Line #17 Music/Steps


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/steptacular_950.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:CW from top-left: Claire, H, Faye, Lee and Lisa]]
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4	->''"Steps are Music/{{ABBA}} for the '90s."''
5	-->--'''Tom''', ''Series/GimmeGimmeGimme''
6
7	One of ''the'' bands of TheNineties (at least if you were British), Steps was a multi-chart topping {{pop}} band that lasted from 1997 to 2001, then reunited in 2011. The line-up from start to finish was Lisa Scott-Lee, Lee Latchford-Evans, Claire Richards, Faye Tozer and Ian Watkins (who was known as "H", which stood for "hyperactive").
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9	While their songs were good (and catchy as hell), their main draw was, as their name implies, that each single had a unique, simple dance to go with it. These dance steps were included with most of their single releases which meant their fans could easily learn the dance.
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11	Steps' biggest hit was "Tragedy", a cover of the [[Music/TheBeeGees Bee Gees]] song, and the success of their version means that the song is largely CoveredUp in Britain. They also often considered as the British version of {{Music/ABBA}} for the '90s, as some of their songs have palpable influences from the Swedish group.
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13	----
14	!!The band, their videos and their songs contains examples of:
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16	* AnimatedMusicVideo: ''Words Are Not Enough'', though the band briefly appear at the beginning in live action at the beginning.
17	* BeachEpisode: The music video for ''5,6,7,8''.
18	* {{Camp}}: And how!
19	* CelebrityResemblance:
20	** Claire to Creator/CameronDiaz. Lampshaded in ''Say You'll Be Mine'' where Lee and Claire reenact the hairgel scene from ''Film/TheresSomethingAboutMary''. She also resembles Creator/EmmaRoberts.
21	** Lee to Creator/BenAffleck. Like Claire above, this was lampshaded in ''Say You'll Be Mine'' when he reenact Affleck's parting scene from ''Film/Armageddon1998''.
22	** Faye looks a lot like Anne Heche.
23	* ColorMotif: The ''Deeper Shade of Blue'' music video shows the group dressed in blue costumes dancing in mainly blue background.
24	* ConceptVideo
25	* CostumePorn: The ''Deeper Shade of Blue'' music video has the group alternating in their Air Force-like costumes and their futuristic ones.
26	* CoverVersion: ''Tragedy'' (Music/TheBeeGees), ''Chain Reaction'' (Diana Ross), ''Last Thing on My Mind'' (Music/{{Bananarama}}), ''Make It Easy On Me'' (Sybil), and "Better the Devil You Know" (Music/KylieMinogue)--the last of which they also once mashed together with "Vogue" (Music/{{Madonna}}) during a live performance.
27	** They also once did a fairly epic version of ''Ghostbusters'' (Ray Parker Jr) for a Halloween night performance.
28	* DanceOfRomance: The climatic scene of the music video for ''It's the Way You Make Me Feel''.
29	* DancingIsSeriousBusiness: Of course.
30	* ADayInTheLimelight: Though Lee was often relegated to the background, as mentioned below, some tours featured songs where he was the sole performer ("Come On Get Together" on the Steptacular Tour and "Close to Me" on the Gold Tour). These songs where never released on any Steps albums, but are still available from their official youtube channel with the rest of their tour footage.
31	* DeliberatelyMonochrome: The music video for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtyrXPdokFU "When I Said Goodbye"]] was originally released in black and white. In 2022, a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOc_0t0YuOo full color]] version was uploaded to the band's Youtube channel.
32	* FakeAmerican: Invoked in ''5,6,7,8'', as they constantly sing in a typical "wild western" accent.
33	* {{Fanservice}}: Their music videos provide tons of these, usually thanks to the girls wearing revealing outfits, though sometimes H and Lee have their own shirtless scenes.
34	* FanserviceExtra: Notably in the ''[[BeachEpisode 5,6,7,8]]'' and ''[[PoolScene Last Thing on my Mind]]'' music videos.
35	* GoodLookingPrivates: The music video for ''Deeper Shade of Blue'' shows the group dressed in Air Force-like costumes.
36	* {{Homage}}:
37	** ''Say You'll Be Mine'' has the members play various scenes of films like ''Film/TheresSomethingAboutMary'', ''Film/AustinPowers'', ''Film/WilliamShakespearesRomeoAndJuliet'', ''Film/Armageddon1998'', ''Film/BatmanReturns'' and ''Film/{{Titanic 1997}}''.
38	** ''It's the Way You Make Me Feel'' reenacts scenes from ''Literature/DangerousLiaisons''. Set in 1800s France wherein Lisa wears dental braces at the time.
39	** Music video-wise, the facial duets they do in the chorus of ''Last Thing On Mind'' is lifted from the chorus of ''[[Music/{{ABBA}} Mamma Mia]]''.
40	** The video for "What the Future Holds" is aesthetically reminiscent of ''Film/BladeRunner2049''.
41	* HospitalHottie: The ''Chain Reaction'' music video where Claire and Faye have {{Naughty Nurse Outfit}}s, while "Doctor" Lisa's plunging neckline predates [[Series/{{House}} Dr. Cuddy's]] outfits.
42	* {{Keet}}: H--It does stand for Hyperactive, after all. He's often running round like a kid in music videos, and is usually the person to get thr crowd hyped during their classic performances. After their reunion he's generally mellowed out to match the other members' levels.
43	* KidAppealCharacter: Lisa. Oddly, she's also the one who usually filling the MsFanservice role in the music videos.
44	* LyricalDissonance: While "almost" every single one of their songs have upbeat, danceable tunes, some of their singles have depressing themes like heartbreaks. The music video ''One for Sorrow'' has a disco version which serves as the best example.
45	* MistakenForPedophile: H's real name is Ian Watkins. So is the lead singer of Music/{{Lostprophets}}, who was convicted of child pornography. Some news reports included a picture of H, and confused internet users attacked H.
46	* TheMovieBuff: Most of their music videos are ShoutOut to movies, after all.
47	* TheNineties: They're often cited as a hallmark of 90s music, at least in Britain. They paid homage to their peers of the era during a [[https://youtu.be/2VBH5Nqv8qk?si=39gaEQOeWy4wfVHI&t=255 live mashup]] of "Better the Devil You Know" and "Vogue", listing musicians made famous in that decade.
48	* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: H. His real name is Ian Watkins. Also doubles as OneLetterName.
49	* OvershadowedByAwesome: Lee got the short end of the stick during the group's original run as after ''5,6,7,8'', he rarely sings in the succeeding singles. He is regarded to be the group's best dancer, however.
50	* PlentyOfBlondes: Claire, Faye and H (all blondes) versus Lee and Lisa (both are brunettes).
51	* PoolScene: The last part of the ''Last Thing On My Mind'' music video.
52	** RuleOfPool: Lee stands at the edge of the pool to talk to some girls, Lisa walks past and pushes him in the water.
53	* {{Sampling}}: ''Stomp'' derives its riffs and portion of the chorus from ''[[{{Music/Chic}} Everybody Dance]]''. ''One For Sorrow'' also has some semblance of ''[[{{Music/ABBA}} The Winner Takes It All]]''.
54	* SleevesAreForWimps: Majority of Lee's outfits.
55	* SofterAndSlowerCover: Over a decade after "One For Sorrow" was released as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHNWzbawxH0 a dance pop]], Claire sang [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5OEWNje-Bg a somber ballad version]] of the song.
56	* SplitPersonality:
57	** ''Deeper Shade of Blue'' features the members having their good side in blue spandex, while their dark alter-egos are in futuristic alien costumes.
58	** ''Summer of Love'' also has the "good" members in brightly colored clothes battling their "evil" personas clad in {{Goth}} style black leather.
59	* SpontaneousChoreography: Depending on the music video, but mostly averted. In ''5,6,7,8'' for instance, the group is seen dragging people to join in the dancing but teaches them to do it first. Played straight with ''Tragedy'' and ''Stomp'' though.
60	* SpotlightStealingSquad: Tensions apparently arose within the group when Claire's powerful soprano voice overshadowed the others, the others are relegated as back-up singers.
61	* StealthPun: Claire reenact Creator/ClaireDanes' scenes from ''Film/WilliamShakespearesRomeoAndJuliet'' for the ''Say You'll Be Mine'' music video... [[DoNotExplainTheJoke because her name is also "Claire"]].
62	* SurrealMusicVideo: Quite a few of their music videos. ''A Deeper Shade of Blue'' and ''Heartbeat'' (which involves the other band members rescuing H when he gets kidnapped by [[LittlePeopleAreSurreal midgets]]) do stand out as being ''especially'' weird, though.
63	** "Words Are Not Enough" sees Claire got dragged into a magic mirror by a dark sorcerer and the rest of the band following after to save her, with everyone turning into a CGI-version of themselves and gaining superpowers.
64	* TraumaSwing: Faye sits on a swing during the sad song ''One for Sorrow''.
65	* TrueBlueFemininity: Lisa wore predominantly blue outfits and has a blue skunk stripe during most of the music videos for the third album
66	* TwoGirlsToATeam: Inverted, obviously.
67	* WeddingDeadline: The music video for ''Tragedy''. Lee and H wake up late to Claire, Faye, and Lisa's weddings and race to rescue them before they reach the altars.

Context Music / Steps