Steps talk ahead of Birmingham show

We are in bed – like, literally, in bed – with Steps. The very delectable Faye Tozer, the irresistibly gorgeous Lisa Scott-Lee and the pretty-but-not-our-type Ian H Watkins are, um, rolling around merrily. Nice. And we’re invited to their ménage a trios.

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“You should call it In Bed With Steps,” says H, with the ‘Oooh Matron’ voice of Kenneth Williams in Carry On Screaming! H. Stop it. Sauce. Sauce. Sauce.

He doesn’t stop it, though.

“The bed’s got all three of us on it,” he says, breathlessly, via his hands-free phone. “It’s like Madonna.”

Cheeky boy.

H is buzzing. No, let’s rephrase that. H is buzzing like a trillion bees who’ve been offered the crack cocaine of honey. He is irrepressible. He’s buoyant and bustling. He’s frisky and nimble. Goddam, H is going to explode.

“We all arrived in London this morning on a big buzzing high,” he says.

Steps – the band that taste forgot, the band forever destined to be a guilty pleasure, the quintet whose music is more plastic than the new £5 note – are back. The year belongs to them. London belongs to them. The charts belong to them. And in November and December, the UK’s arenas will belong to them too. The West Midlands and the Black Country love them so much that they’ll be playing both of Birmingham’s big venues; headlining the Barclaycard on December 1 before popping back to the Genting on December 9. Boom diddy boom.

Women and men who ought to know better will be grooving to Tragedy, jiving to Stomp, screaming to Love’s Got A Hold On My Heart and losing their minds to Better Best Forgotten. It’s a good job it’s not a school day afterwards . . .

The pretty three, the handsome one and the loveable ball of human electricity that is H are back. Their new albums, Tears on the Dancefloor, hit the decks in April and featured tracks from the biggest songwriters in pop including Ina Wroldsen (Calvin Harris, Britney Spears), Steve Mac (Jess Glynne, Little Mix), TMS (Years & Years, Sigma), Carl Ryden (The Saturdays, David Guetta), Fiona Bevan (1D, 5SOS) and Metrophonic (Cher, Olly Murs).

It marked their first original material since 2000 and went to number two on the UK chart. Thank God for Scotland – they sent it to number one.

They are, as we have deduced, happier than a Lotto winner, more animated than a hyperactive mascot at a 20:20 cricket match and frothier than the head on a pint of Fosters.

They put me on the spot. “What do you think of it?” says H. It’s a Diane Abbott moment and I mumble something about the redemptive power of pop music.

Faye comes to my rescue. “Steps has always had a bit of drama and a bit of bittersweetness in the lyrics with a really good bring you back to the dancefloor spirit.” Yes, that’s it. That’s what I think too.

The band had been planning something special to mark their 20th anniversary and Tears on the Dancefloor is it.

H says: “We started talking about it two years ago and the whole process has been incredible. We were going to do one gig – but that turned into 22 arenas with an album and single. It’s been a tidal wave of love.”

Lisa says: “We were lucky to have some amazing songs submitted for our album. We’ve got people who’ve written for One Direction and Calvin Harris. We’ve got a track from the ABBA boys and one from Darren Hayes from Savage Garden. It’s been an incredible time.”

And what is the Steps sound?

Faye laughs: “We’re still trying to figure it out.”

We rephrase the question. Why do people love Steps, when it might be easier not to?

Lisa says: “I think because we genuinely get on and people can see that we’re having fun. People want to join in and have fun. It’s a strange world out there at the moment and there’s negativity with politics and terrorism.”

H thinks the band are the antidote to reality TV. Remarkably – and this is the biggest irony in irony street, IronyTown, IronyShire – they are old-fashioned performers, instead of fake/vacuous/here-today-gone-tomorrow wannabes.

“Well, for us, it kind of happened very gradually. It doesn’t happen like that these days. Nowadays, you win a talent show and are number one on Sunday. At the beginning, we did any old gig we could to get our names and our faces and our amazing songs out there. We were trying to grow and get the fan base. Then we became a monster that nobody could stop. I think for me the first time that we felt this massive adoration was when we had our first number one. Tragedy and Heartbeat went down the charts but then back up to number one. It felt like we entered a different league. People thought we were a novelty act but after that people took us seriously.”

They look back on that golden age with nothing but fondness.

Lisa says: “I loved every day. People say you’ll really enjoy it and appreciate it more this time round. But it was my dream job. And to do it again now is great.”

The band’s re-emergence came through a reality TV show, Steps Reunion. It followed them as they rebuilt relationships that had shattered in an acrimonious split in 2001.

Faye says: “Everything came out and was aired and we didn’t hold back. It wasn’t scripted it was for us and the fans. The fans wanted to know the same answers as us.”

They’ve moved on since then, of course. They’re all happy and in love again. As every harmless pop band should be.

The clock’s ticking, H has popped to the loo and we’ve been left alone on the bed with Lisa and Faye. Time for one last question. What’s the best thing about being in Steps?

Lisa says: “It’s my dream job. When we were growing up we lived, breathed and slept singing and dancing. It’s incredible that my dream came true and I’m in this lovely position. I enjoy work every day.”

Faye: “It’s touring. To have so many people rooting for us is incredible.”

And then the two girls laugh. Lisa adds: “I’ll answer for H. The best thing about being in steps is working with me.”

Lucky boy.

By Andy Richardson