Steps icon Lisa Scott Lee has admitted the band was really ‘miffed’ when Ian ‘H’ Watkins shunned their tour bus to fly on Britney Spears’ private jet.
The five-piece – made up of Lisa, ‘H’, Lee Latchford-Evans, Claire Richards and Faye Tozer – are about to mark 25 years since the release of their debut single 5,6,7,8.
After topping the charts and packing out arenas for four years the band called it quits in 2001 and split up for more than a decade until they reformed briefly in 2011 and again in 2017.
And it’s been quite the ride form start to finish, but looking back Lisa said in hindsight one of the most surreal times in Steps was touring with Britney who is still one of the most recognisable and popular stars on the planet.
‘We are fortunate for so many highlights,’ Lisa told us. ‘But one of the early ones was definitely touring and supporting Britney Spears. We lived on a tour bus for three months and we traveled extensively across America and Canada. And we got to see that part of the world and hang out with Britney backstage.’
But it wasn’t all plain-sailing. H struggled with insomnia at the time and refused to sleep on the bus with his band mates, which proved to be a source of contention.
‘We teased him about that because, like, as I just said, we literally lived on a tour bus,’ Lisa chuckled.
‘I’m not kidding, we would do a show. We would have a few drinks with Britney and Justin because she was dating him at the time and then we’d get back on the tour bus and we drive through the night sometimes to another stage.
‘We were doing miles and miles and then we get up and go on stage again so it was quite gruelling.
‘H isn’t the best sleeper so because of that he ended up traveling on her private jet, as you do, but we were very jealous miffed and it’s still a sore subject!’
Thankfully peace has long been restored and Steps are just as strong now as they’ve ever been, headlining festivals, playing to huge crowds and in the last four years have had three albums reach number two on the Official UK Albums chart.
Today, they’ve released their latest greatest hits, The Platinum Collection, which includes their enormous discography of back to back bops. A Steps single in 2022 sounds exactly like a natural progression from a Steps single in 1998. The group has always remained loyal to their pop DNA and is the reason they’re still so loved today.
‘Keeping the essence of Steps’ as Lisa puts it, is without a doubt a part of their longevity.
‘We do what we say on the tin, people know what they’re getting with Steps, we’re consistent.
‘The fans have got a happy place within Steps and we’re very aware of that so we don’t want to move too far away from what we do, because we do pop well.’
The Platinum Collection is available to stream and download now.
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