'ARE U READY FOR....' that was cool... After what seemed like forever Steps came on stage... i thought it was very good the way they moved forward on the moving platforms (i still preferred last years opener though) The performance of One For Sorrow was good, as was deeper shade of blue and also Loves got a hold of my heart... A big favourite of mine was Heartbeat this remix is absoluely fantastic, the dance routine is wicked, i think they should put it on a Bside of their next single maybe? Ians solo was the best out of the five's, absolute perfection in my opinion (even though i cant stand the song) what ian watkins can do with a stick leaves little to the imagination - lol... When Ian came on at one point to speak to the audience he asks everyone to put up their hands if you have bought the album, so everyone puts there hands up, and then he says 'put your hands up if you havent', well he was stood directly infront of me at this point, so i stook my hand up, well Ian's face (cos he knows who I am) was a picture, but we laughed about it when i saw him afterwards - bless him :0) My favourite song of all time by any artist is 'Its the way you make me feel', i love this song so much, its beautiful, they performed it so well, i was nearly crying this song always brings a tear to my eye... Ian was trying to put Lisa off again, he's a nutter... I thought Faye's solo was really cool, her outfit was fantastic and it was a really good version too... I must admit i loved the performance of 5678 by the male dancers (who i think are all lovely) it was really funny... Lee's solo was good (especially the touche' shaking bit - lol), claires solo was good and so was lisa's (especially liked the flying throne part - very cool) I liked the performance of Baby Dont Dance - very good... The finale was excellent, the catwalk that came down was fantastic, very effective, and the performances of Stomp, Tragedy and Chain Reaction were excellent... Lee was laughing at me dancing to Chain Reaction - cheeky thing... All in all i thought the concert was fantastic, the dancers were the best ever!! (esp Gavin!!!) Cant wait to see the show again on the 21st (seen it three times already :0) ) Looking forward to the next tour already Hellen - Manchester

6th December 2001 » Wembley Arena

H Wow ! What can I say ? A truly Stepatacular show ! The show was delayed for about 15 minutes- but it was well worth the wait. First the lights went down and lisa came on the TV screen introducing 3sl they were really good , the crowd seemed to like them !! Next we had to watch the allstars on the screen for a few minutes while they sneeked on stage ! They were really really good . Again the audience really liked them . We were then treated to 5-10 minutes of watching the TV screen saying "SCREAM" "WOW" and "ARE YOU READY FOR " this gave the audience a real buzz ! The curtain went back and there they were - the one and only STEPS ! The crowd went wild ! They started by singing one for sorrow. This is one of my fave songs so I really enjoyed it . Next deeper shade of Blue and Loes Got A hold On My Heart . Then a quick change.The show continued with all the hits ! The costumes were beautiful. They all looked stunning ! There were about 5 costume changes in all ! The set/stage was simple but nice . A few steps here and there. We were taught a bit of the new dance for " Baby dont dance " . This had a fantastic dance routine ! Heartbeat had been re vamped and was sung in an r+b sort of re mix it was really good - I loved the new dance. Fayes solo If you believe was also remixed. Lee said " Faye has funked up her song - I have to be carefull how i say that " ! Lisa flew across the audience in her chair - that was quite cool. H flew across the audiense on a trapiziam thing ! Lee was on a part of the stage that just went up and up ! Faye was on a wall thing. All the solo's were amazing ! Sadly there were technical problems in the arena so unfortunately the platform did not come down at the end . But this didnt stop eveyone having a good time ! H , Lisa and Lee waved at me . I couldn't believe it ! The show ended with tragedy, stomp and chain reaction. This left the crowd happy and buzzing ! Gold really was the show of all shows ! Well done Steps !!!!!!!!!!!!!

6th December 2001 » Wembley Arena

It was excelllent! I was 4 rows from the front and I still can't believe I was that close! My photos are brilliant. i'llt ry and scan some so you can put then no the website. The special effects were brilliant: the fireworks, H flying, Lisa flying on her chair. Ii thought it was really good that they were on stage for 2hrs.They all waved to me and my sister. The support acts we ahd were 3SL and Allstars. 3SL were brilliant. Allstars were rubbish ( so i thought)! Love Katie xXx

6th December 2001 » Wembley Arena

The Gold Tour! Thursday 6th December 2001 Wembley Arena I was Soo excited that morning, on the day which I had named "Gold Day 2!" (Gold Day 1 being October 15th) As I entered the Arena the excitement heightened. Support Acts: 3SL - Lisa's little brothers were really LOUD! They were running around the stage for hours shouting random things like "WOW! HELLO WEMBLEY!!!" They sounded fantastic, although did remind me of the late Point Break! allSTARS - Well I have met the guys before and have to say they are all absolutely lovely! Their performance was fantastic, and really got the crowd going! Their set consisted of 5 songs; "Bump in the Night", "Tell Me now", "Happy Ever After", "Best Friends" and the new single "The Land Of Make Believe" i really love the new video, and Ashley! The Concert: Well the evening kicked off with an orchestral overture of a selection of Steps hits, these sounded fantastic and included "Loves got a hold on my heart", "When I said goodbye", "deeper shade of blue" and "Tragedy!" whilst all this was going on, various clips of the steptoons and Steps videos were been shown on the screens. The audience were going mad!A few minutes later, the curtain was drawn back to reveal Steps on stage, singing "One for Sorrow" all the girls were in pink outfits, Faue had this wicked hat! The boys were in dark blue. All the girls had ponytail extensions in, Faye's were crimped with brunette streaks, Claire's were longish and blonde while Lisa's were a light brown.The next song was "Deeper Shade of Blue" which went down a storm! Ok well, I cant really remember all the songs in order, so here is a breif summary: Solos; H - Believe, Orignally a number one for Cher. H was funky fantastic! His performance was very futuristic, and reminded me of the "You'll Be Sorry" video. Faye - If You Believe, Faye went for a bit of an image change during this song! It was a garageyremix, which sounded great but was a complete conmtrast to her performance at Prom in the Park where she performed the song with a full Orchestra. Lisa - Bittersweet, I love this song! this was one of the many highlights of the evening! Lisa was looking very spangley as she flew across the audience in her silver throne, throwning red rose petals. Claire - Hand on your Heart, Claire informed us that her parents were in the audience that night and so she dedicated this song to them. Claire was wearing an amazing dress and was walking inbetween stands of candles as she sang. Lee - (er, soz Im not sure what the siong was called!) Well it was very latino, and very good! lee gave an amazing performance! Mad Bits; LOL Faye forgot the words to "Words are not Enough!" it was really funny! She began singing and then suddenly burst out laughing and exclaimed "I cant do this, U lot are screaming too much and putting me off!" She spent the remainder of the song laughing with Lisa. After Lisa's solo H said "wow that was Lisa my little Welsh Geek!" that really made me laugh! H mucking around during "its the way you make me feel" he really was hilarious! 5,6,7,8, Five of the male dancers performed this track whilst wearing weird Steps head things it was quite scary really! Highlights; Heatbeat - this was fab,I loved the remix! Chain Reaction - very golden, very loud, very Steps! Stomp - lol a fantastic party song for a fantastic party! Baby Dont Dance - Great outfits, amazing set, mad dance moves, I loved it! Better the devil you know - lots of fire and fire works on stage, all making an explosive performance! I Know Him So Well - beautifully sung by all the girls, and Lisa dedicated to her friend Sally. Tragedy - I really cant begin to describe the buzzing atmosphere when the whole arena is dancing and singing along to one of Steps biggest releases! Wembley really rocked! All together it was an amazing evening! I really did party the night away! By the end of the concert the arena was filled with Glitter, Gold paper and streamers! If you are going to see the tour have an amazing time, trust me it was their best tour to date! Glitter! Claire Martyr!

6th December 2001 » Wembley Arena

This is a review from Dotmusic: It's about a year since I first saw Steps. Unprepared mentally and physically I still bear the scars and so for the past six weeks I've been locked in a darkened room in Berkshire with no windows, food, water or bus fare home. My mission? To learn all the dance moves in time for the show. Am I ready? You bet. I've just got to wait for my Uncle Dave to pick me up.

As we arrive Wembley is in the giddying grip of mass hysteria as show time is imminent. There's just enough time to stop by the merchandise stall and collect a silver service Faye cutlery set, a snug fit H thong, Lee crystal decanter and accompanying tumbler.

We take our seats and the screams become deafening, the lights blinding, and suddenly the colour drains from Uncle Dave's cheeks. Three massive screens compliment the action; there are explosions, fireworks and the obligatory dance troupe to flesh things out. 'Tragedy', 'One For Sorrow', 'Here And Now' all whip things into a frenzy. Faye performs a pretty convincing R'n'B solo spot, all Noo Yoik attitood (sic), and H appears on a trapeze, hanging above the crowd, before Lisa flies above us all on her throne. Uncle Dave looks genuinely perturbed.

Along with the rest of the converts I dance, sing and remember exactly what pop was all about before the trial by TV cringe-a-thons of Pop Idol, before Popstars destroyed the illusion and boyblands (sic) like Blue took hold of the charts. You see, Steps come from Planet Pop. They aren't real or cool, they just landed on earth to spread cheesy grins and a kitsch naffness to all our lives. At first it was distinctly annoying, but now in an age where every Tom, Dick and Myleene is invited to have a go at this game they invoke feelings of nostalgia. And that's the secret, as Hear'Say's star starts to dim after a couple of months Steps are enjoying their fifth year at the top.

Album-plugging their way through the show with unnecessary regularity, they leave us worn out and completely skint after another hit packed medley. Uncle Dave runs screaming for the exit babbling something about shiny flying people and how he can take no more. Never mind, if the split rumours are true they'll no doubt all have disastrous solo careers and he won't have to take me again until the 2005 reunion show. Sleep tight Uncle Dave.

7th December 2001 » Wembley Arena

Here is the GenSTEPS verdict on the Steps Gold Tour.

I was sitting in Row 8 in block A3 and for the first time for me at a Steps concert I was surrounded by what could have been about 95% adult audience (where I was sitting not the entire venue) .. funny thing was in a London newspaper they had Steps down as a "Pre-Teen Dream" - I think these people need to come to the shows more often!

First up where the two support acts, 3SL and *AllSTARS.

3SL, they are very typical boy band really, luckily they didn't give us any real slow ballads, they are bound to have some success as Lisa is their sister and it's no doubt that they will be using her name when they go about promoting their material etc. They aren't a bad act by far but in this overcrowded market of boy bands they might find it tough to distinguish their selves from everyone e

*AllSTARS seem to be the main support act getting 5 songs! Their last single 'Bump In The Night' I felt could have done better in the charts, they then tempted us with their new song again which has potential, it seems with Steps moving into the new sounding material and songs, this lot might find a market for their selves and with the Steps management behind them, who says that within a few months they can establish their selves in a market somewhere.

It was nice to see support acts that where good for once, good for support acts that is, usually Steps have like 10 support acts and we never hear of them again when the show ends!

Then in the style of previous tours (after a 10 or so min break.) an overture of Steps songs in an orchestral style started to play, along with prompts from the screens with the usual "Scream", "We can't here you" etc. If anything this dragged on a minute or so longer than what it should have done ....

The curtains moved back to reveal Steps on a fairly lavish stage with staircases either side with a balcony at the back. (Songs are probably not in order!)

The show opened with One For Sorrow it was a sort of cross between the US and UK versions of the song, which made it different to previous shows, they then moved on to Deeper Shade Of Blue, again a remixed version of the song.

They then moved onto what can be said to be a live performance of Love's Got A Hold On My Heart, which was so good, it shows that they can do the dance and sing at the same time, well done Steps!!

Then came one of the question marks that I have on the show, the dancers performed 5,6,7,8 with those Steps Big Heads. All the dances did was really play about with each other, nothing much more than that. the H and Lisa ones kept snogging each other on stage etc. Fun but really rather pointless ..

After this we could all hear H saying hello to everyone but no one has any idea where he was, then I remembered from previous reviews that he came in from the back of the venue .. and there he was flying in from the back, they where really low with their flying, if I had jumped I could have taken his shoe or something LOL

H did a version of Cher's Believe, not sure why that song was chosen but I have my ideas why, anyway it was performed with sort of Glowsticks and it was a really good performance, well done H!

After H had gone the girls re-appeared and gave us the "How good is H speech" and proceeded to move onto After The Love Has Gone, they did the entire song this time which was really good to see as that is such a good song!

They then moved onto one of my favourites Here & Now, they did the album version instead of the single one and everyone was singing and jumping around to this one, seems to be a crowd favourite!

They then performance a remixed version of Heartbeat, very interesting indeed, new dance of course as the song is up-tempo .. very nice touch and a good reworking of the song, of course it was live also, really good going!

Faye then appeared and did a remixed version of her song If You Believe, again remixed in a similar vein to Heartbeat, but with a more 'garage' feel ..nice to see that the slower songs where getting reworked to give the show a more of a party feeling!! Great stuff!

They then told us that they where happy to be "home" and that their parents where in the audience tonight .. and dedicated the next song to them.

It's The Way You Make Me Feel was sung live, like the TOTP performance without the dancers, and just in case we didn't know the lyrics they where on the huge screen behind them.

Claire then stayed on stage and performed her solo number Hand On Your Heart, a dancer came on stage and pretended to play the guitar (look an instrument on a Steps stage LOL) and 3 of the female dancers pretended to be backing singers. Of course Claire was singing live and it was a great performance of the song.

They then moved on to what was the current single of Words Are Not Enough, a great live performance of the current single, of course telling everyone to buy it and that they had high hopes for the Sunday's chart!

The girls then took centre stage and performed I Know Him So Well .. as always that was an excellent performance and really shows of their vocals ... obviously live. Lisa then disappeared and Faye & Claire where left to chat to the crowd, only one problem .. their micas suddenly stopped working LOL that was fun, they were like "Eh? Looking at the sound system engineer in the middle of the venue. hehe, they just left as it was Lisa's time in the spot light.

Lisa performed her song on the Words Are Not Enough single, Bittersweet, again live and she flew over the arena on a chair, again very low wouldn't have taken much effort for some possessed fan to grab her leg or something LOL. Excellent performance again.

H came out and decided to tell us about how he has loved the past 5 years etc. then said we're doing a new song now and therefore a new dance routine and he showed us what has to be 1 tiny part to the dance routine to Baby Don't Dance. I'm not a fan of this song but when they performed it at the show I really enjoyed it LOL still not sure if it should be a single though ...

We where then treaded to the Lee song, I think it was called "We've Got It Goin' On" (Backstreet Boys first single was called that) although the song was different, it is still a 'Lee' song, very repetitive not that good, sorry Lee but you do get the worst songs on these tour.

They then performed You'll Be Sorry, again not one of my favs but the thumping bass at the venue really sort of woke everyone up and everyone started jumping around and singing, really fun!

They then moved onto Last Thing On My Mind, H made another comment about people's bottoms, this time Faye's! They did this song really well, nice to see the old songs being performed as a whole again.

They then moved onto a medley of hits, Better The Devil You Know / Summer Of Love / Better Best Forgotten. Lots of fire and explosions and great lighting effects. Great stuff, Steps at their best!

They then had a small break and they played the Words Are Not Enough video, then as Stomp started to play the walkway began to lower above us.

As they performance Stomp and moved onto Tragedy they walked up and along this walkway to the back of the venue so those at the back can get a good view of their heroes. Unfortunually for us at the front and where I was we where directly underneath the walkway so couldn't see anything! LOL We had to look at the screens and do the dance that way hehe.

They then returned to the main stage to do a really good performance of Chain Reaction, again really great bright lights and effects. Lee said that was the end and they said their goodbyes and the curtain closed.

Conclusion

This is easily the best Steps tour ever. The stage was really good, the lighting was excellent and the effects where very very good indeed. The excellent show was topped of with 90%+ of the show was live vocally, we always knew they could do it and they proved it to us on this show, lets hope it continues for future shows. Next stage is the live band with the live vocals and a show on that scale, then Steps have the right to say they ARE the best LIVE UK acts for a long long time. I've seen a lot of UK touring acts and none have got close to this show tonight, Steps really did very well on this show and I was one very impressed and happy fan!

Matt
Webmaster
http://www.gensteps.co.uk

7th December 2001 » Wembley Arena

What a fantastic show! We loved it all. Our favourites were- OFS, Here and Now, ITWYMMF and the medley. The costumes were brilliant, vocals were excellent. The best Steps tour yet. Paul,Leann and Laura

7th December 2001 » Wembley Arena

I was full of anticipation before the gig. The last time I saw Steps live was the Next Step Tour (3 years ago!) so I was really excited to see them again. In B block, I was not too far from the stage, but not directly in the middle. I think this is roughly the right order... After watching the big screens, the lights went down, and Lisa introduced her brothers, 3SL. They were OK - not my kind of music, and just another boyband, really. Still, they started the crowd up... Next were allSTARS*, and they were a lot of fun. A good lead in to Steps, they performed several songs and got everyone on their feet. When they'd gone, we saw a video for their new single, and then there was a wait. After a while, the Steps 'overture' began. This was a great idea, with orchestral settings for lots of Steps songs. The audience got to warm up their voices, and scream for their favourite member of the group - (I did my best when Faye came on the screen!) The curtain opened, and Steps were ready on stage to play 'One For Sorrow' and 'Deeper Shade Of Blue', both of which really got the crowd cheering and dancing. The stage looked impressive, the girls wore pink and the guys wore maroon. (I love Faye's hat!) Following this, we had a big "HELLO WEMBLEY!" from the group, and then 'Love's Got A Hold On My Heart', which sounded live - and was very good. They also put in some of the dance from the Next Step Tour, which I recognised - woohoo! Steps went off stage, and were replaced bizzarely by five dancers wearing big-heads of Steps. They danced to '5678', and it really was a strange moment. H then appeared on the screens, saying hello to everyone, but in our area, we didn't realise where he was. We looked round, and saw him on wires just above us! He flew onto stage on a kind of trapeze-zipwire thing and performed 'Believe' by Cher, with fluorescent sticks which looked good when the lights went down. Then they changed into some dark green-ish outfits for 'After The Love Has Gone' and 'Here And Now', both of which were very enjoyable. There just isn't enough room to do the routines in those seats! Still, I tried my best. These songs were, again, sung live. I enjoyed these two songs, but then surprise of the evening - a funky, R'n'B version of 'Heartbeat'. This was a real change and was sung amazingly well, as usual. It was great to see a completely different version of such a classic Steps song. This theme followed with Faye's solo (my favourite solo of the night), which was a 'funked-up' version of 'If You Believe'. This had a JLo-style dance section in the middle, so Faye could show off her performance, and she sang very well. Good on ya, girl! Then, it was time for the slower section of the concert. H came on to introduce 'It's The Way You Make Me Feel', which the group sang live. I loved this performance, Steps really shine on this song. The girls were in evening dresses, and everyone looked elegant. Claire sang her solo, 'Hand On Your Heart', which was a well-performed ballad, and she sounded amazing. The group then performed all three songs off the current single CD. They sang 'Words Are Not Enough' as a group, and that was sung very well. Then, the girls sang 'I Know Him So Well', and I'd seen that on videos, but never live. It's such a beautiful song - really amazing. Then it was Lisa's solo, 'Bittersweet'. I didn't know this, as I hadn't bought the single (I bought it the next day), so I couldn't sing along. Still, the performance was very good, and Lisa was lifted over the crowd to scatter rose petals! We got to learn a bit of dance routine for 'Baby Don't Dance' before we saw the whole song, and this routine looked great, in my opinion. Very effective. This was followed by Lee's solo, which was something about 'Going On And On...'. I don't know the name of the song, but it was very Ricky Martin in its style. 'You'll Be Sorry' was next, and I enjoyed that. Faye was definitely singing live for her bits at the end of the song, and I thought that, along with 'Baby Don't Dance', that song pumped people up again, after the slow section before. Then 'Last Thing On My Mind', which is always fun. After that, there was a medley, with the songs connected by "woah". 'Better The Devil You Know', 'Summer Of Love' and 'Better Best Forgotten'. It was a shame they didn't do more of 'Summer Of Love', because I love that song. Steps disappeared, and we saw the video for 'Words Are Not Enough', while they got changed. When they appeared, all dressed in gold for the finale, a walkway lowered from above. During 'Stomp', they all walked up the walkway, singing and dancing and waving. They were about five feet away at one point! This gave some of the audience further back a chance to see Steps a bit closer, which was a good idea. Unfortunately, anyone right under the walkway had to move outwards! This went into 'Tragedy', with everyone doing the dance of course. Steps walked back to the stage, and there were explosions of confetti as they walked back. Finally, we had 'Chain Reaction', and Claire sounded like she was singing live, at the end. The walkway raised back up, and there were fireworks and flames to close the show. I really had an amazing night, and Steps have once again shown that they are phenomenal performers, and their shows are breathtaking. Nearly all the songs were sung live, the costumes were stunning, and the surprises were...unexpected! All in all, it was an unforgettable experience. I'll be getting tickets to see them again very soon, I can promise!

7th December 2001 » Wembley Arena

On a very cold Decembers night Steps warmed my heart by putting on the best ever concert in the history of pop world! Me and my family (including a very weary Dad) got there quite early and got shown to our seats. I couldn't believe how close to the front we were (I had been to the other STEPS concerts and been quite far back but not this time I had a perfect view for what was to come) About 7:30 the lights went down and 3SL performed 3 songs that were OK but nothing really special! Allstars came next and although they were quite good and they got the crowd really going they are very annoying and the blonde thing (I think her name in Sandy!) has the most annoying voice in history!!!! The lights then came back up and we were given the chance to see a range of clips from the STEPTACULAR Tour (A nice way to warm up the crowd! However then we were "Treated" to the ALLSTARS new video (What a pile of junk that was!!) However the time was nearly upon us for what we were all there to see STEPS!!! About 8:30 the lights went back down and an orchestral version of most of Steps singles started to play with numerous messages appearing on the screens either side of the stage that were accompanied with new STEPTOONS. This went on for quite a long time (A bit to long if you ask me!!) but nether the less it got the crowd really going. And then the gorgous red curtain opened (The same one from STEPS INTO CHRISTMAS) and there were Steps looking fantastic in Pink/Red. This wasn't their best opening as we expext something quite amazing compared to previous tours i.e Walking through the audience, Coming down from the ceiling and Being dolls but who cares when upon use we had the best show in store. The set was preety plain and simple but small touches throughout the show made it a really nice thing to see change depending on the song that they were singing. Anyway to the show: Opening with ONE FOR SORROW and going into DEEPER SHADE OF BLUE before we had a liitle chat from them where Claire promised us that we were going to see the best STEPS show ever and Im glad to say that she kept this promise by delivering the goods. Moving onto LOVES GOT A HOLD OF MY HEART STEPS then went for a costume change while we were treated to 5,6,7,8 performed by the dancers with very ugly STEPS HEADS on. Not only were they un-realistic ugly but they were all men and when they lifted up their arms we were greeted with hair not a very good advertisment for the STEPS GIRLS!! i can't really remember the setlist from the on but all singles were improved apart from SAY YOU'LL BE MINE and WHEN I SAID GOODBYE however we got BABY DONT DANCE and I KNOW HIM SO WELL which i think was a good compromise!! Solo wise Lisa came up trumps with a song that suits her pop diva personality well with the extra bonus of her flying directly above me and throwing foamy red hearts at us!! H as always did something special and flew above us to the stage wher he performed the CHERS hit BELIEVE well with the added effect of light sabers!! Fayes rendidtion of IF YOU BELIEVE was good but I prefer the ballad rather than the up tempo garage mix! Without any need to try Claire belted out he gorgous ballad HAND ON YOUR HEART like it was a walk in the park proving that she has one of the most fantastic voices the pop world has ever seen and probally the strongest voice within the band. Lee was probally the worst solo offering in my eyes although the song sounded ok the true high light was all the explosions that were going off around him ratherthan the song itself which seemed rather repetative!!! However, what ever the show was nothing can be compared to the most fantastic finale the world has ever seen!!! I was slighlty worried about the cat walk and stage coming down from reading previous reviews as I thought I wouldn't be able to see a thing! But no I was soooooooooooooooooo close if I stood on my chair I could of touched them!!! I got a wave from all of them and it made my year being that close to my idols. Being covered in confetti and streamers we had the most hugest party when CHAINED REACTION was preformed and was a great ending to what has to be their best tour yet (How they will beat it i don't know!!!!!!!) Steps themselves seemed alot more relaxed than at previous concerts being more joky with each other and really look like they were enjoying themselves that mae it that much more special!!!!!!!!!!! Well done STEPS you were fantastic here's to the next one!!!!! Stevenx

7th December 2001 » Wembley Arena

went to see steps on 7/12/01 at wembley,and i must say what a fantastic show certinly the best yet.my fave bits were h,s solo,lees solo,when they sung itwummf,chain reaction,and words r not enough.THANKS STEPS FOR A GREAT SHOW

7th December 2001 » Wembley Arena

The word I would describe for this tour is : DAZZELING! The tour support acts we had were 3SL and Allstars. Both were very good. thTe build up to the show was also very good with the screen prompts. This kept on telling us to scream louder and louder and we did do that. Then then played some orhestra music to some of the Steps songs. They did this for around 5-10 minutes. they then introduced Faye, Claire, Lisa, Lee and H. As soon as that was done the music started and the curtains flew open revealing STEPS! The show started off with a remix version of One For Sorrow which was very good and a brilliant way to start the show with. The solo songs were very good. H done Cher's song "Believe". Lee done a song which I cant remember the name of but it was kind of a Ricky Martin song. The reason why I dont remember the song title was because lee was too busy blowing me a kiss, and I was too busy standing in shock and also looking at his tush!LOL!Faye done a remix version of her song "If You Believe". Claire done her song called "Hand On You're Heart". Both of these songs can be found on "Buzz" if you didnt already know. Lisa done a song called "Bittersweet" which she co-wrote. The rest of show included a remix version of Heartbeat which worked quite well, Here And Now, After The Love Has Gone, Tragedy, Stomp, Chain Reaction, You'll Be Sorry and loads, loads more. Claire was right when she said "This would be the best steps concert we would ever go to" and she was soooo right! This was the best friday night out in my life and when this comes out on video I will deffinatly get it! If you have been already you will know what I am talking about and if you are still waiting to go have a great time and you will not regret it! Melissa Coleman

8th December 2001 » Wembley Arena

tour review for the 8th of December. This was an amazing tour and i think everyone else will agree. The way Steps interact with the audience is great they make you feel part of it, even though i was in block b2 i could still see really well. The support acts were surprisingly really good. When Steps came on the stage it was brilliant the outfits that they all wore were definately more grown up a far cry from the matching outfits.My highlights were the Heartbeat remix which they really should include as a b side in the future, When H flew over the audience but he made a mistake by dropping his glow stick during the song.Lisa's solo was incredible as she flew over the audience, Lee's solo which was really similar to Ricky Martin, The part at the end was incredible when the stage came down they were so close to us. But my dad did make me leave before the end so i didnt see Chain Reaction. The merchandise was very good and worth the money. All in all it was a great night and i cant wait till it is on tv. From Sarah Manders

8th December 2001 » Wembley Arena

Wow oh wow oh wow - this is easily the best Steps tour ever!!!!!! But I shall start form the beginning... The support acts were surprisingly good. Thus far, the only decent support act I had seen at a Steps show was Atomic Kitten. But 3SL got things off to a great start - the singing was live, the dances were slick, and I have to say the boys looked pretty darn good!! Even without the Lisa connection I think they would have been just as well received. allSTARS - I still hate their debut single, but they did come over well. Their new stuff is a lot better, and their new single "Land of Make Believe" is good. They all looked great. Still, I have my suspicions about whether or not they were miming...... But on to the main show... the two screens on stage were flashing "SCREAM" and "ARE YOU READY?" at us while orchestral versions of some of their hits played. This went on far too long. It was a good build up, but after a while it got frustrating and it seemed a bit too much of a tease. Half the time would have been sufficient!!!! But it was all worth it when they burst onto the stage. I won't deal with every song, but needless to say there was as much energy as ever!! The dances were fabulous and the live vocals are really coming into their own - five tours later and Steps know how to work a crowd!!! The costumes were lovely, but a bit of a move from both the matching outfits of the early times AND the leather and studs of the "Steptacular" tour. They all looked great though, especially the 'Moulin Rouge' style costumes. My only costume complaint was Faye's solo - she wore a cap which completely covered her lovely face!!! I shall deal with the solos now, so if you don't want to be spoiled, look away!!! H - A cover of Cher's 'Believe'. Great song. The glow sticks made quite an impression on stage, and the dance routine was really intricate and impressive, as was his flying entrance onto the stage - I couldn't figure out where he was until someone pointed me to teh middle of the arena!! Lisa - 'Bittersweet', the B-side for Words Are Not Enough and I Know Him So Well. She performed the first half of the song on a moving walkway, so she was effectively walking on the spot, and then she sat in a chair and flew over the arena. While I did miss the big dance routines and flashy costumes that usually come with Lisa's solos, it's a lovely song of her own writing, and as usual her voice was spot on. The chair was pretty awesome, and it was funny watching people jump for the rose petals she dropped! Faye - A garage/reggae version of 'If You Believe'. I wasn't sure about this one. The remix worked really well, but she's already performed this one on tour and something new would have been nice!!! Still, they performed it hanging of this metal structure, and it looked good visually. Once again, the vocals were brilliant. Lee - I have no idea what it's called. 'Baby Get Close to Me' or something like that. Comparisons to Ricky Martin are justified - the microphone stand, the hip swinging... it was very latino. As far as writing goes, it's his best song yet, but I think he made more impact on stage with the likes of 'Come On Get Together'. Competently performed and well sung. Claire - 'Hand On Your Heart' her solo from Buzz. Likes her ballads, this one!! Having had a new song last tour, I thought the choice of this one was a bit odd. Havingsaid that, she looked beautiful, the voice was as powerful and haunting as ever, and the simple setting with the candles really added to the effect. The set for the tour was really good, the circular 'pod things' (as my friend and I call them!) they entered on looked good. The set wasn't as complicated as the Steptacular or Steps into Christmas tours, but this was their Greatest Hits - the songs speak for themselves, and there were still plenty of levels on stage. The catwalk they performed Tragedy and Stomp on looked stunning and really got them closer to their audience, but I couldn't help feeling sorry for those poor people under it!!!! Still, I was in the tiers so I coudl really appreciate it!!!! This was a fabulous tour all round, and promised great things still to come from Steps. They are at the top of their game, and this tour was slick, polished, stunning, and as usual, full of energy and fun! Am I allowed to give it 11/10???

10th December 2001 » Wembley Arena

WEMBLEY AND ONE @ BIRMINGHAM AND THEY ARE THE BEST, I AM A NO1 STEPS FAN AND I WOULD TRAVEL ANYWHERE TO SEE THEM, I LOVE STEPS LOVE KEZZERSTEPS. X X X X X

11th December 2001 » Birmingham NEC

This has got to be the best tour yet. They all did excellent solo songs especially Fayes new version of If You Believe. Lee's solo was also great. He should take more leads in the songs that are released. The centre stage at the end was a great idea and all the pyros and lighting was amazing. Can't wait for the next. Richard & Lisa

11th December 2001 » Birmingham NEC

fantastic concert loved every minute of it right from one for sorrow at the start through to the finale of chain reaction the whole concert was amazing H was his cheeky self as usual during tragedy he pinched claire's bumand she turned round and hit him it was so funnyeven spoke to lisa's fiance johnny which was nice i've been to all the steps tours and the gold tour was just perfectall of steps songs on one night and a few more surprises what more can a steps fan want louise (leicester)

11th December 2001 » Birmingham NEC

HI i saw STEPS! at the NEC in Birmingham on the 11th December and they were FAB! Both the support acts were great especially Allstars* they really got the audience going! The Overture to the show was a excellent way to start the show and when the curtains went back everyone was screamin! Most of the songs i think were live with a few sung along to backing tracks! But who cares it was the best steps tour ever! I wana cay well done to all of steps there solos were all brilliant my favorite had to be Hs he sung it so brilliantly and the glowsticks were gr8! lol. I just wana say i think Lees song was great and he sang it really well! WELL DONE LEE! Its a brill show and i wish i could see it again and again they better release it on Video! The merchandise is great this year to i brought a Programme, new improved Devil Horns!, A brill gold beany bear n loads of other stuff! Over all the night was great and i think im right in saying steps were on alot longer this year. Steps the evening was brilliant GAV!

15th December 2001 » Cardiff Arena

This is the third time I have been to see Steps, and I was really excited about this because I had heard great things about it. The support acts were great and really got the crowd excited, and then the lights went down and the steps overture played. In my opinion this was a) pointless and b) far too long. Finally after what seemed like forever, Steps burst onto stage and went staright into 'One For Sorrow' which was a great song to get everyone moving (in what little space there was) and then into 'Deeper Shade of Blue' which was again a good song to get everyone going. I can't remember the songs in order, but the new garage version of'Heartbeat' was brilliant and you could see the crowd didn't know which song it was until they actually started singing it. All of the solo's were good, especially H and Faye's, which were my personal favourites. When Steps performed 'Baby Don't Dance' the crowd were singing along, and i realised i would not be learning the dance for this song as it is far too complicated. The medley of songs was good, and moved things along swiftly. When they finally took a break to get things ready for the finale, you knew something special was in store, and they did not disappoint. 'Stomp' was first and i spent most of the song trying to get Lisa's attention as she was standing just above me. Although 'Tragedy' sent the crowd into a frenzy as usual, it was difficult to dance and look up at the group, although i did manage it. Every Steps concert i've been too has ended with 'Tragedy', and the atmosphere has always been fantastic, but this time it was 'Chain Reaction' that everyone had been waiting for. Parents were dancing just as much as the children and everyone was singing along, in fact you could barely hear Steps over the crowd. For me, this was definetely the best bit of the show. In conclusion, this was by far the nest show Steps have ever put on. It is almost all sang completely live, and was the most visually pleasing, a lot of time and effort went into the backdrops, stage layout, costumes, lighting, confetti etc. and dance routines (special mention to Faye's song, her dance in the middle was fantastic). The thing that really struck me was just how personal this concert was. I felt a lot closer to the group than previous concerts, especially when they were above me. The most disappointing bits were the overture at the beginning, the dancing Steps heads during 5,6,7,8 (once again completely pointless and annoying) and the fact that they left out 'Say You'll Be Mine', my favourite Steps song. They did leave out other songs, which i didn't care about so much because i don't really like them. Steps have now proved they can sing live, dance at the same time, and throw the best pop party in town, here's to the next tour!

15th December 2001 » Cardiff Arena

This steps show was without a doubt the best one I had ever seen. The night started with the two support acts 3SL and allSTARS, these were good as they did not drag on like in previous concerts. 3SL sang three songs whereas allSTARS sang five including their two hits best friend and bump in the night. After the interval the build up began for steps orchestral versions of all the songs and the "scream we can't hear you" on the big screens. If you ask me this went on for way too long and the majority of the audience lost interest. Then finally the curtain dropped to reveal steps singing the U.S mix of one for sorrow. It was a great way to open, it had everyone dancing and singing along. I can't remember all the songs in order but they did include great mixes of heartbeat and the song that Faye wrote for Buzz. They also sang all the favourites:last thing on my mind, better best forgotten, after the love has gone, loves gotta hold on my heart and many more most of which were sang live, proving that they can actually sing. The highlights of the show for me were when they used the fabulous lasers they really had a great effect. The best bit by far though was when at the end the catwalk lowered from the ceiling and steps walked along dancing and singing to all the fans below. This part was so excellent because it allowed people at the back of the arena (like me on the balcony) to see steps. This was the best way imaginable to end with a mix of stomp, tragedy and finally chain reaction. It was a fabulous evening which I will not easily forget. And will definitely be watching on the t.v next week.

15th December 2001 » Cardiff Arena

Cardiff 15th Dec 2001 Well let me 1st say that the effects(stage, lighting etc) are very good! Also they sing more songs than they have sung in the past tours i have seen. From previous reviews i have read i was expecting the show to be almost all sung LIVE but this was not the case, they sung all the slow songs LIVE, but as for the other songs it seemed they had recorded them to SOUND LIVE but the were mimed over with a little bit of singing now and then. Claire, Lee and Faye sung there solo's totally LIVE! Lisa sung the 1st bit of her solo live but when she got on the chair it was clear she was miming, as for H he totally mimed! Highlights of the show! H putting Lisa off and she forgot to sing her line in one of the mimed songs!(You'll Be Sorry i think) also H came on the stage before they performed "Baby Dont Dance" he said it was good to be back in Wales(as he and Lisa did all night) he opened his leather jacket to reveal a black t-shirt with "Welsh Boys Do It Better" in dimonds written accross the front. Well done on a good show STEPS and maybe next time we will see more songs LIVE! Stu

15th December 2001 » Cardiff Arena

My review of the steps gold tour from Cardiff the 15th of December First Lisa came onto the video screen to introduce her brother's 3sl who came on and did three songs. Then came the all-stars who did about 5 songs which weren't very good. As soon as the support acts finished a medley of performances came onto the video-screens from the steptacular tour. There was adverts for the Saturday show + many more things from Blink TV. Overture Then came on the screens big gold writing which said orchestra ready and started to play instrumental clips of all different songs. While that was happening thins on the screens said things like -are you ready- and scream- we cant hear you- are you ready for steps Faye h lee Lisa and Claire with new steptoons with them. One for sorrow Then there was a mixture of one for sorrow and the curtains opened and steps moved forward and started to do one for sorrow. Deeper shade of blue Then straight away into dsob. Which was really cool. Loves got a hold on my heart Next up was loves got a hold on my heart, which wasn't very good. 5,6,7,8 Then the worst part of the night, steps dancers came on stage with big ugly heads on supposedly steps but they looked more like trolls! Believe -h solo- For this song H came flying across the arena with lots of green lasers to do a cover of chers song believe. There was lots a laser and they all had these big glowing sticks. After the love has gone Then steps came and did after the love has gone with Chinese lanterns coming up from the stage. Here and now This song was preformed as the buzz version and they left us to sing the last lines to the song. Heartbeat -remix- I really liked this version of heartbeat and the new dance moves were really cool and had a really nice r n b fell to it. If you believe - fayes solo- - remix- It started off as the old version and then went into a remix which I liked much more than the old one. It's the way you make me feel This song was preformed live with the words on the main video screen to sing along to. Hand on your heart - Claire solo- Claire dedicated this song to her two aunts in the audience Words are not enough This song was sang live and sounded amazing I know him so well The boys left the stage and the girls did a performance similar to the from the steptacular tour. Bittersweet - Lisa solo- This song was another highlight of the night when Lisa came flying across the arena on the chair with petals falling from her chair. Baby don't dance Before steps preformed this song h came on and told us all about them going to be live on sky box office and thanked us for being their fans. Then steps came on and taught us the new dance routine and were all dressed in street clothes denim etc. We got it goin on This was lees solo and was quite good during the song part of the stage came up with him and two dancers on it. You'll be sorry I didn't think steps would do this song as it is not on the gold album but it was nice to see and the green lasers from h's song were back on Last thing on my mind This song was sang really good and had lots of flashing lights in it. Better the devil you know - summer of love - better beat forgotten -medley- During better the devil you know there was big fire blasts and you could feel the heat off them. The medley was quite short though. Words are not enough -video- Then steps disappeared under the stage and the video started to play for words are not enough before the finale. Stomp The remix of stomp started to play and big bridge came down from the ceiling. Then steps came back to the stage and walked across the bridge and did the rest of stomp waving at everyone on their way across. Tragedy Then steps did tragedy on the bridge as well turning around to both sides. At the end of tragedy there was a big explosion of streamers and paper. The paper kept coming for about three minutes. Chain reaction Steps went back onto the main stage to perform chain reaction and the bridge went back up and there was lots of explosions and a massive boom at the end of the song. Steps then said their goodbyes and thankyous and the curtains shut. It was the best steps concert ever and I have been to all the tours. I cant wait to see it again on sky box office on 22/12/01. Dai Roe

15th December 2001 » Cardiff Arena

The best concert of my life and that's an understatement! There are no words to describe this concert. Amazing. The support acts were better than I thought.3SL were good and the allSTARS are great dancers, they really got the crowd going. Then came down the lights after the interval and with it an eruption of screams. I quite liked the writing on the screens as this got the crowd going and got us really excited for when the curtain went back and Steps were stood there. Cue another eruption of screams. They began with One For Sorrow and continued on with Deeper Shade of Blue. After this the set list is a blur, all I know is that Love's Got A Hold On My Heart was near the beginning. H was the first soloist of the evening. We could see him on the screen but we couldn't see him at first. Then we turned around and he had entered from the ceiling in the middle of the arena! He then flew to the stage and began Believe which had a great dance. For the first half hour I just stood their gormlessly looking at the stage because I was so stunned that I was there front row for my fave band of all time! I then woke up and waved at them and I was really happy cos I got a wave off H and Claire. Then Faye sang a re-mix of If You Believe which she wrote and produced and this was great. Then it was Claire's turn and she sang a great rendition of her Hand On Your Heart, she truly has an exceptional voice. Then it was Lisa singing Bittersweet which involved her flying above us on a chair and then dropping these foamy love-shaped hearts. After this H came on stage and called her his 'Little Welsh Cake .Awwww! Then it was Lee who started off in Michael Jackson like pose and sang a Latino song and he rose up on a part of a stage with two dancers. The girls sang I Know Him So Well which had everyone swaying and crying, they sing it so well. They sang Words Are Not Enough, Baby Don't Dance and all the old faves except Say You'll Be Mine and When I Said Goodbye. Earlier a few of the dancers came on stage wearing the Steps heads and did 5 6 7 8 and this was hilarious. Near the end a massive walkway was lowered a few feet above my head and carried on well into the arena. Then Steps walked onto it and sang Stomp and my fave, Tragedy which got everybody dancing. They then came on stage and did Chain Reaction with lots of ticka-tape and explosions if near the front beware, these are hot!). When the last word was sang there was an explosion and everyone screamed! This was a perfect ending to a perfect show. The costumes were fantastic especially the sorta Moulin Rouge, although more tasteful costumes at the end. I hope they do another tour. I know I've gone on a bit but so much was in that show I felt I had to tell you, thanks for reading! And if you're going then you'll enjoy it so much but if you're not don't worry watch it on Sky Box Office, it's well worth the money! Hayley.

15th December 2001 » Cardiff Arena

Well what more is left to say. WOW. I went to see Steps at both performances on the 15th and managed to get front row for both shows. They were fantastic. Just a little plug for you, if you didn't get tickets see them on Sky on Saturday 22nd. Its worth every penny. I have been to all the steps concerts but this one is by far the best and most exciting yet. Some brill ideas there H and Lisa. I've never seen such an energetic show. And yes now you have silenced all your critics by showing you can sing live and very well too. Faye, Lisa and Claire looked more gorgeous than ever. I've been to some concerts and they have been really boring, you know, the stage and the singing, but there is a lot more to a Steps concert as you should know. It was packed with surprises. I've got to say it was the best night ever. Marks out of 10, a good 1000000000000000000000! Yes you were really that good. Can't wait till your next tour. Keep up the good work. Love Ant Cardiff

18th December 2001 » Nottingham Arena

What can I say. I had already seen the show on the opening nite in Sheffield but was at the back of the stadium, this time I was 10 rows from the front right in the centre. The atmosphere was electric and everyone was waiting with bated breath. I actually enjoyed seeing 3LS, 3 young good looking men on the stage definately did it for me and the audience seemed to enjoy them as well. I must say I was not impressed with Allstars, to be honest I found them quite nausiating and when they did a cover of Bucks Fizz's great track "The Land of Make Believe" i had to go and have a cigarette to escape. Then came the Steps Overture, the crowd all sat waiting and looking round as they did not know what to expect, the screen asked the fans to scream louder and they definately did and then the curtains opened to reveal Steps on sliding pedestals moving towards the front of the stage with dry ice all around and they were singing a great mix of One for Sorrow. The crowd screamed and Steps let loose. They looked fantastic, Faye was as radiant as ever and the dancers were fantastic. They then went into the sleaze sisters remix of Deeper Shade of Blue and the crowd went mad and then straight into Loves gotta hold of my heart which I must say is one of my favourite tracks and they sang it live which proved that they can hold a note. The highlights of the show for me were the Heartbeat remix they did, it was amazing, Faye's solo was great too. Claire did an outstanding performance of Hand on Heart and even waved and winked it me (thanks Claire), plus she looked a million dollars. Lisa was brilliant when she did Bittersweet, its a great track but I do prefer the track on the cd where the whole band sing it. "I know him so well" took my breath away and the way the girls moved back and forwards when they sang was very impressive. Two of my favourite tracks "Better the devil you know" & "Summer of Love" were put into a medley and in my eyes were over too fast as no sooner was I getting into the dance routine they had finished. They did do "Last thing on my mind" & "Better best Forgotten" tho and the crown lapped them up. Steps fascinate me in the respect that they can dance their hearts out and still manage to sing without sounding out of breath as I think some of the dance routines are very intense and I find myself gasping for breath after doing just a couple of them. To wrap it up I think the show was excellent, Steps have proved that they can sing, dance and they also know how to keep the audience entertained. It is the best show I have seen by them and I advise them to keep it up as they are the BEST. Well Done Steps. Keith J Nottingham

21st December 2001 » Manchester ENA

WHAT A FANTASTIC CONCERT, JAM PACKED FULL OF SURPRISES!! 3 SL AND ALLSTARS GOT US IN THE PARTY MOOD, JUST COULDNT WAIT FOR STEPS TO COME ON STAGE. STEPS LOOKED LIKE THEY WERE REALLY ENJOYING THEMSELVES, LOTS OF WAVES AND TALKING TO US. IT WAS GREAT TO SEE THE DANCE ROUTINES ALTOGETHER. FAYE WOZ RITE ABOUT LEE SHAKING HIS BUM ALOT THRU HIS SONG, COOL HAT LEE! JUST DIDNT WANT THE CONCERT TO END, BUT WERE ABLE TO SEE THEM AGAIN ON SKY THE NEXT DAY, WHICH WE HAVE ENJOYED. ROLL ON NEXT TOUR! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO GENERATION AND STEPS FANS SEEYA! HAZEL, EMMA AND REBECCA HARDING. CHESTER

21st December 2001 » Manchester ENA

Review on Manchester concert - Friday 21st December by Emma Heatman age 11 When we arrived at the arena at 7pm the atmosphere was buzzing and when the lights went of the crowd went wild. We watched 3SL (Lisa's brothers) and they were brill as well as All-stars. We watched the big screens at the side showing all the Steps Hits which made the crowd really go wild. When Steps came onto the stage it was brill. All the dancers were really good. When H did his solo call we could here was Manchester hello but H wasn't on the stage he was going to fly through the air. - also Lisa's solo was brill when she got seated on a chair and went through the air. All I can say is that Steps can sing LIVE. The finally was good when all the Steps and dancers walked onto a continuation of the stage that went out into the crowds. All I can say that I will be watching it again tonight on Sky Box Office with some of my friends. Thank you Steps for a brill concert. Love Emma Heatman

21st December 2001 » Manchester ENA

This is my small statement to the fabness (and professionalism)of steps concerts. i had waited forever for this concert, and intrique was getting the better of me.What a fantastic show there was no-way you could of expected all the things that happened, flying people, flying chairs,and flying walkways. i felt that there were only a few songs not sung live by the band,but i was very impressed by the live versions of everything especially lghomh. My friend who was a first timer wasnt sure about all the vocals as when she looked at the screen the mouth was saying something different but i have a feeling it was a time delay. But there was no way that they were not singing live as the voacals where so different and you could here everyone equally.unfotuantly they had a few technical problems with the moving platforms, such as geting stuck but these were delt with so profesionaly that a few people round us didn't even notice! The solos as ever impressed me with fayes probably being my fav, she has such a fantastic voice live and the song was so different in the r'n'b/garage way she did it. You can always say with steps the put on a fantastic show, high energy and full of surprises, but this one is the best so far for me as i did feel we are getting to hear them improve vocally live, the dance routines are knakering just watching them. Thank you steps for another great night. i will wait for the next one (and the video)with anticipation.

22nd December 2001 » Manchester ENA

I HAVE BEEN TO SEE THE CONCERT FIVE TIMES, FOUR @ I went to both performance's and it was absolutly fantastic. The moring was more kids then anything else. The night was the live one on TV which I would say went very well. The vocals were amazing ,I could't believe them. The dancing was very polished and smoothe. The solo's were brill., except people really didn't seem to appreciate Faye's new version of "If you Believe". H made a funny comment "Look at Faye's bum!" she looked embassarsed. I was happy that you could hear Lee in all the song.Overall being my first ever Steps concert and probably last, since I live in America, they really did a lot to prove just how good they were. Matthew

22nd December 2001 » Manchester ENA

THOUGHT THAT THE GOLD TOUR WAS FANTASIC I SAW IT @ THE MEN ARENA ON A SATURDAY 22ND DECEMBER NITE. THEIR TOUR GET BETTER & BETTER LONG LIVE STEPS 4 EVA!!!!!!!!!

22nd December 2001 » Manchester ENA

booked the concert two days before it begun, and waited in anticipation for it to start! Yes...two days...of torture... But it finally came, and it was WELL worth it! Starting Overture The concert 'started' with an orchestral overture of various Steps songs, from Chain Reaction to When I Said Goodbye to Tragedy. There were messages like 'Are You Ready for Faye?' and 'Scream' 'Louder' etc. After what seemed like an age, Steps finally came on. One For Sorrow Sleazesisters 12" Anthem Remix They started the show standing still doing the dance routine, then speeded it up and started dancing properly with all their dancers from the old tours! The girls wore pink and hats, and the boys had darker. The set was a silvery dark colour with some steps on either side and a huge screen in the middle with lights around it! At the end of this, it cut into...... Deeper Shade of Blue Sleazesisters Remix This was performed the same as all the other tours- very energetic but not live, like OFS. When this finished, the band said they would have a 'Steptacular' show! Love's Got a Hold on My Heart Performed with the original dance routine and LIVE! Performed VERY good! 5678- Dancers Only Eh? 5 male dancers came on with Steps comedy heads on and danced to the song, with Lisa and H kissing etc. The audience just looked so confused and didn't join in. No live singing, because there was no band. H Solo- Believe A cover of the Cher classic, H started above the audience flying and hanging on a trapeze artist beam thingie! After he came down to the stage, he and the dancers danced with green glow-lights. This was mimed, unsurprisingly. After the Love Has Gone The band now had genie/gypsy revealing costumes on in dark colours. Again, it was live! Heartbeat R'n'B Remix VERY cool! Had a funky new dance routine and a DJ dubbing style thing by Lee. A great surprise, performed live again! One of the best performances of the night. Here and Now Original Mix This was performed as the mix from the Buzz album, bizarrely- but still, it was live and not bad at all! Faye Solo- If You Believe Garage Remix WOW! What can I say, this was by a mile and a half the BEST performance of the night! She started on a sort of ladder on the stage with the dancers, then came down. It started off as the original mix, then speeded up. The 'when I'm feeling lost' bit was extremely heavy and fast, and there was a sort of bleeping in between the verses and choruses. She even done an extremely energetic J-Lo style dance break in the middle. She wore a New York visor and dungarees- Amazing! Well Done, Faye! It's The Way You Make Me Feel Lee started off by saying Faye wrote the last song and remixed it herself, then dedicated the next song to all their families. They done it without a dance routine, lined up live. The lyrics were on the screen- nothing new, but still perfect! Claire Solo- Hand on Your Heart Claire was wearing a black ballgown, walking around the stage singing, which was full of candles. A dancer pretended to play the guitar, and three dancers were very good backing singers. Words Are Not Enough Again this was live, and very good! The boys then left the girls for... I Know Him So Well Another fantastic performance! The girls moved back and forward across smoke, so it looked like they were floating through heaven! Very good sung live, and it's not an easy song to sing. Lisa Solo- Bittersweet Not vocally the best solo, but still great. She started off in a gold dress walking along a travellator, not getting anywhere. The dancers then helped her onto a chair and she flew above the audience throwing red petals at them- she was truely Queen Lisa! Baby Don't Dance H introduced the next song by telling the audience the dance (when you hear the words boom bang boom I want you to put your hands in the air and close them finger by finger!). Sang good live, considering the tempo of the dance routine. Last Thing on My Mind Very funny- H shouted 'hey everyone, look at Faye's bum', and they also changed the dance routine a bit. Lee Solo- We Got It Goin' On (And On and On and On!) I was very surprised by this- he started out like a black shadow against the white screen, then came down. This was VERY similar to Ricky Martin's She Bangs, with him shaking his bum and everything. It was so cool because there was this man in the audience trying to copy to impress his girlfriend! Towards the end, a part of the stage rose up, taking Lee and two girls up. He shouted 'I know it's a bit different, but it's sexy' or something. This was very good for Lee! You'll Be Sorry Was this live or not? H didn't sound live, but the other's did...Hmm... Better the Devil You Know/Summer of Love/Better Best Forgotten Medley All sang live, they linked into each other with the 'whoo-whooo' bits. But why not the full songs? Words Are Not Enough Video While Steps got changed, the Words are Not Enough Video played, bizarrely with Steps singing live. You could tell they were backstage, because I heard a man going 'thank you very much!'. Stomp W.I.P Remix A metal platform from the top of the arena came down, and a curtain opened across the screen, displaying, in very Moulin-Rouge writing, 'STOMP'. Steps then came out and walked right across the whole audience on this platform! They were wearing Moulin-Rouge outfits with feathers and hats etc. Disappointingly, this was not live- but next there was... Tragedy Performed live! At last! This was performed on the platform, with the dancers, and the people at the back were only metres away from the band! At the end, they went back to the stage for their final track. Chain Reaction Performed live too! Very emotional for the band, as it was their last song of the last show for the Gold tour! When it finished, the band said their thank-yous and Claire couldn't speak because she was almost in tears. With a quick wave and a sob, they all ran backstage. It was a great night- well worth the £10! Only four songs out of about 23 were mimed, compared to about 12 out of 17 on their previous tours. If only I went to see them live...

In this section:

Information

Gold Greatest Hits Tour