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Steptacular Arena Tour

5th May 2000 » Glasgow

Just thought I'd let u all know how it was.... OMG!!! It was absolutely fantastic!!! I loved it, they were all totally stunning, especially Claire! The set is really different, but don't want to disappoint some of u out there but there wasn' t a live band, it didn't make any difference though. They were as good as ever. They had about 4/5 costume changes, and if i remember rightly Claire wore a lot of red (but that may just be in my head). H's solo bit was class and really special - I'm not going to spoil the surprise but have ur cameras ready! It was so unbelievable! They did quite a few new songs, some which they had written themselves and Summer Of Love is brilliant! It must be said though, the dance routine is slightly tricky.... got a very Latin theme to it. I'm still reeling from how good it was. The low point of the evening though, was all the folk standing on seats in front of me which was a bit like the human eclipse. They have got to do the Barrowlands sometime where that can't happen and people are left to stand on their feet and dance. The support acts were well mediocre when taken together. The first act didn't even introduce themselves until they'd finished and were awful, they just didn't look the part. Northern Line were ok, they at least got people out of their seats, and I'd say Buffalo G were the best of the lot, coos they had more energy and looked like they wanted to be there! All in all the show was nothing short of Steptacular! And I'm seriously considering going again on Sunday... They were all fantastic, and no one will be disappointed. I mean it's class, if you've never been before then you are in for the treat of a lifetime! :D btw, watch out for the mistakes in the programme, they're not easily spotted but they are there!

5th May 2000 » Glasgow

Well what can we say. Steps have done it again. The concert was absolutely brilliant even better than their last tour. With lots of surprises to keep the audience on the edge of their seats or in our case out of seats and dancing the whole way through. All the band did solo numbers, Claire singing I surrender with a grease/ west side story vibe (routines and costumes that is) H delivered a high flying performance singing solo on Lay all your love on me from a harness which let him fly above the crowd. Lees and Fayes numbers were very Backstreet boys/Brittany Spears very American sounding. However Lisa or Lisa, as she was referred to, stole the show with a fantastic pure pop song, very Stock aitken and Waterman and reminiscent of Danni Minogues This is it. Her performance was very 70's complete with hot pants, platforms and dancers in Afro wigs. The concert got off to a great start with the sleaze sisters mix of Deeper Shade of Blue and the party vibe continued with then excellent us mix of one for sorrow. There was a good mix of ballads( Herat, When I said goodbye, I know him so well) and old favourites (a medley of After the love has gone, Last thing on my mind). The boys gave an energetic performance of D-reams Things Can only get better. The concert rounded off with Loves got a hold of my heart and The finale, Tragedy. Summer of Love!!!!!!! This is going to be SO BIG!!!!. Very Latino, very summery with a flamenco inspired dance routine( minus the castanets!!) All in all, a brilliant night. We were 3 rows from the front and had plenty of space to join in with all the routines and still miss none of the action. For all those fans out there who have tickets you are in for a real treat, those who haven't better hope they release it on video, which I'm sure they will as it was unmissable. Enjoy the show, Fellow STEP aholics. Paul and Brian

5th May 2000 » Glasgow

I Was at the Steps concert in Glasgow last night (5th May) and i can just say that I think that it was the best concert I've ever been to. I've seen steps before but this one was the best. The set, the lighting and of course Lee, H, Claire, Lisa and Faye. Summer Of Love is great and everyone should go out there when its released and make it number one. Laura Clark

5th May 2000 » Glasgow

This is the first STEPS concert I've been to and I thought it was excellent. I'm not going to spoil it too much for the people who haven't been yet, but they all sing solo's. H sings one of the ABBA songs from ABBAmania and so do the girls. Lisa sings a new one the same as lee and Faye and Claire sings If I Surrender on a motorbike. I'll give u a big tip for when they come on. LOOK UP. H also does a flying act. The stage has 2 sets of twisty stairs and a lot of metal. My best bit was when H waved at me and basically the singing. They sang allot of song lives too. So that made the night very special. Andrea

6th May 2000 » Glasgow

What can I say? The concert was fantastic. I've never been to a Steps concert before but I was amazed by what I saw. They all sang solo songs and all the new songs were great. They sang live for many of the songs and when the microphones went it provided us with a good oportunity to show how loud we could all sing. The stage and stunts were great and overall i had a brilliant time. Roll on December! Karen

6th May 2000 » Glasgow

This was amazing. From the set right down to all the costume changes this concert just rocked. They done all their hits except for Better Best Forgotten and also they didn't sing 5-6-7-8 but we got an insturmental during one of their costume changes. The two Abba (I LOVE Abba) songs were also great, the girls singing was beautiful on I Know Him So Well, and Lay All Your Love On Me, performed by H, was magic. You'll probably have seen by reading the other reviews that his solo, was well hyperactive to say the least. Just wait till you see him on his giant H, you'll be amazed. And then wait for his summersaulting right above your head!! I think they had about 7 or 8 costume changes, each of which looked fab, but not as fab as my glitter and bright yellow costume!! Couldn't really hear Summer of Love (you can never get a song just from the concert alone) but it definitely had a Latin thingie about it, and the dance routine was especially cool. They definitely done more of this show live than they did the last one, although it wasn't completely live. So what though? You try dancing energetic dance routines and sing perfectly at the same time. The songs the did do live (Heartbeat for example) were far better than last Winters attempts. Also, H and Lee performed Things Can Only Get Better which was great, Lee and Faye's solos (written by themselves) were American R&B like Britney almost. Claire also done I surrender LIVE which is one of my favourite songs of Steptacular and she was on with all the dancers which was v. cool. I really wish I had bought another ticket for this show because I would definitely go again. It was great entertainment and where else can you dance and do all the moves to their songs without feeling slightly out of place? Everyone here joins in and its a brilliant party atmosphere. They finished with Love's Got A Hold On My Heart and of course Tragedy which just finished it all off! This was great. If you missed out on a ticket for these shows DEFINITELY go and see them this winter. You wont be dissapointed. Gary Thomson

6th May 2000 » Glasgow

WELL GUYS IF YOU THOUGHT THE LAST TOUR WAS STEPTACULAR THEN BOY YOU ARE ALL IN FOR A SURPRISE. THE SHOW IS UTTERLY AMAZING AND IS FULL OF LOTS AND LOTS OF SURPRISES. Well the show opens with DEEPER SHADE OF BLUE (sister sleaze mix) and what an entrance they make following that they sing ONE FOR SORROW (us mix) The guys had a chat to everyone then sang SAY YOU'LL E MINE then came the beautiful ABBA ballad which all 3 girls sing I KNOW HIM SO WELL. The mighty Lee was next with a song he wrote COME ON GET TOGETHER. Then it was medley time starting woth AFTER THE LOVE HAS GONE then going into LAST THING ON MY MIND and then 5678 (instrumental) with the steptoon version on the large screen courtesy of step-us.com. Faye's solo was next which she wrote herself WHEN YOUR DANCING and it was definetly different from what she sang at the last concert.Then came super H with his solo LAY ALL YOUR LOVE ON ME and I would get my camera ready for this one guys, just as well he aint afraid of heights he he. HEARTBEAT came next the guys first no1 hit followed bu another ballad WHEN I SAY GOODBYE. Now it is time for Claire to sing solo with the wonderful I SURRENDER and boy did she sound great. Time to get of your seats now as Lee and H sing THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER and they were very good, and now it is time for fun with the audience lots of screaming shouting and not forgetting the waving of hands(mexican wave). Time for the lovely Lisa or LIZA as H called her to do her solo START IT AGAIN which she wrote herself and well it what can I say utter brilliant it was. BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW came next and at the end of it, it was curtain time on stage. The fans at this time were raring to go and chanting WE WANT STEPS, cheering, clapping and making lots of noise.The curtain came down and the guys sang SUMMER OF LOVE which has a latino way about it...whatch out for it as it is the double A single with WISG. It was now time for the second last song LOVES GOT A HOLD OF MY HEART and then into the last song of the night TRAGEDY well if the roof hadn't been knocked off earlier it was to be done now the fans went wild when this came on and everyone in the arena was up on their feet now dancing and singing to it. WELL I MUST SAY I ENJOYED THE SHOWS VERY MUCH AND AM REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THEM COMING BACK IN DECEMBER. AND FOR ALL YOU PEOPLE STILL TO GO I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOY IT AS WELL. LUV LORRAINE

7th May 2000 » Glasgow

ok, let me just tell you this is the best steps tour yet! im not going to tell you a lot of things, just make sure you dont have a soar neck when you come! they all did solos, and the lads and lassies all did their bit too. there was two abba songs, and a few new songs. they showed the new video to wisg, which is great, and the support acts are great!the merchandise is good, just wait and see what you get!the finale was as usual, tradgedy. make sure you have good seats, as people tend to stand on chairs, and my veiw was blocked. all in all i had a great time, and i cant wait for the tour in december! see ya! bye! p.s it was steptastic! lorna robertson

7th May 2000 » Glasgow

If you thought the last tour was good, it wasn't a fraction as good as this one! It began with the Band on a huge platform high in the air all in Blue dressing gowns! singing "Deeper Shade of Blue". They slowly came down as the dancers came out then they all danced to it! I cant remember the order of the songs unfortunately but u will notice a HUGE change in their immage! no more matching costumes or Dance routines i'm afraid! The Stage Set is amazing! It has a huge oval screen in the middle with a set of silver stairs at each side and a pole on one side! Lots of surprizes in store! First H comes down on a big metal H symbol to sing an abba song! he they flies while dancing upwords and in to the crowd above everyone! They all at some point dissapear in to the floor and the fire works nearly blew my face off! Their new songs are very different, and ' Summer of love' is amazing. The show is really spectacular, definetly something not to be missed!

7th May 2000 » Glasgow

I went to the Steps concert on Sunday the 7th of May in the SECC and i can say that this was the best concert from all their previous tours! If you enjoyed the last one this one is even better with even more surprises! Well firstly i would just like to tell you that if you are planning to go to the concert and still want to keep the surprises for the day of the concert...then don't read on! The support acts for the Glasgow Concerts were Boom, Buffalo G, Northern Line and this other girl band which i forgot the name of. And not being mean or anything but they were all really crap the audience just wanted to see Steps now! Well the support acts stay on the stage till about 8.35 and we had to wait like over 25 minutes before they actually came on!! But we had a little treat which was the premiere of the new Steps video 'When I Said Goodbye' which was like soooo good! Very different to their previous vids and a lot more serious also it was in black and white with all the girls wearing really revealing tops! hehehe! But getting back into the concert...the first song they sang was Deeper Shade of Blue and it was the remix from the CD single...It was like sooo good! but i didn't know if they sung live or not! But as the curtains came back we saw a glimpse of the stage and u will be surprised at how nice it looked!!! The middle screen actually looked a bit like the Spice Girls 'SpiceWorld' concert which was like sooo cool! There were stairs in the left and right of the stages and the background had this very futuristic kinda vibe to it. Before the all the members of Steps came, the screen had firstly showed the snapshots of the of them...then there was like a total close up of Claire where she sings 'Your so far away...away..away...' u know that bit? Well whatever...then this giant ball type thing came down and u could see all the steppers standing in it with blue type jackets...Well after all that excitement they took the jackets off revealing what they wore when they were on TOTP...but i can't really remeber what they sung after that...But i do remeber that the three grils sung 'I Know Him So Well' totally live which was soooo good..they harmonised beautifully... They came back on sung a few of their hits...and it was time for all their solo parts... Firstly Lee sung his which was not really good in my opinion...it was really dancey with electric sounds it it...Claire sung 'I Surrender' on a motor bike which was really cool...H sung 'Lay All Your Love On Me' and i think that is a ABBA cover...but this was like the best part...the whole stge was like totally covered and then as it pulled up u could see H sitting in a huuuuuuge H sign and it was coming down...The he started singing and blah blah blah...he was then attched to all these ropes and he started flying out to the audience and doing somersaults and all that!! That was the best part!!!so remeber get your cameras ready for that! Then Faye sung her solo song...which was alright but really weird...it was fast and slow...just really weird...She was like inside this clear thing with lights surrounding it...hard to explain but u will like it when u see it! Lisa or as H called her Liisa came on with a wedding dress and started singing her solo song!! It was very poppy and dancey song and i am sure u will love it...better than the last concert solo song she sung! In the middle of the song the dancers then pull of the wedding dress to reveal Lisa in a stunning and sexy outfit!!! The duet with Lee and H was quite good...but not as good as other parts of the show!! it was actually quite weak! They sung When I said Goodbye which was really good live!!! But i didn't hear much difference from the original song in the album...Although Faye done quite a lot of adlibs in it...which was reallly good! I think the last song they sung was 'Love's Got a Hold...' They went off stage for like about 5 minutes!!! they crowd was going all crazy! They finally came on singing BTDYK and then leading on to the new song Summer of Love!! Which was very latino and very summery very very good! Last song was..yes u guessed it Tragedy!! Very good but very similar to what they did in the last tour! and that was it!!! I;m sure ppl who haven't been will love it!! But lots of things has changed towards Steps image!! They have not worn any matching outfits anymore and came on with very cool and trendy costumes also most of the songs were sung live!!!!! Also Faye has back her dreadlock type hair...and Claire had kinda curly hair...Lisa had her hair up...H with his new 'do..and Lee with a kinda Justin 'N Sync 'afro' hairdo going on!! hahahahaha! The only disappointment was that they STILL don't have a live band..but i think it's cause there was no space in the stage!! But in all this was the best concert i have ever been to!! very cheestastic! Anyone who hasn't been...hope you enjoy it! ALSO the whole concert is full of fireworks and all that!! it was sooo cool!! i was actually most impressed with the stage...it looked sooo much nicer that the last one!

7th May 2000 » Glasgow

I went to see steps at the NEC in Birmingham on Thursday 18th may. I Really enjoyed it and H was gorgeous! The tribute bands were great at the beggining and everyone was very nice. we were at the front-about two rows away from the stage , so we had a great view. The only thing that we were surprised at was the cost of souviniers. Programmes were priced at £7 and tiny teddy bears were £10! We allreally enjoyed ourselves. Michelle

7th May 2000 » Glasgow

hi everyone, I went to see the STEPTACULAR tour in Glasgow on the 7th of may. I went with my four friends. The support acts were ok they were called in order Loose Chickens, Boom, Buffalo G, Northern Line If you saw the first two tours then you had better see this one because it is the best ever. Steps arrive wearing large blue robes from a mini stage from the roof and start with remix of deeper shade of blue. But before I start that before steps came on it previewed the When I Said Goodbye video which is on during the break between the support acts and Steps. It is like a mini movie set in Rome and is black and white. As yet there is not dance routine but the video is excellent. Also during the concert they sing wait for it Summer Of Love which is amazing. It is really upbeat and sounds a bit Spanish and Latin but it is excellent and I am sure loads of you will like it. Steps have really amazing special effects. When H is going to sing his solo he is lowered from the roof on a giant H and sings Lay All Your Love On Me. Just before the chorus the dancers surround him and you cant see much but then he fly's out above the audience and does flips and tries to reach the audience below. The three girls sing I Knew Him So Well and were amazing. As you heard Lee Lisa and Faye wrote solo songs and they are all great but the one I remember the most is Lisa's which is called Start It Again and is really good. Claire sings I Surrender with northern line joining her on stage to dance but at the beginning she is leaning against a motorbike. When Lee sings his solo he comes up through the stage with fireworks. During one song at the end of it you see steps moving towards the front of the stage then they disappear under the stage. The stage itself is all stairs and platforms against a night sky and city. They of course finish with tragedy the best song of the night. When they sing One For Sorrow they do the American version which is a remix but it also shows us the video on a large screen which is above the stage. Overall it was a really great night and all I can say is that when I go in December the show should be a knock out if its to follow in this ones foot steps

7th May 2000 » Glasgow

This is from the Daily Record:
STEPPING UP THEIR TEEN CULT STATUS
STEPS SECC, GLASGOW
From the moment they broke into the first bars of current single A Deeper Shade of Blue, STEPS had won over the crowd at Glasgow's SECC. Kicking off this leg of their world tour with five sell-out dates in the city, the ultimate cheesy pop band were off to a winner. Mums,Dads and kids were up out of their seats and ready for their journey through the backlog of hits that have made this all-singing, all-dancing combo a force to be reckoned with. Costume changes, motorbikes, flying machines and pyrotechnics, this band gave you it all - except, perhaps a full hour and a half of live singing. But no-one in the capacity crowd cared one jot. Melanie C may think STEPS are short-changing their fans by miming some of their hits, but in this electric atmosphere, it didn't matter. Watching thousands of arms flailing in all directions as they try to copy the STEPS moves that go with each hit must give Faye, Claire, Lee, Lisa and the annoying H, as much amusment as their songs give the crowd. H, to his credit, pulled off the best piece of entertainment of the night. He belted out his version of Abba's Lay all your love on me and then, suspended on a rope wire, flew off the stage on a pulley across the audience, somersaulting and twisting and turning. The girls entertained us with their version of Barbara Dickson and Elaine Paige's I Know Him So Well, before the boys had the crowd going with D:Ream's, Things Can Only Get Better. From two chart-topping albums, STEPS went through each hit like clockwork giving us Heartbeat, One for Sorrow. Last Thing On my Mind and When I Say Goodbye, the new single. Kylie Minogue's Better The Devil You Know and, of course, the encore Tragedy, raised the roof. With more dates planned for Glasgow this December, things can only get better for this band

7th May 2000 » Glasgow

I went to see Steps at the SECC on 2 occasions on Steps current tour and for both nights I managed to get front row! This was an amazing experience and made the atmosphere more intense! With Steps dancing and singing their happy songs brought all the crowd together and made the crowd at Glasgow's SECC like one big Steps family! After 4 brilliant support acts - Northern Line, Buffalo G, Boom! and Loose Chippin - the crowd was really getting in the mood for Steps with everyone chanting as you can imagine! So when the curtain fell and the music started everyone was up out of their seats and dancing! First the dancers came onto the scene and when H started to sing you could see Steps appear from above the stage! They came on did 'Deeper Shade Of Blue' and then burst straight into 'One For Sorrow' U.S. Mix! I still cant really remember the concert down to every detail, but every Step was givin' a solo song and in my opinion Faye was the best! But every member got each note perfect and some of them were even LIVE! But when they had gone through all of their hits missing out 'Better Best Forgotten' and '5,6,7,8', a curtain came down with STEPS written on it and the audience were kept in suspense for the ultimate Steps encore! And this was the best yet with them starting with their next single - 'Summer Of Love' and then finishes with everyones fave Steps song and dance - 'Tragedy'! So to give you a taste of their tour I have put in a photo! If you have not got along to one of their shows yet...ENJOY! And if you could not get a ticket, make sure you get on for the Christmas Tour, coz after the show Lisa assured us that its gonna be one not to be missed by anyone!

9th May 2000 » Newcastle

What can i say about this tour......it is truly STEPTACULAR, i thought this concert was much better than the last one in december, they sang more songs live and their solo spots were exellent. They started the show off with "Deeper Shade of Blue" and the crowd went wild, I'm not going to spoil it for those who have'nt been yet, but prepare to be amazed. The show ended with "Tragedy" and it was amazing to see the whole crowd doing the dance routine.......yes even the mums and dads were up dancing. Roll on Novemeber when they come back to Newcastle. Emma

9th May 2000 » Newcastle

The Steptacular Tour. I was expecting much from this tour as the Next Step had been very good and if roughly the same formula was followed, with the addition of new tracks and a live band and singing, then we could be sure of a great time and a confirmation that Steps are indeed a force to be reckoned with. When the event had finished I was not disappointed, but I was left wondering whether or not the group had done themselves justice and whether or not they had wasted a good opportunity to show how good they really are. Nevertheless, there were many highlights and it was very good. The atmosphere was fantastic and I would far rather have been there than not. The normal monotony of "Blink TV" was improved by having videos such as Aqua's "Around The World", but unfortunately there was also Daphne and Celeste's "U.G.L.Y." and the same annoying adverts over and over again. The support acts began ten minutes late and they were typically and decidedly dodgy. LOOSE CHICKENS The openers were one of the 33 girl groups releasing singles this year and I had honestly never heard of them until the moment they emerged on stage. The girl group thing could start to get boring after a while, but we all know that mixed groups are the best so there's no need to worry there. Loose Chickens performed three songs - "Stand By Your Doors", "Give Me All I Want Now Baby" and their first single "Girls Getting Naughty". All mimed but they did interact with the crowd and everyone appreciated the first words of the night, "Why aye, Newcastle!", which were from Danni. A good warm up. NORTHERN LINE This group do not need much introduction as they are already "famous" in their own right. They were introduced by a video and danced in stroboscopic light before performing their three songs, "Love On The Northern Line", "Ooh La La" and their new one "All Around The World", to which we also saw the video. A bit of acapella singing plus a few fans in the audience meant the crowd warmed up a bit more. BUFFALO G Two Dubliners including one of the famous Lynch clan. I was surprised that they were the main support instead of Northern Line, but they justified their position with some good dancing, acrobatics and a bit of chanting, "When we say 'Buffalo', you say 'G'", and so on. They did three tracks including their debut single, a cover of Bananarama's "Really Saying Something". People joined in with the chanting and were now ready for the main act. The support lasted for only 45-50 minutes and each act only did three songs, which was an improvement on the Next Step where people were almost beginning to wonder which act they had paid to come and see. The interval passed quite quickly as instead of more boring "Blink TV" we got clips from Planet Pop documentaries and performances as well as "Stepping Out". With seven minutes left we were treated to the video for "When I Said Goodbye", which is sheer excellence although it may as well have been anything for the amount of attention it got from the audience. As we hit 9.00, the lights went down and the place erupted with screaming and cheering. The set on stage was finally revealed, unlike the Next Step where it had been visible throughout. It was two flights of stairs with a slope in the middle and a large round video screen behind. The music began with "Deeper Shade Of Blue", Sleaze Sisters Anthem Mix, and Claire's video clip of "you're so far away...ayay..ayay" was shown before the group made their entrance. And what an entrance. They descended from the arena roof on a large sphere dressed in large blue robes whilst remaining absolutely still. My heart rate always increases when I first see them! As they came to rest they welcomed us to the tour before performing DSOB, although unfortunately mimed. So, an acceptable start, but then what the hell happened? I could not quite believe what happened next when they merged into "One For Sorrow" as the second track of the evening. Not only that but it was the mediocre Tony Moran US Mix of the song, and on top of all this it was mimed. This was a great disappointment as the highlight for me is always the quality of this particular song and how well they do it live, but it was completely ruined. It left me thinking "what comes next?". Contrast that with the absolutely sensational ballad by the girls which followed, a cover of "I Know Him So Well" from the musical Chess, taken from the Abbamania album. The vocals on this were and are absolutely gorgeous and the quality of this song is almost beyond words. Please release this at Christmas! If they do and get the marketing right for once it could stand a good chance of hitting the top, it really is that special. Things were improving. The girls left the stage to support dancers and Lee arrived to do his own solo song, "Come On Get Together". A vast improvement on the complete trash that was "We're Gonna Have A Party", this dance song was live and quite respectable. The rest of Steps came back to do a favourite of most fans, "Say You'll Be Mine", their Christmas single. Excellent as it was live and well performed, it will always be one of their best songs due to its catchy tune and routine. Just when things were looking up, they go and spoil things again by pasting together random bits of three songs - "After The Love Has Gone", "Last Thing On My Mind" and "5,6,7,8". For 5,6,7,8 the routine was left to the Steptoons as the group left the stage. This was the low point of the concert, as these songs were mimed and were only shoved in because they couldn't get away with missing them out completely. I can understand "5,6,7,8", but a lot of fans really like LTOMM and I personally very much like ATLHG. To do this is inconsiderate of the fan base and denied some potentially good and enjoyable performances. After a costume change, another solo writing and performing effort, this time from Faye, with "When You're Dancing". This was an interesting song, with a mixed tempo and an unusual vibe to it. I'd probably have to hear it a few more times to make a decision, but it did sound good. Perhaps the most spectacular moment came next, with H's solo performance of the Abba song "Lay All Your Love On Me", a good live rendition. He began stood on top of a large metal "H" on stage, and was lifted into the air and out above the audience during the first chorus. During the second chorus he spun round in the air performing somersaults and got a ballistic reception from the crowd. If you go to a concert and see this, it is truly amazing and probably the most astounding thing I have ever seen anyone do. Cue the return of the rest of the group and Lisa said that she was quite impressed at how H had managed to do his acrobatics. She then said that things should be slowed down slightly and introduced Steps' first (and so far only) Number One single, "Heartbeat", which was live and as brilliant as it always is. This one always goes down very well and was the second best moment of the concert. I think that I got a wave from H during this song. After this had finished, Claire said that they were going to keep the tempo down and introduced their next single, "When I Said Goodbye". "I think you saw the video earlier, it's a little bit different, it's meant to be quite classy". At this point a voice came from the left hand side of the arena, "Claire, please have my babies!". A lot of people heard this and were quite amused but none of the group seemed to notice and so they went on with the performance. The new version of this song is very good, and Faye was impressive with her live harmonies, but H did mime his section of the song. After a short break, Claire came back to do her song, a live solo version of "I Surrender" from Steptacular. She had female support dancers and a motorbike on stage during her performance, which was very good. This was the third best part of the night. Now was the time for real quality. The screen at the back of the stage, which showed all of the videos to the songs, a welcome change from the Next Step Tour, began to show still images of H and Lee from videos such as "Tragedy", "After The Love Has Gone" and "Deeper Shade Of Blue". They both emerged from opposite sides of the gantry and descended to the stage whilst performing their duet, D:Ream's "Things Can Only Get Better". This was sensational, and the crowd really like this one. The set-up, production and performance of this song was absolutely spot on and if you see this on tour you should be well impressed. Pure class and definitely the best bit of the concert. After this, H and Lee concentrated on audience participation by getting the crowd to do a series of Mexican waves around the arena, and having a competition between the two different sides and each other. At one point H said, "Beat that, Latchford!", and was quite amused when the wave on Lee's side continued down his side when it wasn't supposed to. After this, the obligatory, "You're the best Steps fans in the world" followed. H then introduced Lisa as "Liza" and she emerged in a wedding dress to do her solo, "Start It Again", which was performed live with an interesting sub-plot involving a man on stage. This song was really good and is on a par with "Just Like The First Time" from the Next Step Tour. Hers was probably the best of the three self-written solos but again I would have to hear it more to judge it properly. This was the last live performance. The rest came back to mime their way through the now more familiar "Better The Devil You Know", which wasn't really too impressive. The pyrotechnic flames near the end were very impressive and I could clearly feel the heat from them even though I was nine rows back. At the end of the song, Steps simply disappeared through the floor and were absent from stage for about 5 minutes. During this time, the cameras panned around the arena and people were pleased to get their faces on to the big screens. Chants of, "We want Steps!" followed and some people got quite impatient. This was slightly boring, but definitely better than the faked finale of the past two tours. The curtain fell and Steps came on to do the second a-side to their next single, "Summer Of Love". This was very good, with a new Latin sound and dance moves to match. When combined with WISG, this track will hopefully give the group their long-awaited second UK No. 1. The concert ended with predictable mimed performances of "Love's Got A Hold On My Heart" and the inevitable finale of "Tragedy". There's no problem at all ending with these as they are brilliant, but live singing would go a long way to improving the conclusion. This part was in fact too similar to the Next Step Tour and it might have been better to have changed it somehow. In any case, the crowd seemed to like it, and joined in with the words and the dance routines

11th May 2000 » Newcastle

We seems to wait for hours before the group we all wanted to see made a brilliant exit on the stage. With a huge screen playing clips from the video to 'Deeper Shade Of Blue' behind them, STEPS made their entrance onto the set from above. And what an entrance it was! The gang lowered down from the ceiling on a huge circular stand while waving and smiling to the thousands of eager fans below. The Sleaze Sisters mix of DSOB really got the crowd into the mood and as the lyrics began, the dancers arrived on stage to compliment the new up tempo dance moves that fitted perfectly with the music. As the show continued, the set and lighting was used to great effect. A vast improvement from the last tour, the stage was decked out in silver and black staircases, steps :o) and balconies with a gothic background. The crowd didn't know where to look next as the band popped out from all different areas of the stage for each song. Lee's own song wasn't really that different from his last effort, but he made a grand entrance himself, jumping up from seemingly nowhere accompanied by a loud bang and a puff of smoke! The best entertainer, as always?, was H, who's stage grabbing antics were nice, not as irritating as usual, and his song was great, a real crowd pleaser, especially when he 'flew' over the audience!!! The outfits were as ever stunning, with both the boys and the girls looking very fresh despite their busy touring schedule. Tonight's show was also the first time I had heard the single 'Summer Of Love' and I have to say that it is absolutely fantastic! It's a great up tempo number that will have STEPS fans across the UK dancing this summer, who said the Latino phase had finished? They're wrong, it's back big style, with STEPS at the driving seat! All in all a well polished show in front of a very eager crowd made it a show to remember, and STEPS even said that Newcastle had the best fans 'ever', but surely they say that in every town they visit...?

12th May 2000 » Newcastle

Anyway back to the concert. I just arrived home from the concert and really wanted to tell the readers of this page what a brilliant time I have had. I don't care what people have said about Steps 'not being able to sing live etc...', but I have had the best time in my whole life. It was a highly entertaining night, a definate for all non Steps and Steps fans. It was very cheesey - but the fact that it was cheesey made it better. This is good old Steps stuff. The dances where brilliant - as usual - they all looked brilliant and I am sure Lisa keeped on smiling at me. The highlight of the night must be Lee and H singing D:Reams 'Things Can Only Get Better'. H had the whole crowd clapping, dancing and singing. But I must add to this - did ya see Lee. Whoa!!!! After seeing Steps in concert I am a bigger fan than ever. I have made it now part of my Steps religon to go and see them in November at the Arena. Well that is it - I am sure this so far is the highlight of my life. Love Shaz

12th May 2000 » Newcastle

I thought seeing as I had already seen them on the 9th that this show would'nt be as good, but boy was I wrong, in fact I think I enjoyed this one even more (if thats possible). We were quite near the front again for this show and everyone around us seemed to be sat down (they were little kiddies) so we had an excellent view. I danced the night away but felt a little daft doing the dance routines when everyone else was sat down around me, but then again I was there to have a good time. Once again the solo spots were excellent, Lee and Lisa's songs are fantastic. H's flying seems to be getting better too (hehe). Once again the end of the show was brilliant, they brought the house down with a finale of Tragedy. I have got my Credit card at the ready to get tickets for the winter tour. November seems such a long way away. Emma

12th May 2000 » Newcastle

Following the three support acts Loose Chippings (names get worse don't they..!), Buffalo G and Northern Line it was approaching 9pm.. and then the lights went down, 'Deeper Shade Of Blue' started and Steps came in from the top of the set on a metal platform in their video costumes. The seats we're pretty good, at the front of block B, so lots of room for dancing!. Into the chorus (when they landed) their costumes came off to reveal their leather-look, the crowd was going mad and block B was rockin'!! :-). Then into 'One For Sorrow', where they played the US video to go along with it :-) much better to dance to than the UK version. The girls sang 'I Know Him So Well' so beautifully and sounded fantastic live, some of the crowd didn't enjoy it though - fools! :-). The highlights of the evening were seeing 'When I Said Goodbye' and hearing it live - excellent and their new tracks. Lisa's was probably the best of all, very disco and also very Steps. Their next single 'Summer Of Love' is an incredible song, if it doesn't get to number one I will be amazed. After almost having our faces blown off by the fireworks and explosions for the following songs, especially the finale 'Tragedy' where everyone went wild and the song had the biggest reception.. all in all Steps were amazing, there was barely a note wrong when they sung live and the whole arena loved it.. Hopefully I'll be going back in November and they'll be the same - they can't get better, Steps were excellent! :-) Mat

12th May 2000 » Newcastle

Laura and I got there at about 7:00pm. When we got to the arena, we went very hyper. Inside we had a look around ( as usual) then bought a glowy stick thingy, whatever. After finding our seats we found out how close we were, very close. We waited 'til about 7:45 for the support acts. After the support acts finished everyone had to wait for 25 minutes for what everyone came for, Steps. During that time we saw the new video, When I Said Goodbye, the video is great. Before the video ended the lights started to go out, and the music to Deeper Shade Of Blue came on. They came on the stage from above. The performance of it was great, Ioved it. After Deeper Shade Of Blue came my all time favorite Steps song, One For Sorrow, the US mix. This was one of the best performances of the night. With the same dance routine as the UK version. In the back the video to One For Sorrow was playing, I like the UK video better. Say You'll Be Mine came next, another great performance live, so far the night had been great. Claire, Lisa and Faye sung next I Know Him So Well, which was performed to perfection. They sang it live which made even more better then the version on Abbamania. Next Lees solo which was really cool. Before he started to sing he popped up through the stage floor. Next came After The Love Has Gone/Last Thing On My Mind, another excellent performance by the best pop group. While they were getting a costume change, stepstoon were, with 5678. Next came Faye's solo, the song she wrote was brilliant, I loved it. From where I was sitting I couldn't see because in a frame with lights around. Next H sang solo Lay All Your Love On Me, this was the best performance, but I'm not saying what he did, it'll spoil it for anyone who hasn't went yet. H also waved at me and Laura twice, which me made us go mad. Next came Heartbeat, their first no.1 as Lisa said. H waved to us three times this time, made us even more hyper and I got a thumbs up from H for that, yeahhhhh. When I Said Goodbye was next. The video in back for was playing and it was brilliant. Claire then done her solo, I Surrender, I thought this was great like all the other solos had been. H and Lee then performed Things Can Only Get Better. At the end of the song, they said why they choose to do the song. They then spilt the audience in half, to find out which side was the loudest. After all that they decided that we all should scream at the same time. Then H introduced Lisa or Lisa as he said it. Lisa then done her solo which had a disco theme to it and another song which proves what a great singer Lisa is. Next came Better The Devil You Know, everyone got up to got up to dance to this one, which was great, because that the people behind finally got up so that I could. I was so close that when a big flame went up I could feel the heat on my face. Steps then left the stage, again. Which left everyone stamping their feet, shouting "we want steps" and screaming louder then ever. Then from above again Steps came to perform their new single, Summer Of Love. The Dance has to be the hardest out of them all. The was song was great, different from the others. Next came Loves Got A Hold On My Heart. Another great live performance, but I began to feel since it was nearly over. Next came one of their biggest hits, Tragedy, everyone was off their sets dancing again. When Tragedy finished, Steps said thank you for being and for supporting them all along. Before leaving the arena, I made I got a programme and a poster of Deeper Shade Of Blue.

14th May 2000 » Sheffield

We arrived at the Arena at about 7.00 PM. We went in, my two 13 year old mates (don't go doing this) bought some booze from the bar and surprisingly never got chucked out! We were sitting in the side seats and could see quite clearly. Anyways, we had these 3 support acts, then a half an hour break showing a steps planet pop special on the screens. Then the moment came, the lights went off which sent the crowd buserk. It was cool seeing all the glow lights and flashing horns. Steps came down on a massive lift thingy and it's just shocking actually seeing them in the flesh! They sang Deeper Shade Of Blue. The girls sang I Know Him So Well which was absolutely beutiful and it was my mums fave bit! Later we got to see the new When I Said Goodbye vid which is very different to Steps usual vids but in a way, quite nice All of the solos were great, Claire sang I Surrender whilst dancing around a motorbike, Lee landed out of nowhere with a massive bang and sang his song which was brilliant, Faye sat on a chair with two dancers next to her behind a rectangle shape with bulbs around and had this great little movement of her head, whilst Lisa had a 'wedding' if you like and later stripped off into 70's gear! But the highlight for me was definately seeing H coming down on a big lit-up letter 'H' and then swinging over the audience on a wire doing spins! We got to see the 5678 stepstoons which were cool and quite cute. Overall, it's been the best concert I've ever been to, apart from we had to stand every time the fat lady in front stood up

14th May 2000 » Sheffield

Just thought I'd write to let you know about the fantastic concert I went to last night (14th May) at Sheffield! Well, after the NEXT STEP tour I didn't think Steps could get any better but they certainly proved me wrong last night!! Where do I start to tell you about how good it was!? The Set was fantastic! Very detailed painting and the panel in the middle with the videos playing on it was just genius!! The silver, futeristic theme of the set really tied in with the costumes and all the new songs etc too. STEPTASTIC! The songs - well what can I say!! A great mix of old and new! The start was spot on with Deeper Shade of Blue and then the US mix of one for sorrow! (With the video!) I cant remember the order they sang them in but they also did - Heartbeat, Loves gotta hold on my heart and After the love has gone (as expected!) but what I must comment on and what I feel made the show where the new solos from Lee, Lisa and Faye. They were all spot on! Lee's suited his image alot more than the cheesy pop stuff at the beginning and Lisa is just one cool pop DIVA!! She so doesn't get as much respect as she should!! Saying all of that I think Fayes solo was the best. I loved it! It was so Faye - Funky, different and with a touch of glamour, I can't wait to hear it again on their third album!! Slightly dissapointed with Things can only get better and the costume that did not go with the motor bike theme in Claires solo - I surrender. Think she should have worn leather or something to tie in the theme but all in all I think the five Stepsters have done it again!! A STEPTACULAR SHOW!! I just cant wait to see them again at Christmas!! PS...... The merchandise I feel is pretty cheap but watch out for the Steps bear, my first one had half it's head falling off! and for six quid I was not happy but I changed it no problems but just a warning check it.

14th May 2000 » Sheffield

I'm the first to admit that a year ago i absolutly refused to even listen to Steps, let alone pay to see them live!! Well, after a lot of convincing from my friend Ra who is completly obseesed with them (especially H!) I now have both albums and went to a concert! Our coach picked us up at 4.30pm and the journey from Burton-on-Trent to Sheffield took about 2 hours because of all the pick ups we had to make. After er'd parked we went and got our merchandise and then found our seats (Block C, Row 51) which were brilliant but not the worst. At about 7.30pm the 1st support act came on, we didnt even know who they were until Ra asked a security guard and they were called something like 'Loose Chippings' and they were pretty crap!! Next up were Boom, whose performance was more fizzle than boom! Next came Northern Line who pretty good, then the best ones, Buffallo G who were excellent. Then came the 25 minute wait for Steps, during which video clips and interviews were played and a bit of the new video. At about 9.00pm, the lights went down and everyone was screaming. Deeper Shade of Blue started and they appeared from the ceiling on a type of swing ( very Boyzone-like). God knows what order the rest of the songs came in but amongst them were 'After the love has gone' 'Loves got a hold..' a medley of '5678', '1 4 Sorrow', 'Last thing on my mind' and i think 'Better Best Forgotten'. The ABBA songs were excellent and the lads performance of 'Things can only get better' was excellent!! Claires performance of 'I Surrender' was brilliant and of course the finale of 'Tragedy' was brilliant, but my personal favourite was 'Better the Devil'. It was a fantastic concert and i'd reccommend it to anyone even if you're not the biggest Steps fan. We're planning to go again at Christmas. Oh, and girls (and maybe lads!) look out for Lee and H in leather trousers!!! V.nice!! Rebecca Mangham

14th May 2000 » Sheffield

Hiya Steppers!!! When I went to see Steps in concert on the 14th May in Sheffield it was definetly the best day of my life... I went with my mate and we went in the morning trying to catch a glimpse of the fabulous Steps before they went into the arena. But when we got there we saw some tour buses and just assumed we missed them. How wrong were we!!! We got the tram to Meadowhall and stayed there for 4 or 5 hours. Then we saw her, yes, that's right, we saw Faye from Steps with her boyfriend Jasper!!! They were all over each other!!! We went up and asked if it was her and she nodded and walked away, so we followed her! We eventually got some autographs and a few sneaky photos!!! We went back to the arena just in time to hear Steps rehearsing from outside but we couldn't see anything! The best part of the concert was when H flew out into the audience and said 'Helloooo'! Then the best song was Lisa'a solo,'Starting Again', which she wrote herself!!! And as if that wasn't enough, on our way to the car we nearly got knocked down by Steps' limo(we could see Faye and H's hair throught the slightly open window)!!! We got halfway home and I remembered that I'd left my camera in the arena!!! oh no!!!! Tragedy!!! We drove back to get it but they couldn't find it! Anyway they've found it now and are going to post it to me! I'm going again in November but I doubt it'll be as good as this time!!! Steppin' out, luv, 1 Mad Stepper!!! (Nikki)

14th May 2000 » Sheffield

I went to see STEPS on the 14th of may at Sheffield A rena, and thought it was one of the most entertaining concerts i have ever been to. The anticipation was amazing in the Arena, and the Support acts had a tough time trying to supress the fans; but did so brilliantly. A special congrats goes to both Northern Line and Boom!; because they performed really well. Steps came on stage at 9:00 to rapturous applause, screaming and shouting! The set was fab; and the show opened with Deeper Shade of Blue. All the old faves were in there, along with some secret new songs from their forthcoming 3rd album. They sung live whilst performing all the routines accurately, and singing their little hearts out!! Each took a turn to sing a solo song, Claire and h being the ones to sing songs heard before (I Surrender and Abba's Lay all Your Love on Me). Special Mention must go to Faye and Lisa whose new songs were uptempo and fab!! The best thing about it was H's solo, appearing on a giant H from the celing; and also flying into the audience!!! He was fab!! BUT; the best was saved till the last! TRAGEDY was worth the ticket money alone!!! Well done STEPS for producing such a fab show, I had a steptacular time!!! LISA

14th May 2000 » Sheffield

After the support acts: Loose Chippings, Boom, Northern Line and Buffalo G, every one was in the mood to party!, Then on the screens it said “Steps will be on in 30 minutes”. We were ‘treated’ to twenty-five minutes of TV performances, that all die hard Steps fans will have seen a million times already. Then ‘When I said Goodbye’ started, with the new video on the screens. This abruptly ended half way through, and at 9:00 the arena fell dark. Screams ripped through the arena and people stamped their feet. The atmosphere at once became electric. The ‘Sleaze sisters anthem mix’ of ‘Deeper Shade of Blue’ echoed from the speakers. With an explosion, the curtain fell and revealed an amazing set. The dancers appeared moments later, appearing from every possible place on stage. While all this was happening an edited version of the video to ‘Deeper Shade of Blue’ showed on the huge oval screen behind them. Like every tour, the audiences are left to guess where Steps will appear from, and this one was no exception. With another explosion, a large metal sphere started to slowly lower from the roof. As it came lower it was clear that Steps were the ones clinging to it. The started to sing the song in mid-air. By the time the song reached the first verse they were out of the metal cage and dancing downstage. They didn’t sing this song live as it is quite a fast mix, and to dance it and sing it live at the same time would be a challenge. The song finished and they got their applause and went straight into the US mix of ‘One for Sorrow’, this wasn’t sung live either. But all the same a great song with a dancy edge to get the show going. After this finished, They thanked everyone for coming. H then took the lead. He played a guessing game to see what song was next, it was ‘Say you’ll be mine’, this was the first song in the show to be sung live and it sounded excellent. After that the girls went away to get changed and the guys chatted to the audience for a while. The girls returned in a blackout and stood downstage in three spots across the stage, the next song was, ‘I know him so well’ and as each girl sang a spotlight appeared over them, this song was sung amazingly well live and the harmonies sounded beautiful. The girls came together for the ending and the lights came up slowly. The audience went wild. The girls ran off stage as the music to the next song started. The dancers came on stage, but no sign of any members of steps, until Lee appeared in a huge explosion. He launched into his solo called ‘Stand Up’, which very, very closely resembled Five’s ‘Everybody Get Up’. A good song, if not too ‘Five’. The others then joined Lee on stage to launch into the medley of the night, ‘After the love has gone/Last thing on my mind’, which was performed very well. ‘After the love has gone’ was not sung live, but ‘last thing on my mind’ was, and sounded great. Then all went black and ‘5,6,7,8’ started. It was just a break for them to get changed, while this was happening the video screens played the ‘Steptoons’ video for the song. This finished and the lights came up to reveal a white sheet had been hung to cover all the stage and three frames surrounded in lights were evenly positioned there too. Faye came out and declared that this was a song she had written herself for the tour. It was Very Britney Spears. She sung the song live and it sounded great. She left and there was another blackout. The lights came up, the sheet was still there and a silhouette of a huge H could be seen. Then came my highlight of the tour. With a massive explosion the sheet fell to reveal H in mid air sat in the H. He began to sing ‘Lay all Your Love on Me’, live, which sounded amazing. The H lowered to the ground, and ‘H’ got off. The dancers danced around him and attached two harnesses to his back, as the chorus came, he rose into the air and over the audience. He was back on the ground dancing for the verse, but as the next chorus came he was flying again, doing somersaults in the air and looking amazing. He finished his song with his usual “ I love You” and ran off. The other guys came on and took their positions dotted around the stage. They introduced the song and sang ‘Heartbeat’ extremely well live. After ‘Heartbeat’, we were treated to the new version of ‘When I Said Goodbye’ which I have to say didn’t sound much different. They sang it live and it sounded great. After this they all left the stage. A few seconds later, some dancers returned on a motorbike, parked up by a door, knocked on it, and out came Claire. She sang I surrender live very well, as she always does, and danced to the instrumental break. Next came another one of my highlights, H & Lee’s ‘Things can only get better’ This was a brilliant song and really got the crowd going, they sang it brilliantly live and they got the applause they deserved. H introduced Lisa’s solo, which started in a church setting, complete with organs. With the dancers, and Lisa in wedding clothes. These were later ripped of to reveal 70’s hot pants and Afro wigs. This was a really great song, One member of Steps knows what it’s all about and is sticking to it. I loved the song. The next song started with two huge fireballs launching in to the air. It was ‘Better the devil you know’ it was sang well live but I was disappointed that they didn’t wear the red leather coats still a great live performance. They then introduced one of the best songs on the tour, the new single, ‘Summer of love’ it is a great big Latino number with a ‘musical theatre’ edge to it. This song is going to be so huge! After that they told the audience a bit about the third album and launched into the finale, of Loves got a hold on my heart and Tragedy. These two were not sung live which was quite disappointing as it would have been a good way to round of the show. They thanked everyone for coming and let their dancers bow and took one themselves. They finished a ‘Steptacular’ show with a bang. I enjoyed every minute of it and I cant wait to go see them again at Christmas.

14th May 2000 » Sheffield

The support acts were ok but lets face it no one is ever interested in them they just want to see STEPS. "Loose chippings or chickens" came on first, I'm not sure what they said their names were but they are an all girl band who were wearing PVC, which on some members of the group didn't look entirely flattering, this group was pretty bad and I think that the entire arena just wanted them off stage as they didn't join in when they tried to get the audience to join in with their songs. BOOM were fantastic like a new S Club 7 with attitude and there were 6 of them, they had so much energy and really got the crowd going before Northern Line appeared and completely set the arenas alight!! The crowd loved them its just a shame that they had to be followed by Buffalo G who were really annoying and I just wanted them off stage. Next there was a 25 minute wait for Steps. While the fans counted down the minutes we were treated to a preview of the video to "When I Said Goodbye" which is completely different to Deeper Shade of Blue, in fact its hard to believe its the same band. The futuristic set was amazing and Steps never fail to disappoint their entrance a definite improvement on the last tour, Each member of the band did a solo the best had to be H which was the highlight of the night when he flew above the audience while doing summersaults I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing. Lisa's poppy song wasn't as good as "Just like the first time" on the last tour but it was still catchy, Lee's was similar to the song on the last tour and Fays was weird everyone just seem to sit down as it never really got going, while Claire sang "I surrender" beautifully which I loved. Although Steps have changed their image and they look great I thought that they dedicated too much time to their new songs while neglecting classics such as 5,6,7,8, Last thing on my mind, etc so the new songs could fit in. Although this tour is completely different to the last I loved it and I hope critics such as Mel C see it so that they can see how great STEPS are live, their voices have all improved since the last tour it must be all the touring they are doing which is making their voices stronger. ANYONE AND EVERYONE WILL ENJOY THIS CONCERT, HAVE FUN, Jemma

14th May 2000 » Sheffield

I went to the Steps tour in Sheffield on May 14th. It was brilliant. At the beginning when they come down onto the stage, it is super. The best bit is H's solo, when he appears on a giant metal H from the ceiling, and then proceeds to fly over the audience on wires. The best bit for me though was when H read my banner out in front of everyone, as I held it up near him. I would recommend going to the tour in November/December as this tour was excellent!!!!

15th May 2000 » Sheffield

The tour is fantastic!! The opening is excellent It was really good the dancers were fab and did a really good job!! Steps sound soooooo much better live they were fantastic! The best number of the show was Things can only get better sung by lee and H which finished with a big Mexican wave! The worst song was Lisa solo its pants however it was redeemed by the fantastic dance done by Lisa and the dancers also the setting for that was really good! The whole atmosphere was ace everyone joined in the the sold out stadium! When H flyed over the audience was the hhighlighteveryone went mad it was sooo cool!! All in all the band were fantastic and cool! They all looked extreme sexy and their voices were fantastic a really good show with loads of audience participation"!! lLouise bulcroft

15th May 2000 » Sheffield

VERY VERY DISAPPOINTED!!!!!! OUR SEATS WERE ON THE FLAT GROUND AND WHEN EVERYONE STOOD UP FOR STEPS THE CHILDREN COULD NOT SEE A THING!!!!!!! A FAMILY NEXT TO US ACTUALLY GAVE UP AND WENT HOME. THE STAGE WAS TOO LOW AND SO WERE THE SCREENS. MY DAUGHTER ONLY ACTUALLY SAW THE GROUP RIGHT AT THE END. THEY SOUNDED WONDERFUL AND THE ATMOSPHERE WAS GOOD. BUT THEY MUST BE AWARE THAT THE MAJORITY OF FANS ARE CHILDREN AND SHOULD STAGE THE SHOW SO THAT CHILDREN CAN SEE!!!

17th May 2000 » Birmingham

This concert was fantastic as usual. The set is set in a futuristic city and STEPS have obviously found their darker shade as the costumes are very dark and includes lots of leather. From the opener of DSOB to Tragedy every hit was included apart from Better best forgotten although, this was shown as a TV promo film prior to the concert starting. The video to When I said goodbye was shown just before the concert also and looks very classy. The new songs are different and Lisa's is very seventies including dancers in afro wigs!. As a big ABBA fan the inclusion of Lay all your love on me by H and I know him so well by the girls proved great successes if the amount of cheering was anything to go by. I will see them next in Manchester on two dates and also Hyde park. I can't wait. Enjoy the tour! Darren

17th May 2000 » Birmingham

STEPS concert last night wed/may 17 2000 NEC BIRMINGHAM Excellent! first time i'd seen STEPS perform, i really enjoyed myself. The effects were brilliant and performances by all members of the group were 1st class. Most definitely see them again !! regards Louise

17th May 2000 » Birmingham

Well what can i say about Steps. I had been looking forward to this for so long and was disappointed at what i saw. The support act were ok but what we went for was STEPS and when the time arrived its was totally brilliant. Suspended from the air and starting of with a DEEPER SHADE OF BLUE the show got off to a electric start. The set,costumes dances everything was A1 and well worth seeing. Particular highlights were the girls singing I KNOW HIM SO WELL,H singing LAY ALL YOUR LOVE on me ,BETTER THE DEVIL U KNOW ,TRADEGY well all of it . If you are lucky to have tickets u will not be disappointed. Anyone one who ever said STEPS cant sing live are totally wrong. Jackie

17th May 2000 » Birmingham

My second time seeing the steps guys and girls, i went to the step one concert in b'ham last november. I have to say they were totally wicked, the songs were performed brilliantly , the dancing was great. The hightlights I would say were the solos, i loved the girls version of i know him so well, and the guys version of things can only get better. what can i say there were the best. (can i say to anyone who went to this concert did no one see the fire at the back of the tiered section of the arena? i was sat in row p and behind me there was a small fire caused by what i don't know? they tried to get us to leave but there was no way! did no one else from the front notice? it was towards the end about 3 songs?) anyway i'll definatly be going to the b'ham concert on 19th november! Nikki

18th May 2000 » Birmingham

I Went To The Steps concert in Birmingham on the 18th May 2000. Here is my review: As everyone sat in their seats the Slease Sisters Remix of Deeper Shade of Blue started playing as Steps were reaveled to be in "Pyjama" type clothes in a ball on the ceiling. That as just the begining....! Later on in the fab concert H (Singing Lay All Your Love on me By ABBA,) went flying over the audience doing sumersalts! Overall I thought it was a huge success and was extremely impressed by the concert sorrry not to have any photos but the staff there confiscated it. Typical! From Daniel

18th May 2000 » Birmingham

Firstly, why can groups rarely have decent support acts? Boom! were pants, Buffalo G were alright, Daphne and Celeste were pants (Although it seemed that more people sang along to Ohh Stick You! than another ther song all night, including Steps ones!). And Northern Line..hmm, well, I never did like them but they have certainly improved since I saw them at the Smash Hits tour.... OK, onto Steps. All in all it was a fab show, although as ever I have criticisms! Where was the live band? Why did they mime any song that involved a bit of a dance routine (DSOB, OFS, ATLHG/LTOMM Mix which was pants, BTDYK, SOL, LGAHOMH and Tragedy!) when they work together so well live (I Know Him So Well and Say You'll Be Mine blew me away!).Why did Lee perform another pants solo song, and again be the only member to mime his solo? (Before you all start, I'll get back to him later!). Quite frankly it was a poor attempt at a dance song. He really didn't pull it off, although the choreography rocked! Faye's solo was, well, different, but quite frankly fabulous! Lisa's was very 70's influenced and was fab too, and you know the other 2.....and finally, where was the group interaction? Quite frankly, the way they worked together would have led you to believe they were strangers, not having been together for 3 or 4 years! Anyway, highlight of the night as definately Things Can Only Get Better. To be quite frank I was dreading it, I have a rather low opinion of Lee (Which he confirmed with his poor attempt at a solo). But boy can he sing! He sang live and totally outshone H in every way, shape and form. He should have done it as his solo, it was fab! I definately want to see him perform more, and more live, but please, no more songs he's written himself.... For me the biggest disappointment was Summer Of Love. I had myself so hyped up about hearing this new song and it failed to deliver. Maybe my expectations were too high, but it didn't have the catchiness that you've come to love from Steps. They performed it and I couldn't remember a note just 5 minutes afterwards! I'm sure it will grow on me, but for anyone else going to see the tour, don't expect too much from this song instantly.... Despite all this, all in all it was a fab show! The stage was excellent, the effects were fabulous and the choreography had obviously been worked very hard at. Go Steps! I'm going 20th May as well so I'll let you know of any opinion changes then :) Ant -x

18th May 2000 » Birmingham

I loved the Steptacular concert. The flying H was brilliant, especially when he somersaulted high above the audience. All the merchandise was really good, apart from the unofficial rubbish sold outside,ie whistles. The concert opened with "A Deeper Shade of Blue" and ended with "Tragedy". They sang their new single "Summer of Love" which will be a double A-side with "When I Said Goodbye". Each member of the group sang on their own, and H and Lee sang "Things Can Only Get Better", which was the piece de resistance! The music was brilliant even while the awful whistles were blowing, and it was the best concert of the 3 tours.

18th May 2000 » Birmingham

I went to last nights concert at the NEC. And i have to say i was VERY impressed. I have to admit that i only went to go with my friend who is a HUGE Steps fan and regularly fascinates me with dance routines. So i guess i had to go and see for myself what all the fuss was about. But I came away from the concert enjoying my first pop experience. I am a huge fan of The Corrs so not used to seeing theatrical performances at concerts. But I was really impressed. Especially with the fact that they sang live. I saw them at Party In The Park last year and they mimed the whole thing. So it was really nice to hear them sing live. The all have really nice voices. Especially Claire and Faye. My only complaint would be not being able to see the stage at all. And i could just about see if i stood on my toes due to people standing on chairs. So it's a good job they had video screens!! By Lucy Morgan.

18th May 2000 » Birmingham

To all Steptastic Step Fans!! This is the day after the steps concert and I'm still buzzing from the atmosphere I experienced last night, it was awesome!! The night kicked off with some great support acts with catchy tunes and entertaining dance routines encouraging the crowd to there feet. But everyone was waiting with anticipation to see the most entertaining band of all times STEPS! Well what can I say, I went to see there last tour in Birmingham and I loved it. But this time I really appreciated all the hard work that must have gone into putting an event together like that together it was even better. The amazing stage design and affects with 'H' half way throughout he concert flying out into the audience passing me as I was about 4 seats from the front. Picking some of there most Hypnotic songs Like- 'Say you'll be mine' 'One for sorrow' 'Tragedy' And my all-time favourite 'Better the devil you know!' The dance routines were amazing with accurate backing dancers the timing was perfect. The band also decided to sing solos and a few new song and will be appearing in there new album witch will hopefully be out soon as these will be great hits amongst the people that sadly couldn't get tickets to go. Oh not to mention that I even got a wave from Faye!! I think!! And that could be you if you grab your tickets now for there next tour in November!! Thanks again Steps for a Steptactular Night. Martin

18th May 2000 » Birmingham

Wow!!!!! well the concert definately lived up to its' name!! It was totally Steptacular! i still can't get over how amazing it was! :o) I loved every single part...it is impossible to choose a fave. But the real highlights 4 me were....Summer of love (this is sooooooooooo good, really, really, really summery and happy) I know him so well (sung beautifully by the girlies!) Lay all your love on me (H's solo- where he does all those clever rolls in the air-wow!!) Lisa's solo (cos she's got such a fab voice and her song was just fab! she's got real song-writing talent!) Those were just parts that i picked out...but i loved all the usual pop too!! (especially Deeper shade of blue at the start!) Things can only get better was great too! OMG!! everything was soooooooo good.....i can't get over it! The set was brilliant...very cleverly put together. And the lighting was also really well done. I loved the 'H' that was made of lights!! It was really different to the last tour, although they sang many of the same songs. Their costumes were much more casual in parts of the show. I loved the part when Lisa came on in the wedding dress....and suddenly it was gone!! lol.. Everything about the concert was amazing...i even loved the merchandise!! The support acts weren't too bad...Daphne and Celeste were cool! i wasn't that keen on Buffalo G tho!! The Birmingham crowd r sooooo cool!! we rule!! it was v.v.v.v.v.v.v loud!! When the fabtastic STEPS came onto the stage they were amazed at how loud we were!! Lisa said that we r always the loudest!! OMG!! i forgot to mention the mexican wave!!! Woah...it was great! it just looked sooo cool!! Well....i better stop going on about everything now...cos this is getting a bit long!!! If u haven't been yet...what can i say??! u will LOVE it! it was the best. I can't compare it 2 the last tour...because they were both so different, both fab in their own ways! Well done Steps, and every1 who made the tour happen.. it was a real party! Gemma Hampton

18th May 2000 » Birmingham

People have been dissing the support acts, I was to at the start (okay through each of their acts!) but they did get the crowd going (they even got my sister joining in- which is a hard thing to do!) and I did stop hurling abuse after they started and joined in the chants! (which is not a hard thing to do!) I had a great time when they were on and can't get their songs out of my head still. Anyway what I was supposed to say is that some people may have thought they weren't as good as they could have been (me included) but did anyone else notice that most people were singing "oh stick you", "UGLY" AND "really saying something" at the end when we were all walking to the train station or coaches and not steps? cause I did. Don't get me wrong though cause steps just like totally over powered them and I lost my voice screaming, cheering and singing along, but the support acts weren't as bad in my opinion as people are trying to make out. Well that's about it cept that I had a brilliant time, was probably the loudest in my area of bloke 6 (probably cause I cheered too early and there were mainly kids around me) and have not been able to shut up 'bout it since. (my mates are getting a bit annoyed) :) so bye and I am sooo going to the one in November (see some of you there) x Michelle x

18th May 2000 » Birmingham

well, what can I say, from the moment it started to the moment it finished my eyes were fixated on them they started off with the remix of "deeper shade of blue", that was fab as they came down from the ceiling in blue robes and then underneath was their outfits, it went straight into "one for sorrow (US mix) this was fab as you got to see the video for it, which has never been viewed in the UK "say you'll be mine" was next, this was fab as it was sung live and it's just so catchy next came the best song of the night, "I know him so well", if you thought the abbamania version was good, you haven't heard anything, it was sung live by the girls and just blew me away a lot more songs came, as well as the "5,6,7,8" steptoon, "lay all your love on me" was an excellent solo from h, he even flew into the audience and somersaulted while singing, it was amazing, more songs followed then was the time I'd been waiting for, the new single, "summer of love", how catchy is this? it's brilliant, it's amazing, it's steptacular, steps at their best. the son is fun, Latino, strong vocals and amazing dance routine, this is this years song of the summer all in all we had an amazing night, when it had finished we went outside and we saw "northern line" drive past in their tour bus, closely followed by a limo, with a really cool number plate ST3PS, guess who was in there?, it might have been them, but it might also have been a decoy, you never know I will be booking for the next tour in November without a doubt, I'm just hoping this concert will be released on video matt ellis

18th May 2000 » Birmingham

At 9p.m. STEPS made there grand entrance from the ceiling of the N.E.C arena with a great performance of DEEPER SHADE OF BLUE (Sister Sleaze Mix) followed by ONE FOR SORROW (US Mix) This was an excellent start to the show as everyone was screaming and dancing. After a quick chat with everyone STEPS then performed SAY YOU'LL BE MINE and then came the best ballad of the night, I KNOW HIM SO WELL, which was sung by the girls and the vocals in this were fantastic!!! The next song which Lee wrote himself, COME ON GET TOGETHER, was the worst song of the night. It just wasn't a typical STEPS song. It was the medley of AFTER THE LOVE HAS GONE/LAST THING ON MY MIND next which was followed by 5, 6, 7, 8 which was the STEPTOON version. Next up was Faye's solo WHEN YOUR DANCING which she also wrote herself. This was a lot better than Lee's solo and it was rather catchy. Then came H's solo LAY ALL YOUR LOVE ON ME. Make sure you have a camera ready as this is a great point to take photos, plus this was one of the highlights of the show. HEARTBEAT was next which was followed by WHEN I SAID GOODBYE which is the A-side of their next single. The video for this song is really nice, relaxing and very different for STEPS as it is in black and white. Claire's sang her solo next, I SURRENDER, this was a bit of a disappointment, and I would have liked to have seen some of her own material but her vocals in this song where brilliant. The next song meant a lot to H and Lee as they sang it at the audition to get into STEPS, THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER and this was very good. The next song, well what can I say, Lisa's solo, START IT AGAIN, which she also wrote herself was fantastic although I'm being biased, because she's my favourite, it was very loud and no wonder she's called Party STEPS. The well loved BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW came next and everyone was dancing and singing. At the end everyone was left on a high. Where Have STEPS Gone? When they come back on they storm the area with, SUMMER OF LOVE; the B-side to their next single which has a Latino sound about it and this went down a storm. This was followed by LOVES GOT A HOLD ON MY HEART. Again everyone was singing and dancing especially when they heard the final song of the night TRAGEDY; well what can I say? Over all this concert was the best yet and STEPS have got to go a lot in November to impress the crowds like they did on this tour. If anything I hope the concert is released on video. Tom

19th May 2000 » Birmingham

Well I was conned into going to see Steps with a friend from work. But I thought, hey what the hell - it's a live concert. I took my 9 year old daughter as I knew she would love it. What a disappointment it was. We paid nearly £20 each for the tickets and it would have been less hassle just putting the CD on at home as that is all they did, but with a little more volume. I thought concerts were supposed to be live and entertaining - well I was proved wrong on this occasion. There was absolutely no variation to the CD recordings apart from a lot of whoop whooping. They had to fill up their time on stage with videos, cover versions and re-mixes as they don't have enough material of their own to cover it. If they spent as much time training to sing as they do on their costume design, they may get somewhere. Johnny Rotten said in the Sex Pistols last ever concert "Ever felt you've been cheated" - well this hopeless bunch certainly did cheat the audience and most of them were children. What other acts would get away with miming and making a mint from it. This is one "band" we will not be seeing again.

19th May 2000 » Birmingham

Well, what can I say. I waited 6 months for this and it was just GREAT!!!!! I've read many of the other reviews and Steps seem to have pulled it off again. The atmosphere was amazing. Even before the show started the whole audience were doing a mexican wave. I took my 7 year old Goddaughter (Katy Bussey) with me, and I quote, "this has been the best day of my life". It was 100% fun. The performances were spot-on and as well as some new stuff and some old stuff H also did an ABBA number, the girl's did a beautiful rendition of 'I know him so well' from Chess and the guys did 'Things can only get better'. Sorry lads, it doesn't get any better than this! Can't wait for December - hoping to get tickets in Nottingham this time! Ruth Vincent

19th May 2000 » Birmingham

I'd just like to start this review by saying how shocked I was to read a previous review to find that someone had been "disappointed", and felt "ripped off", by the marvel that was the Steptacular tour! In my opinion, it was worth every penny and I had the time of my life! The night got off to a great start when we went to our seats! Pretty near to the front, with an excellent view! I had a bit of a camera trauma then, when the film wouldn't load - I was getting pretty angry with my camera after 10 minutes! I sorted the problem out however, and began to get really excited about the concert. It started about 7:30, and Buffalo G were the first to come on. They were good, but didn't really manage to get the crowd going - the same goes for Boom and Northern line (although there were a few screams for Northern line!). However, the one line that got the crowd cheering was: "Are you ready for Steps, Birmingham?!" Atomic Kitten were last on - they were great. Really good performances, with Kerry (the blonde one!!) managing to get almost everyone out of their seats! From 8:30 to 9:00, we were treated to Steps snippets on the screen, but the same old adverts cropping up time and time again!! We were then shown the video to When I said Goodbye. I paid attention to it, even if no-one else was! The party atmosphere started when someone started a Mexican wave that travelled round the arena about 20 times whilst we were waiting for Steps! At 9:05 - the lights dimmed, the music started and EVERYONE screamed very loudly! The curtain dropped to reveal a very silvery, metally set! The audience then got their first glimpse of Steps. It took ages for them to reach the stage, where they burst into a very fast version of Deeper shade of blue! A good performance, despite being mimed! Next came One for Sorrow - one of the mixes. This isn't too different to the UK version, and they showed the US video in the background. Say you'll be mine was next - performed live as well! This was the first time we got to hear their voices - and I was absolutely amazed! I couldn't get over how much their voices had improved since the last tour - especially H and Lisa's! Then came one of the highlights - the girls singing I know him so well. This was beautifully sung - better than the recorded version in my opinion, and not a dud note sung by any of them. They obviously enjoyed performing it as well. This is where I start to forget the set list (!), so I'll just talk about the rest generally!! Solos - Lee's - much better than the last attempt, although still not very Stepsy. Think more along the lines of Five (painful I know!!) Faye's - took a while to get going, but Wow - can this girl sing?! She gave it her all, and I quite liked it! Well done Faye! Lisa's - what can I say! Great song - really well sung, and the whole idea of the bride / 70's disco diva was great! A big well done to Lisa as well! Claire's - obviously, everyone knew this (I surrender). Claire's got an amazing voice that continues to improve and she sung it really well. (The dancing was cool too - although I couldn't quite see the point in the motorbike!) And H's! He belted this out whilst flying at the same time - and he didn't drop his microphone! Only H could pull that one off! Crowd went wild at this point - excellently sung as well - even my Mum commented on how good it was! As for the rest of the show - probably my highlight was Heartbeat. I've never really considered this as one of my favourite Steps songs - but it is now! It's obviously one of Steps' favourites - sung really well live, the whole crowd was singing it, and I was almost crying! (So were they by the looks of it!) When I said Goodbye - this is a really beautiful song and is possibly one of my favourite songs off Steptacular now. Summer of love - great song, brilliant dance routine, really summery song! If these two don't go number 1 in July, I'll eat my computer (or something like that!) What else did they do? Oh yeah - After the love has gone and Last thing on my mind - bit short to be honest - these are Steps classics we're talking about! H and Lee singing Things can only get better. Excellent! Lee's got a better voice than I gave him credit for - H and Lee sung well together. Also, the audience participation bit came here. Besides the end of the show - the audience was probably at its loudest at this point! 11,000 people doing a Mexican wave was quite a sight! Better the devil you know - a real crowd pleaser - the special effects were good, and everyone was singing and dancing along! Love's got a hold on my heart next, then finally Tragedy! How better to finish a Steptacular show, but with two Steps classics! Audience went mad - and everyone was dancing! Right, I think that's about it! I hope I haven't bored any of you! If you are going - you're in for a treat, enjoy yourselves! If you've missed out on this tour - make sure you get along to the next one! I'll be on that phone very early Saturday morning getting my tickets! Overall - brilliant evening - 10 out of 10! Nicki

19th May 2000 » Birmingham

Hiya all u guys at gensteps. If u have not seen Steps Live yet then u are missing a fantastic show! Bouncy twosome Buffalo G, energetic Boom!, three feisty Atomic Kittens and five sexy Northern Line lads were supporting and whipped the crowd into a frenzy! We did 15 mexican waves and shouted WE WANT STEPS before the fab five descended from the roof in a silver lift-bubble. They performed ALL their hits along with the famous dance routines. Each of Steps did a solo and each one was brilliant. H sang Abba's "Lay all your love on me" very well whilst being carried above the screaming crowd on a wire. Faye sang a song she had written herself beautifullyand Lisa surprised the crowd when she whipped off a wedding dress to reveal saucy little hotpants and top! Lee also belted out a song he had written and got us all stamping our feet and Claire sang disco-y "I Surrender" sitting on a motorbike! Another highlight was when the three girls sang an Abba song, which was beautiful. The costumes were not matching but equally dazzling, the set was original and cool and Steps were STEPTACULAR! I wanna go again!

19th May 2000 » Birmingham

We went to the evening show on May 20th 2000 in Birmingham. Just one word - excellent!!!!! We especially loved the bit where H was attached to 2 ropes and was suspended over the audience!!!!!! They were really professional , and we got a wave off Lisa!! And H stuck his tongue out at us. WE LOVED IT!! 10 out of 10 from Nikki Wilson and Kirsty Elkin!

19th May 2000 » Birmingham

Well my second experience of Steps live turned into a bit of an event really! firstly i left the tickets on the dashboard of the car, making us just get there on time, and then someone stole my camera! but as the show got going i forgot all about that and just had a great time! The support acts were good, although after meeting Atomic Kitten on the Friday and being assured by Tash that they were performing on Saturday, i was a little disappointed to see Daphne and Celeste instead!! onto the show, and sorry its a bit of an essay! After seeing The Next Step Tour and now Steptacular, I can firmly say that Steps can sing excellently live, so why do they feel the need to mime to any song with any hint of movement! They proved last night that they could sing live in an energetic song (say you'll be mine's dance routine is as energetic as most of the others) yet around 6 songs were still mimed. That didn't stop it from being one of the best concerts I have seen, and an improvement on the last tour. We no longer have the colour co-ordinated days of old! Each stepster looked suave and sophisticated in their mostly leathery creations, and in all there must have been around 8 costume changes! After the mimed DSOB remix and the US mix of One for Sorrow, we saw the excellent singing abilities of all the girls in their excellent version of "I know him so well". It really blew me away! I can't really remember the order of the songs, but I can remember that Lee, Faye and Lisa's solos were good, although not as good as the material from their first two albums. Perhaps for variation they should showcase some of their own songs on the 3rd album, but leave the hit-making to the tried and tested writers! And that brings me on to "Summer of Love". I was quite disappointed really. I cant remember a note of it now, and only the chorus was remotely catchy. I'm sure it'll grow on me like crazy though! All in all it was an unbelieveable show, from H flying and doing some crazy somersaults, to the excellent pyrotechnic special effects! if you havent seen the show, you will be amazed!! James Bovill

22nd May 2000 » Wembley

This is the review taken from Channel 4 Teletext: Next Steps? Daphne and Celeste bundled off as the best of a premier league support bill. Their planet-sized cheek narrowly saw off Northern Line's acapella funk. Giant Steps? From the moment the fireworks heralded Deeper Shade Of Blue, Steps meant business. Lee admitted they were on the way back from a tough time - here they showed a fighting spirit. Wrapped in big old disco boots, obviously. One Step at a time? Of the six new songs, the chorus of next single Summer Of Love was an instant classic. Faye turned house diva for Be Careful, Lee got Point Break funky on Get Together but H was the highlight when he flew over the crowd in a cover of ABBA's Lay All Your Love On Me. Steptacularly good fun? They know their next album's a corker - so such confidence made for a show every bit as colourful as the costumes. 4 out of 5 (4/5)

22nd May 2000 » Wembley

I went to the steps show at Wembley on the 22nd, fantastic, great show, great set, great costumes, great visual and sound effects, very colourful, very loud, dancers were great, the girls solo's were outstanding, as were lee and h singing thing's can only get better, as for h flying over the audience, well what can I say we were lost for words, it was very brave of him all us stepers must applaud him, the Mexican wave routine was a great time filler. the only criticism that I have is of the merchandise which I thought was a bit over priced, especially when there a lot of young children there, overall a great night out, and we will be going to the Christmas show at Wembley on the 28th November. thank you claire,faye,lisa,h,and lee

23rd May 2000 » Wembley

Myself and my family went on Tuesday Evening to Wembley Arena. (Seat no BLK A2 ROW 17 Seat 6/7/8/9) Although we had a fantastic time and had been looking forward to it since December when I booked the tickets. I was very disappointed by the stewards on the night. Everytime steps shouted "stand up" and we did the stewards came and said "sit down" although I completely understand that small children could not see if adults stood up but why upset the children. My 10year old daughter was told to sit down then wouldn't get up again even though by this time everyone was up. When I went to boy zone last December everyone stood up clapped danced and really got in the mood. I came away from that concert not believing what had happened. It really does put you off of going. Although once again I must say that steps did a fantastic job but would have to think really hard about going back to one of their concerts especially at Wembley. Many Thanks Sharon Leake

23rd May 2000 » Wembley

This review is taken from Ceefax pg 579: Whether you love or loathe their music, after seeing them live, there's no denying that Claire, Lee, Faye, H and Lisa know how to put on a good show ... "Steptacular" lived up to it's name - and must have cost a penny - with elaborate sets and plenty of costume changes and special effects. From the moment the band appeared on stage until the dying strains of "Tragedy" 90 minutes later, the (mainly pre-teen) audience was captivated. After being lowered onto the metallic stage in a large cage, the band opened the night's proceedings with their last single, "Deeper Shade Of Blue" Two more hits followed - "One For Sorrow" and "Say You'll Be Mine". And then H and Lee departed to leave the girls to sing a cover of the Elaine Paige / Barbara Dickson 80s chart-topper "I Know Him So Well" A seemingly strange choice, but it actually worked pretty well. "I Know Him So Well" wasn't the only cover version on the Steps play list. After Lee's Five-style song and Faye's Geri-esque tune, H chose Abba's "Lay All Your Love On Me" for his solo spot. And he had a few tricks up his sleeve - the main one involving flying and somersaulting through the air. Later on we were treated to lively versions of Kylies "Better The Devil You Know" and D:Ream's No. 1 dance anthem "Things Can Only Get Better" "Heartbeat" received a surprisingly cool reception from the audience, but forthcoming single "When I Said Goodbye" was give a warm welcome. Things moved up a gear with Claire's solo number, "I Surrender" and then Lee and H really got the crowd going with the D:Ream cover. A Mexican wave, the Kylie tune and a few more tracks followed, and then the song all the fans had been waiting for, yes, the climax of the show, "Tragedy"! "Tragedy" brought the night to a close - no encores. Overall, the sound wasn't brilliant, in places (especially some of the boy's vocals", but the visual side of things more than made up for that. Great costumes, slick dance routines and firework explosions made this an entertaining - and memorable - show. The audience has a great time which in the end is the most important thing.

24th May 2000 » Wembley

I saw Steps five times on the Next Step Tour but the 24 May was the only concert I booked tickets for this time around as I had to consider the price this time! In most ways I wasn't disappointed - the set was brilliant and I was pleased to see a fair bit of live singing this time around, especially I Know Him So Well and Things Can Only Get Better which were totally fab. Anyway, here's a full lowdown on the concert... Buffalo G - crap, that's the only word I can find to describe this band. Don't get me wrong, the girls are amazing dancers but is there really a market for music this dull, mediocre and (if we're honest) plain stupid? Northern Line - Performed brilliantly after a lot of technical problems! They rolled the same video intro THREE times before it actually ran properly! The boys even came on stage and then left again when their backing music went. I was disappointed that they didn't perform Run For Your Life but wasn't that surprised... Love On The Northern Line and Oooh La La followed and they were good but it was All Around The World where they really excelled. They started with an acapella which then led into the original version but they mimed it even though they had done the acappella live which sounded fab... I just don't get it why all these bands refuse to sing live if they've got a routine - it's such a cop out! Daphne & Celeste - WOW! These girls are absolutely brilliant. They started with one I haven't heard before which had me in stitches, followed it with Ooh Stick You which had everyone singing along and then did a wonderful version of School's Out For Summer that had anyone over the age of 14 singing along! They finished with their new single U.G.L.Y and a lot of people were up on their feet for this one screaming along. To be honest, I wouldn't have minded if they were the headliners! Brilliant entertainment. Atomic Kitten - good as usual but nothing special. I was glad that they did the Sleaze Sisters mix of See Ya because the original is not exactly a masterpiece of modern music! The new single was good though... Then after a long wait, along came STEPS! The curtain dropped to reveal a beautiful set that was very busy, unlike the minimalist set of the Next Step Tour. The dancers came on and I was pleased to see that a good few of the dancers from the last tour were back again, because they are all great! Then Steps were lowered very slowly onto the stage in blue and red coats looking absolutely wicked standing dead still in rigid poses. Deeper Shade Of Blue - thank god they did the Sleaze Sisters mix! Brilliant show opening performance but much more predictable than the carnival opening of the last tour. Still, the song was great and the new moves to the remix version are fab. Interesting to see that Faye has got her dreadlocks back... One For Sorrow - HURRAY!! Finally the Tony Moran mix gets played in the UK! Good on ya Steps! Nice new dance routine to the verse as well. I don't think this really got the crowd going all that much which was a surprise but maybe it's cos all the kiddies have never heard this remix... Say You'll Be Mine - The first song of the night that they sing live and they did it very well too I'll have you know! Took exactly the same format as the way they performed it on the last tour finishing with them and the dancers all standing in a line and doing the routine. Their voices have really improved since the last time they toured. I Know Him So Well - Time for the boys to leave the stage as the girls sang one of my favourite songs of all time to its full potential. Sung live, this is one of the few times that I would say a ballad can be the highlight of a live show. Each girl had two spotlights on them which just faded in and out as each took their turn to sing. Very simple and very wonderful! Perhaps more suited to a theatre tour, this was really quite intimate as I was up close to the stage. I think that people towards the back would have felt a bit cold after this song - there was no performance - it was literally just the incredible harmonies that carried it! Come On Get Together - Lee's solo. Think of We're Gonna Have A Party, how much you hated it and then listen to this. I'm prepared to bet that you'll really appreciate We're Gonna Have A Party a lot more! This was ok but it just didn't go anywhere - it was a nothing song really. Oh yeah, and he mimed. After The Love Has Gone / Last Thing On My Mind - I really don't understand why they bothered doing these songs in a medley. They are two of my very favourite Steps songs and I would really like to have heard the full length versions. They mimed too. At least they cut to the instrumental dancing on After The Love Has Gone, you know, the dragon bit! And Lisa got her verse in Last Thing On My Mind too! Not bad or anything, I just didn't see the point of putting them in a medley for the sake of saving about two minutes! When You're Dancing - Faye's solo. R 'n' B crap. Nicely staged and choreographed though. Lay All Your Love On Me - H's solo. Finally a solo that was actaully a good song! Steps should just give up writing songs and sing other people's ones! You all know what he does in this song by now... wonderful stage show from a wonderful performer. Worht the twenty pound on its own! Sung live too, even though he was up in a harness - good boy! Heartbeat - Sung wonderfully. They've ditched the dance routine though, much to my annoyance! They all looked bored singing this, just leaning against bits of set, but like I said sang brilliantly; much better than the last tour. When I Said Goodbye - Another one sung totally live. This was better than last concert too as H sung his verse live as well as Claire. They changed a few of the melodies which gave it a bit of variety and sounded like they'd actually worked out a live vocal arrangement which was good to see. Lisa harmonised with Claire fantastically but Lee didn't even bother singing his bit with H! I Surrender -Claire's solo. She only just made it onto the stage in time for this one! Nice to see her doing an upbeat number instead of a ballad but she was miming! And she's supposed to be the singer of the band!!! Total cop out and a boring dance routine. This summed up Claire's performance over the whole two hour set - she couldn't care less and was very arrogant. I was not at all impressed with her. Things Can Only Get Better - Time for the boys to prove what they were made of and by god did they do that!!! Sung totally live, the boys excelled. Like Claire, Lee looked very bored throughout the song (and indeed the whole show) but H's performance made up for it. The vocals were great, the song is a classic and it was a big, Wembley Arena sixed performance! One of the highlights. Start It Again - Lisa's solo. Last time around, Lisa's solo (Just Like The First Time) was actaully my favourite song in the whole show and still is my favourite Steps song of all time. Well, Start It Again isn't quite that but it is brilliant nonetheless! It sounded a lot like This Is It by Dannii Minogue which is no bad thing. She came on in a wedding dress with her dancers all in suit and everything before they all ripped their outfits off and were wearing seventies gear underneath. They all looked fab, the song was one of the best of the night and Lisa co-wrote it! She sang live too! She remains my favourite member of Steps - she's the only one who performs consistently well. When Steps split (whcih they inevitably will after the next album if tonight is anything to go by) Lisa has a huge solo career ahead of her! Better The Devil You Know - a classic song and good performance. They could have sung live but never mind. It was a shame that they were all in 70s gear for this one because it was really the outfits and stage show that made it so good on the last tour but, I guess this is one you can't really go wrong with! Summer Of Love - WOW!!!!!!!! I am so glad this is the new single! Very clubby... I was a bit worried because everyone was saying it was very Latino. Well, it is in a way but I think that the clubby element to it is far more prevalent than the Latino theme. Big performance, big song and maybe a big hit!? Mimed again though... Love's Got A Hold On My Heart - They performed the radio edit this time. Mimed - could just have watched the TOTP preformance really... Tragedy - zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz OVERALL VERDICT Lisa and H put on a great show but the other three couldn't care less. For twenty pounds you expect the performers to treat you with a bit more respect than they did. A great example of that is when H and Lee were getting the audience to do a mexican wave with noise etc. They each took a side of the arena and then H said we were going to combine thw two because he didn't want any losers. Lee replied "Ha, No losers at a Steps concert!" in a very sarcastic voice which I just found so disrespectful. I did not pay £20 to be insulted and called a loser by a member of the group. The sooner he leaves the better, it's not like he can dance anyway. Like I said Lisa and H were fab, but Hyde Park will be their last success. I don't think the Winter dates will sell well because it's just pushing it! Can't wait for the third album, but they've got to realise that all the young children in the audience tonight would not have enjoyed the show nearly as much as last time... there were no bright colours or sparkly costumes; the band didn't have a laugh with each other on stage - it wasn't a concert for Steps fans basically! I loved it, as did every adult and older teenager in the audience but this is definitely the beginnig of the end. Big Love, Craig x

24th May 2000 » Wembley

Support: Buffalo G (not very good), Northern Line (they had to start their set twice because the video intro didn't work!), Daphne and Celeste (urrghhh!) and Atomic Kitten (by far the best). Steps started off their show with the Sleaze Sisters remix of Deeper Shade Of Blue, and Steps came down from the ceiling on a platform in blue full-length coats. When they landed they came down to the front of the stage and took of their coats to reveal the outfits they wore when they promoted Deeper Shade Of Blue. I'm not sure if this song was live. At the end of that was a really long gap where they all (even the dancers) just stood there (I think there was some problem getting the next song on). Anyway, when it finally started, the US mix of One For Sorrow got EVERYONE up and dancing. Oh, and I've finally seen the American version of the video because they had it on the huge screen at the back of the set (the set was really cool, very futuristic. It had a set of steps either side, a raised bit at the back, with a huge video screen, a fireman's pole and loads more). They had a new dance routine for the fast, US mix of One For Sorrow. Then, the girls went off whilst Lee & H introduced the show. Then, the boys went off as the girls introduced the show. Then they all sung Say You'll Be Mine, which was definitely live. H went off and Lee introduced the girls doing I Know Him So Well from Abbamania. This song was so good, sung live the girls did it perfectly and everyone loved it. Then the girls went off and Lee did his solo, which I think was called Get Together. It was a power pop 'N-Sync / Backstreet Boys style song, better than his solo on the last tour. There were loads of huge explosions as well, which were really great. He came on via a moving floor. Then he went off and the group came back in different outfits to After The Love Has Gone, which was shortened and made into a medley with Last Thing On My Mind. It's a shame they shortened these songs, but the performance was good. The group then went off and the Steps Toons (go to www.steps-us.com to see them) did 5,6,7,8 on the video screens. This was another shame because we didn't actually get to see the group perform the song. During the Steps Toons, the crew put these weird huge frames with light bulbs around the edges and a chair at the back on stage, which was the basis for Faye's solo, which I think was called When You're Dancing. It's a cool upbeat R&B song, really good. And the routine was very slick. My definite low of the concert came next: H's solo! It was an improvement on his dodgy cover of Careless Whisper, this time it was a dodgy cover of ABBA's Lay All Your Love On Me. He came down from the ceiling on a huge H, danced a bit, then was suspended above the audience, right out into the crowd, as though he was flying. Hmm. Things picked up next when Lisa introduced Heartbeat, and the group was on stage wearing very posh clothes, especially Claire who was wearing a bead top, which was strange but gorgeous (is she ever anything else?!). This one was also definitely sung live, as were the past few songs. Keeping with the slow theme, they sung the new single When I Said Goodbye, which I love more everytime I hear it. This one was also live, and the girls did really good little ab-libs over the top of H's parts, which improved them. Best part next!! Claire came out and sung I Surrender from Steptacular. They had a Grease thing going, with a 'girls v boys' thing with the dancers. Claire sung it fantastically, as usual, and she had a motorbike to sit on. The girls had had their turn together, and now it was the boys. Singing the old D:Ream song Things Can Only Get Better, Lee and H did a good performance of this old song. They then introduced Lisa's solo, another new song which I think is called Start It Again. It was really disco-y, if you liked Just Like The First Time you'll love this! She came on in a wedding dress, and the dancers were dressed up as the groom, bridesmaids, vicar etc. They also had pews (church seats). Then, as the song moved up-tempo, the pews were turned around and it became a 70's disco section. Lisa took off her wedding dress to reveal a 70's outfit with huge platforms, and the dancers had Afro wigs. She went off, then the entire group came on for Better The Devil You Know, now all wearing disco 70's outfits. There were even more explosions (the show was very explosive!) and they left through the bottom of the stage. There was then a huge gap, before the group came from the roof again on a balcony type thing, to sing the new single, Summer Of Love. Very latino, disco, very Steps! It should be a huge hit!! Then H did the 'guess what I'm dancing' bit (again!!) and they did Love's Got A Hold On My Heart, another cool performance. And then they ended with - guess what! - Tragedy (what a surprise!!). In all, a very Steptacular show. The only disappointments were: only half of After The Love Has Gone and Last Thing On My Mind, no performance of 5,6,7,8, and no Better Best Forgotten. It's a shame because they're all good songs and they don't need to cut them. But, the next album is going to be so good, I can't wait. Roll on November for the next album and the next tour!! David

24th May 2000 » Wembley

I went to the concert on Wednesday and thought it absolutely brilliant. Was not a Steps fan until recently - got the new album because a friend of mine had booked tickets. They were excellent in concert and it makes a refreshing change that a pop band can actually sing!!! They had four support bands - all of which were entertaining in one way or another!!!! But the wait was worth it!!! They are playing in concert again in November, and I believe the tickets are on sale next week. The only thing I would say is that they are not on stage long enough!!!!

26th May 2000 » Wembley

Matt, GenSTEPS review of the Steptacular Arena tour: (Block B4, Row 15, Seats 50-51)

General Statement about the show: The show was as entertaining as all ways, and was really was how the last tour should have been. More explosions, more new songs, lack of older songs but over all a great show which was extremly entertaining but lacked an edge ... here's the full tour rundown:

Firstly those wonderful acts they call support acts!

Buffalo G - "We're Really Saying Something" - yes indeed. Why does the UK have to go under some girl band explosion at this moment. They performed a new song first which sounded practically idential to their new song which even isn't out yet! Groups like this just give me a headache.

Northern Line - Why oh why another Boy Band, but give them credit they didn't try and out do themselves. Average songs which has been shown by the average chart positions that they've been having.

Daphne & Celeste - Oh Stick you! No sorry I hate this lot. One of the members really looked like she couldn't give a damn being on stage at Wembley and just looked bored, well the younger members of the audience enjoyed it where as the older members just looked around saying like "why am I here tonight"?

Atomic Kitten - Finally a decent support act, really the UK lacks behind the US when it comes to supporting acts, Great new song must be my single of the week in a few weeks time! Lovely girls actually looked like they where enjoying themselves on the stage!

Right then after 30mins of Blink TV, old Planet Pop specials and numerous signs saying 10mins to go etc STEPS finally entered on the stage!

The set was great, if anything too crowded, probably their excuse for not having a live band. Anyway it seems they where given a nice budget for this tour and had used it to good effect. They came in from the top of the stage in a sort of sphere which was lowered down to the ground to the sound of ...

Deeper Shade Of Blue (Sleaze Sisters Mix) -Right a great opening to the show, uptempo lots of dancing and explosions etc but instently there seems to be an effect of dissapointment around the venue as yet again there wasn't a live band, people are beginning to catch on to what I was saying months ago, but nether the less a great opening to the show!

One For Sorrow (US Mix) - Lots of surprise here, people where like what the ... what is there. Right classy remix I still strongly beleieve, people where dancing about but seemed to be just as interested in the US video which probably not many had ever seen before.

Say You'll Be Mine - Wow a live tune, why not more please you sounded excellent, much much better than the last tour, all in tune and sounded great, more of this please you can do it live so why don't you?!?

I Know Him So Well - The girls group solo song. Was it live or was it not, to be honest it was very hard to tell. Yes the Microphone lights where on but was the volume just turned down? Anyway it was a great song, again a few people had no idea what is was (people!) but it was a great choice of tune anyway.

Come On Get Together - Lee lovely solo song. Oh dear really what is up with his solo songs? The last one was erm dodgy to say the least, this one is not as bad but still. People have been saying its a Backstreet, 5ive. N'Sync style of song, they are sadly mistaken cos I don't think these bands would do a song this bad, the only comparision is that it stopped half-way through.

After The Love Has Gone / Last Thing On My Mind - Why oh why oh why? Two totally different songs mixed together? To say it never worked would be an understatement! Do them as seperate songs as people would have rather gone home later and seen both of them performed!

R Dancing - Faye's solo time now. Right people say R'n'B, one answer, its not. If it is R'n'B its a very poor song. More likely to be a pop song which is gonna need some huge production on it to make it more album worthy.

Lay All Your Love On Me - Ohh people go he was flying. Unfortunally I saw the Backstreet Boys do this a year ago as a group and it was much better performed by them. The song though was the best of the solo lot and was sung live, good on H for that, Go H Go H etc.

Heartbeat - Again STEPS proved that they can sing live as a group when they can be bothered to do so. Marvellous.

When I Said Goodbye - Again great singing, but why the album version and not the new single version?

I Surrender - Right why was this not live? Jive? Anyone? Probably the best singer of the band but it wasn't live. She seemed to have been enjoying herself tonight compared to other reviews but really should have been live, a little mistake there.

Things Can Only Get Better - I wondered why they chose this, I now know why. Lovely live performance from the lads proving their singing capabilities, the older people in the audience liked this as they all knew the lyrics!

Start It Again - Go Lisa! Just Like The First Time was classy, this is just as good. Great pop music great song, hopefully Jive place this on the UK album along with other songs this good!

Better The Devil You Know - Should have been live, sorry, but apart from that the classic performance from the last tour this time the full song as it wasn't mixed into Tragedy.

Summer Of Love - Go STEPS. Now if this doesn't help the single along nothing well. Classy tune which if the weather is fine could hang about the top spot and the charts for ages like Ricky Martin did last year!

Love's Got A Hold On My Heart - Finally the single version is performed, shame the TV screens where slightly out of sync hehe.

Tragedy - Right okay it got you your first number one but we're getting predictable now, finishing the show with this all the time, it getting boring now guys ....

The GenSTEPS Verdict:
The show was very entertaining, more than the last. The show was much more professional, people saying that there was less group interaction that is true but I feel it was more to make the show professional and different from the last show. The stage was great and when they bothered to sing live they proved that they could do it easily, but there is ONE little thing which is letting them down, still. They need a live band. The show doesn't have any edge to it when you are just performing to your own CD backing, people have brought this up a lot more on this tour and I just wish I had the power to do something about it. I really wish they would use Marshall-Arts as their tour company not AAA as they would sure kick them up the rear and get a new and much more edgey live show out for us fans. Great show and everything just missing that live edge, I will be thinking carefully about the next tour and If I want to spend another £20 to hear the CDs being played out at 90Db.

matt@gensteps.co.uk

19th May 2000 » Birmingham

This has got to be one of the best nights EVER!!!!! I had an absolutely amazing time at the Steptacular tour in Birmingham! Steps were fantastic as usual, but were really putting everything they had into making the night a real success. The dances they did were unbelieveable and their new songs show that they are growing into the best band ever!!!!! The highlight was when H came down from the ceiling on a big H and performed Lay All Your Love On Me. It was brilliant and everyone enjoyed it. All the solo songs were better than on The Next Step tour and Lisa was showing just how much talent she really has. Lee blew the roof of with his new song and all the girls did I Know Him So Well that was performed to perfection. Claire sang I surrender off the Steptacular album which was really good and Fayes' new song was completely different with an upbeat feel and she was also showing that she can sing. BTDYK was good with the effects that were displayed and as ever Tragedy brought the house down with all the audience on their feet singing and dancing along with the almighty steps. During the evening there were many more surprises and I really enjoyed myself. I have seen steps on all three tours and they just keep getting better and better each time. So all you steps fans out there, lets keep STEPS singing and dancing cuz they ROCK!!!!! If you haven't been yet, enjoy it and KEEP STEPPING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

28th May 2000 » Manchester

What can I say about the support acts? They were a pretty poor effort. I enjoyed Atomic Kitten's slot, and Northern Line are OK to look at, but I wouldn't subject anyone to Buffalo G and Daphne & Celeste without reason. I think that Atomic Kitten should have been last on, they were by far the best act, and Daphne & Celeste left a bad taste in my mouth throughout the interval. But if you had seen me whilst the first half was going on you would have thought I was loving every minute of it. I think most people are like that at concerts, they jump up and down to whatever comes on. In my eyes, no support act has ever matched A1. However, the above is my opinion and mine only; I know that all these bands have a lot of big fans, and I completely respect that and hope they really enjoyed it. Anyway, I'd better talk about Steps! You've got to hand it to them, they really know how to put on a concert. I have been to one show on each of the three tours, and every time I see them in concert I realise why Steps are my absolute favourite band. I wouldn't go to see any other pop band. The opening was very impressive; the set was breathtaking, add Steps to the picture and you've got something well worth looking at! I kind of wished they had come up through the audience again though, 'cos this time I managed to get I seat on the floor right next to the aisle (I had to book my tickets 20 minutes after they first went on sale in order to get it), but it was still a steptacular entrance. I still think the best entrance yet was on the Step One Tour when they appeared from behind the doors, because it was more instantaneous. It was more like, one second they're not here and the next second they are; I really liked that. I saw the Step One show on my actual 14th birthday though, so it will probably always be my favourite. My highlights of the show were: Lisa, Claire and Faye singing 'I Know Him So Well', one of my all time favourite songs. I could hardly hear them because I was singing so loudly. But why do other people keep saying it's an ABBA song? Wasn't it Barbara Dickson and Elaine Paige? I feel sure ABBA never did it. One they definitely did do was H's solo 'Lay All Your Love On Me'. For the rest of my life I will never forget my excitement when he flew over my head! That was my absolute highlight of the show. Lee's songwriting skills are getting better all the time. I give him a big thumbs up for his new song and hope he keeps writing. My particular favourite of the self written songs was Faye's number, which I would love to hear again; and I love the hair Faye! I was really impressed by Lisa's voice, I think she sings live brilliantly well; and her song was also fab. What can I say about Claire's voice? She's a singing angel isn't she? All of Steps were looking particularly good; I don't know how they keep themselves looking so well while they work so hard. I have one criticism of the show: the costumes were a bit dull. I know Steps have grown up but, call me old fashioned, I miss the bright yellow out fits! The whole thing could have done with a bit more colour I thought, and I don't think I enjoyed it quite as much as the Next Step. Musically it was just as good, if not better, but they missed out my favourite Steps hit 'Better Best Forgotten', despite Faye promising us we would hear all their previous singles. To sum up though, Steps still give the best concerts, release the best songs and are the best band in pop! I like them better all the time, and I hope their summer single goes to number one like it deserves. See you all at the Winter Tour! Alison

29th May 2000 » Manchester

Well the supports artist came on at 7.35, the first band was Northern Line singing LOVE ON THE NORTHERN LINE I thought that this was brilliant then ALL AROUND THE WORLD pretty good and they sang OOH LALA pretty catching song After Northern Line it was Buffalo G to make the Manchester fans scream by singing 2 new songs and really making the crowd scream with REALLY SAYING SOMETHING after them it was Atomic Kitten they sang all three of there singles and one which they hope to be there 4th single After these it was Daphine and Celeste singing 1 new song and OHH STICK YOU and U.G.L.Y At about 9.00 the lights went out and all of the MEN Arena fans started to scream as steps came down in a sliver ball while singing DEEPER SHADE OF BLUE then went into ONE FOR SORROW (Us Mix) they did SAY YOU'LL BE MINE BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW LAST THING ON MY MIND LOVES GOT A HOLD ON MY HEART WHEN I SAY GOODBYE SUMMER OF LOVE Steps did new songs and on Hs song he flew over the floor seated audience and did rolls in the air. The step girls did two songs from ABBA and the Boys did THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER At about 9.30 steps told us about Music Live which was aired all day on BBC1 and they were going to sing PERFECT DAY live to the whole world. They had there backs towards us and on the screen we could see the floor audience and everyone started screaming. The final song that they did was TRAGEDY and it had everyone up and singing and dancing The whole concert I thought was brilliant and the stage looked like the spiceworld tour by the spice girls with the screen in the middle of the stage. I would rate this concert 100/100 and I can't wait until the Christmas tour.

29th May 2000 » Manchester

I WAS THERE AT THE STEPS CONCERT ON MUSIC LIVE WHEN THEY SUNG PERFECT DAY. IT WAS BRILLIANT AS WE COULD SEE THE WHOLE SONG WITH THE DIFFERENT PEOPLE ON IT AND EVERY TIME STEPS WERE ON EVERYONE SCREAMED LIKE MAD! ESPECIALLY ME! EVERYONE SANG ALONG TOO AND STEPS SANG BRILLIANTLY. THE WHOLE CONCERT WAS EXCELLENT WITH NEW IDEAS AND H ACTUALLY WAS ATTACHED TO HARNESSES AND FLEW ABOVE THE CROWD. HE DID LOADS OF DISCOVERS WHILE HE WAS IN THE AIR AND EVERYBODY GASPED. THEY SANG NEW AND OLD SONGS ONE NEW ONE WAS THE ELAINE PAGE ONE CALLED 'I KNOW HIM SO WELL' WHICH THE THREE GIRLS SANG BEAUTIFULLY. THEY CARRIED ON PERFORMING AFTER THE PERFECT DAY AND FINISHED WITH TRAGEDY WHICH EVERYONE DANCED TO. THERE SUPPORT BAND WERE: ATOMIC KITTEN, BUFFALO G, NORTHERN LINE AND DAPHNE & CELESTE. I HOPE THIS INFORMATION IS USEFUL. FROM HANNAH MARTIN

29th May 2000 » Manchester

WE WERE AT STEPS CONCERT ON 29.5.00 2.30PM MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS ARENA IT WAS FANTASTIC!! BUFFALO G WERE FIRST SINGING THEIR NEW SINGLE REALLY SAYING SOMETHING THEY CAN REALLY MOVE!! NORTHERN LINE, DAPHNE AND CELESTE AND ATOMIC KITTEN ALL GOT US UP DANCING READY FOR STEPS. THE GIRLS SONGS WERE EXCELLANT AND H FLYING INTO THE AUDIENCE WAS COOL, H AND LEE SHOWED US HOW TO DO THE "STEP WAVE" AFTER TRAGEDY DIDNT WANT THE CONCERT TO END, ROLL ON 29TH DECEMBER!! LOTS OF LOVE EMMA AND REBECCA HARDING

29th May 2000 » Manchester

I went to the concert with a local coach company, and we arrived at the MEN at about 1.00pm, which was a very good time as we had to wait for a while for the doors to open. After grabbing some merchandise and a bite to eat, we made our way to our seats. (Warning!!!!! if you are going to the MEN and are to sit in the lower tier, wear sensible shoes.) The steps to the seats are very steep and there is nothing to hold onto, which if like me hates heights could be a bit of a prob. I just focused myself to thinking that steps would be at the end of them. The show began shortly after 2.30 and we got to see Buffalo G, Northern Line, Daphne and Celeste and Atomic Kitten. All the bands where very good, considering little experience, though the sound was crap and with everyone blowing their whistles it was hard to hear what they where saying and singing. After a 25 minute break, steps appeared at 4.00pm, from a cage in the calling, singing Deeper shade of Blue. Imp afraid to say I cant really remember anything from then onwards. Thought the show was fantastic and would tell anybody to go and see it, it was very Steptacular!!!!! The only thing that spoilt the show was that the costumes weren't particularly fantastic it was just like everyday clothes nothing special. Also when it was the end of the show, it was the end. Not like last years show when they teased about it being the end then went and got changed for the final. When I heard tragedy starting I was like it cant be the end yet. Also the price of the merchandise was a bit much, it was £14 for a t-shirt and £16 for a pink sleeveless T was steps in silver across the front, and £10 for a blue beanie teddy with steps across the front. Finally I must tell you about when I waved my banner and H waved at me, it was great. Steph Furnival, Flintshire

6th June 2000 » Belfast

I have seen many major acts come to Belfast over the past 15 years - when you see their videos of concerts there are fantastic special effects - usually we don't get to see any of these in Belfast - THANK YOU STEPS for bringing the full package over the water to us! Support Acts 24/7(Ok), Boom! (Dear Oh dear), Buffalo G (Wild!) and Atomic Kitten -( I agree Matt - At last a decent act) Steps Superb set - full of surprises - definitely an improvement from last year's barren stage Songs Deeper Shade of Blue - I agree - if they do it live on Blue Peter (superb harmony) - why not live in concert One For Sorrow - great mix - refreshing for most people Say you'll be mine - so good live - so much better than last year - maybe because we know the dance moves - no, definitely better harmony from Lisa I know him so well - definitely live Matt - The King's Hall in Belfast has dreadful acoustics - you can hardly hear the words of songs - the girls were perfect Come On Get Together - Sorry Lee - no way After the Love Has Gone / Last Thing On My Mind - very unusual combination of half a song - why not the full songs - Last Thing is the reason most of us noticed Steps - lets hear it all When you're Dancing - I wasn't - please don't put this on the third album Faye Lay All your Love On Me - I knew what was going to happen - i.e. H in the air - but I didn't know he would fly over my head - Go H Go H Heartbeat - Great live harmony When I Said Goodbye - Would have been nice with new orchestral mix I Surrender - Claire is a superb singer - Ok it's a fast number - but I'm sure she could do it live Things Can Only Get Better - great sing along - for everyone Start It Again - Lisa always seems to manage the great songs - please put this on the new album (along with Feels like the first time!) Better the Devil You Know - great build up to finale Summer Of Love - Roll on 3rd July - Book your copy now! (I hope the dance steps are included - help otherwise!) Love's Got A Hold On My Heart - Everyone get your hand in the air Tragedy - Why end with anything else Verdict - Although it was near the end of the tour - steps appeared fresh and excited (H was super hyper) - everyone put so much into the show Thanks Steps (Live Band next year ? - Don't forget Belfast !)

10th June 2000 » Wembley

Matt, GenSTEPS review of the Steptacular Arena Tour Recording For the forthcoming Live Video (Block C2, Row 6, Seats 16-17 - changed later, read review)

General Statement about the show: After seeing this show for the second time it made a stronger impact than the first time around and I enjoyed it even more than ever!

No Support acts this time around, as it was only being recorded for the video. But Wembley made a few mistakes before the event started. There are two entrances into the arena, the red and blue sides. As only 1000 fans had got tickets for the event, they decided to close the Red Side and made everyone enter via the blue, this caused chaos inside the venue as there is only one entrance to the floor area where everyone was seated. So after I got into the floor I was directed to my seat above. Upon sitting down it was obvious why everyone in Block C2 was there. The cameras recording the event was placed on a stage over about 4 rows of chairs in Block B3 taking up those rows and therefore the 8 or so rows behind where not in use as you wouldn't be able to see anything. So there was everyone in these blocks slightly upset as all the cameras where in front. Then the manager or whoever he was started to move people in the front 4 rows in block C2 into the empty seats at the front of the arena, then the rest of us where moved into Block 16 which is left of the stage but behind the "pit" so we where moved from over halfway down the arena to no more than 20ft from the stage, thanks Wembley for that! So if you where there and saw a group of people placed in to two blocks left of the stage, I was there!

So all 1000 fans where sat in the front half of the arena with the entire left side, the back blocks on the floor and side and the right side, apart from us, where empty creating a strange but wonderful atmosphere inside the arena.

I won't do a song by song review as I've already done that, but I will sum up the changes that being that close and of course the small audience made.

As I was so close it is a lot easier to gain eye contact with the band (as you would know if you've been that close) so its always more fun waving about to them and dancing as you can actually notice them noticing you which makes everything more fun and enjoyable.

In my last review I said that I Know Him So Well didn't sound live, I would like to clear this up now and say that it most definitely was live and the girls sang it wonderfully, well done girls! As for Lee's new number Come On Get Down, or something like that, even hearing it for the second time it did nothing for me, perhaps its not reached final production yet but really its gonna need way more production if it makes the 3rd album. Faye's number When You're Dancing (or something) was better sounding being closer but all the new songs apart from Lisa's and SOL of course sounded rather like they haven't been through a final production yet so there is a lot of hope for the new album. H's flying acts where fun as always, quite interesting with only 1000 people there but the cameras on the screen actually made it look like the arena was full - the wonders of production and camera trickery eh? Once again Lee and H brought the house down with Things Can Only Get Better and all we did afterwards was some "Yo!" shouting as doing the Mexican wave across the entire arena would have been a funny site! Lisa did her new tune again Start It Again - those people in the wigs, wow really did look funny close up!

Summer Of Love, I've heard this a few times now and it continues to grow on me, the video needs to be out soon as When I Said Goodbye isn't getting the airplay that it should be getting, but this one should ... "Tonight we live la vida loca, yes we'll have the time of our lives ..." go STEPS!

Then the usual ending of Tragedy always fun, getting slightly tedious now, but was fun with the 1000 fans doing the moves!

The GenSTEPS Verdict: Wow if anything it was better and more enjoyable than the last time I went. Perhaps the cameras filming it made a difference - well of course they did - but it was truly amazing. All was helped by the clever people at Wembley who moved us so we could be on camera, if you where there and looking at the screens during the break before Summer Of Love started I was on there for a split second with my white shirt on, looking probably the wrong way! :o) So hey I might be on the video, but then again probably not ...... total fun and different from the last show. The small crowd made soo much noise it was amazing, a show truly that shouldn't have been missed, if you where unlucky and couldn't get tickets - then I'm sorry for you.

11th June 2000 » Manchester

Crazy Last Night Antics So, what mad stunts were pulled on the last night of the Steptacular tour then? Well…Faye showed off her new orange Mohican hairdo, H staggered around the stage drunkenly hurling abuse at the audience, Claire kept her belly-button covered throughout the entire performance, Lee did all the lead vocals and I’m not sure what Lisa was doing with that microphone! I’m lying of course. What we got was the usual tame but agreeable mixture of clowning and guest appearances – well it’s traditional isn’t it – and I thought Lee’s afro wig for Better the Devil You Know was a definite improvement on his latest hairstyle. Highlights Dramatic opening descent – this really grabbed the attention but it’s a pity the limp “hardcore” dance remix of Deeper Shade of Blue couldn’t hold it. I Know Him So Well – simply the most impressive song Steps have recorded (sorry H and Lee). Nicely performed by all the girls. Solo offerings from Lee and Faye – neither to my taste but well done to them both for trying new musical directions. H Pan – hardly original but hysterically funny. If he’d been lowered too close the audience, I dread to think what would have happened! When I Said Goodbye – see lowlight. Mexican waves – you can’t beat a bit of audience participation. Summer of Love – I’m not sure why but I love this song. I mean: “100 degrees in the shade of the trees…”? Tragedy audience scream – I thought it would never end. Lowlight Ludicrous lip-synching. Call me old-fashioned but I just can’t excuse this. The issue here is always misunderstood - it’s a question of openness not breath control. It’s not about whether a performer can perform a track live – a lack of talent or a heavy dance routine may well prevent this - the key point is whether that performer moves his/her lips to pretend he/she is singing when he/she is not. I don’t mind that Tragedy is never live but I do wish the guys would just dance to it and treat us to 4 minutes of their beautiful smiles. And there’s no need for it anyway. Consider When I Said Goodbye. Lip-synched on the last tour but live on this one. It’s still outside H’s range but with a bit of help from Faye and Lisa and a few alterations here and there, they can do it. After all, one of the reasons I go to a live performance is to hear a new arrangement or a different version of a familiar song – I don’t want to hear my CDs reproduced note for note! There’s no shame in using backing vocalists either. Summary A mixture of hideously bland music, excruciatingly literal dance moves, holiday camp clichés, karaoke and pantomime which by some weird alchemy - orchestrated expertly by the achingly gorgeous fivesome - added up to an evening of awesome entertainment.

10th June 2000 » Manchester

I've just got back from the Steps concert and I gotta say it was infinitely better than the first time. I went to the 29th gig as well but this one was much better. Where I was seated this time they were like 10 metres from me. Oh and H waved to me when they first came on, they came down on this sphere type thing to Deeper Shade Of Blue (Sleaze Sisters remix) and the crowd just went wild and everyone was doing the actions to it. Then it went on to One For Sorrow (American Remix) which everyone did as well and then Say You'll Be Mine. Then after that they slowed it down and the girls did I Know Him So Well from the Abbamania album. Then Lee did his solo which I can't remember the name of but was pretty good. Then Lisa came out and introduced a medley of Heartbeat and After The Love Has Gone (interesting combination but i think it worked) and while they were doing that some people threw a red heart thing on to the stage to Lee which he picked up and someone also threw i think it was a turtle thing to H which he kept too. Then Faye did her solo which i don't know the name of and wasn't that good really i don't think. After that H did his solo of Lay All Your Love On Me also from the Abbamania album, on this he came down from the ceiling on a giant H and when he got to the chorus he got strapped on to this harness and went flying right out over where we were stood. After that they did the new single When I Said Goodbye (no dance steps to this one for a change). After that Claire did a solo of I Surrender where there was her a group of the dancers on this motorbike which was pretty cool. After that Lee and H did a cover of the song Things Can Only Get Better and near the end of the song the original artist came on and sang it with them. Then after they did that this big curtain came down and they went off for a few minutes and when it came back up again the set was covered in lights and they did Summer Of Love which is the double A side to When I Said Goodbye and it's also the first track off the new album out at christmas which I can see now will be huge if the rest of the tracks on it are as good as that. Then Lisa came on and did he solo which was as good as if not better than her solo from The Next Step tour. She starts off in the wedding dress and then when the song gets going off comes the wedding dress and she's got all this 70's gear on underneath which was really cool and all the dancers had these big afro wigs on. When she H did his guess what i'm dancing thing again and it was Loves Got A Hold Of My Heart so they all did that and the dancers from Lisa's song had left the afro's on stage so H went and put on and doing the steps to it and of course once he did it the rest did it too and it was just a big laugh. Then when they finished that they did Better The Devil You Know which had loads of really cool explosions and flames and stuff like that which then went on to finally do Tragedy and everyone was up for that. The verdict for this concert is 11 out of 10.

22nd May 2000 » Wembley

Having been 2 both the STEP ONE and NEXT STEP concerts I knew I was in 4 the time of my life. I was 9 rows from the front, with an excellent view and my camera was poised for action. The support acts included Buffalo G (ok, but their gymnastics was more impressive), Boom (a blatant S CLUB 7 rip-off), Northern Line (fit lads!!!!!) and Atomic Kitten (gave a brilliant performance). Then after the interval it all went dark, everyone was screaming and really excited. The show began with 'DEEPER SHADE OF BLUE' as STEPS descended from the ceiling, wearing blue coats and not moving an inch. The coats were whipped off as they exploded into 'DSOB' followed by the US version of 'ONE FOR SORROW'. This was really cool but I prefer the original version cause its such a classic. Next was 'SAY YOU'LL BE MINE' which they sang live!, then the girls sang 'I KNOW HIM SO WELL' which bought tears 2 my eyes, it was stunning, and being me I shouted 'Go Faye' etc just before they sang, just as a bit of extra encouragement, - hope I didn't put them off!!! Lee's solo song 'COME ON GET TOGETHER' I didn't really like because it was too repetitive. The medley of 'AFTER THE LOVE HAS GONE' and 'LAST THING ON MY MIND' was a great combination and the Steptoon video of 5,6,7,8 was really cool 2 watch as well. Faye's solo song 'WHEN YOUR DANCING' had such style and was so different 2 previous songs, her voice was fantastic and she sang it with such elegance. WOW is all I can say next, H what a star you are! Singing 'LAY ALL YOUR LOVE ON ME' live and flying was soooo amazing. Next was the two ballads 'HEARTBEAT' and 'WHEN I SAID GOODBYE' both sang beautifully by all of STEPS, each in turn proving what fabulous voices they have. Claire's solo performance of 'I SURRENDER' taken from Steptacular was excellent, but H and Lee singing 'THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER' made everyone go totally wild, especially when they made all the audience do a Mexican wave shouting 'Yo' as you did it! Then H introduced Lisa on stage to sing her solo 'START IT AGAIN'. Beginning by wearing a wedding dress, this was ripped off her unveiling Lisa in a 70's style outfit, her dancing was ace and the song superb. Lisa was joined on stage by the rest of STEPS to sing 'BETTER THE DEVIL YOU KNOW'. Then a black cloth was released covering the whole of the stage, STEPS were no where to be seen. Everyone was shouting 'We want STEPS, we want STEPS.....'. After three minutes of chanting away the cloth disappeared and there were STEPS singing there new song 'SUMMER OF LOVE'. This is a wicked song and the Latino style gives it that special touch which is sure to make it a number ONE hit! Finally the finale consisted of 'LOVES GOT A HOLD ON MY HEART' and of course the one and only 'TRAGEDY'. They didn't do the usual circle formation this time, instead they were scattered around the stage, but this was different and made the show more exciting. And that was it, they said all their thank yous and ran of into the sunset, boo hoo I wanna see it again. Overall, I would say this concert was better than the last because it carried the fun and energy of the previous ones, but presented STEPS in a much more mature way which made it different. The majority of it was sung live, with only about six songs being mimed and it therefore proved all members of STEPS can sing live, and with strong, fantastic voices at that. The dance routines were pure class and the whole show was thoroughly entertaining. THANKYOU STEPS, I'll see you again in November!!!!! :o) Jennie

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Steptacular Arena Tour