TV presenting and singing? Aren’t you hogging the limelight from the other members of the band?
H: We all do our fair amount of TV presenting but I admit I probably do a lot more. I don’t know why that is. I don’t try and be the most popular, but if people like what I do, that’s great. I’m me and if you don’t like it, lump it.
Claire: H is good with young people, I think they relate to him a lot more. I suppose that particular age group fits with us best. But there are plenty of fans out there for everybody.
Be honest, aren’t you a little jealous of Hear’Say’s instant success after you had to work so hard for yours?
Claire: I think everybody has their day and everybody gets their little bit of luck and success. We worked and worked and did all the crappy little things, but we’ve got where we wanted to be. They’ve just done it another way.
Should STEPS be making way for a bit of new blood?
Claire: We’ve all got a career and everybody wants to get on. Whether you’ve been around for four years or for one, we all want to make a living, and we still enjoy what we do. If another group wants to come up, there’ll still be room for them.
Does H embarrass you Claire?
Claire: Sometimes he can be really embarrassing on purpose. H really likes to see us squirm.
With Lisa and Faye engaged to be married, aren’t you just a little bit worried that they’ll leave and STEPS will be seen as too mature?
Claire: They both enjoy STEPS as much as all of us, and just because they’re engaged doesn’t mean they’re going to go off and be all serious. We’re as stupid now as we were four years ago. We’ve grown up, but at the end of the day we’re sensible enough to know what we’re good at.
Come on, what exactly is this ‘greatest hits’ all about?
Claire: More than anything it’s a thank-you to the fans. We’ve been together for four years and we’ve had a lot of hits – it was just a way of saying look what we’ve all achieved together, because they’ve been as much a part of it as we have.
So why have STEPS had so many fashion faux pas?
Claire: I don’t think we have! I’ve never been embarrassed about the outfits we’ve worn. Everybody makes fashion mistakes but you don’t realise it until you look back. And I don’t think anything was that bad – apart from perhaps H’s pedal pushers.
Claire you go out with a dancer – isn’t that a bit of a cliche?
Claire: He’s very nice and we get on really well. He understands my work and I understand his. Just because other pop stars go out with dancers as well doesn’t mean I do it just because I think it’s fashionable!
We’ve asked you to do Top of the Pops interrogates before and you refused. Why?
Claire: I don’t ever remember being asked! To be honest I’m not scared about doing anything. There’s nothing anybody could say that would bother me – all my secrets are out.
Read more classic STEPS interviews in our Interviews & Reports section here.