Faye Tozer never imagined Steps would reform.
The 46-year-old singer shot to fame in the pop group alongside Claire Richards,44, Lee Latchford-Evans, 46, Lisa Scott-Lee, 46, and Ian ‘H’ Watkins, 45 in the late 1990s before they suffered an acrimonious split in 2001, but have since launched a successful comeback with a string of new albums and tours.
She said: “No, I’d closed the door on [the idea of a reunion]. When we got back together in 2011, it was quite cathartic to ask ‘what did happen’, because it all happened so quickly for us. But we’ve been together now longer than we were originally. We’re in a great place and still selling out arenas, which is bonkers 24 years into the band.”
The pop star went on to claim that a “lack of communication” was behind their infamous split, which saw members Claire and H resign from the band shortly before they took to the stage for a concert, but also described the fall out as the band’s “saving grace.”
When asked about the reason behind the split, she said: “Claire and H resigned. There was a lack of communication in those days. We were such young people and probably burnt out by such a heavy schedule. In hindsight, the break-up has been our saving grace. We wouldn’t be here today if that hadn’t happened. We couldn’t have kept going happily for 24 years – we needed to figure out who we were as people.”
Steps – who scored hits such as ‘Tragedy’ and ‘One For Sorrow’ during their heyday – have recently completed their 10th tour, which was in support of their sixth and seventh albums ‘What the Future Holds Part 1’ and ‘Part 2’.
Faye – who has also carved out a career in musical theatre and was runner-up on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ in 2018 – went on to promise fans that Steps will continue as long as the “demand is there”.
She told The Metro Newspaper: “What is nice is that we do it for a bit, then go off and do our separate projects and then come back together again. We’ve got an incredibly loyal fanbase and we’re going to keep going if the demand is there.”