The Ultimate Tour was the sixth concert tour by British group Steps. Formed in 1997, the group comprises

Claire Richards Claire Richards (born 17 August 1977) is an English singer and member of the pop group Steps. As a solo artist, Richards has released two studio albums: her debut, '' My Wildest Dreams'', was released in 2019 and ''Euphoria'', a covers album, ...

Faye Tozer Faye Louise Tozer Smith (born 14 November 1975) is an English singer and actress, best known as a member of the pop group Steps. Career Music Steps are a pop group that have had a series of charted singles between 1997 and 2020. Their name ...

Ian "H" Watkins Ian Watkins (born 8 May 1976), known by his stage name H, is a Welsh singer and actor. He is a member of the British pop group Steps. In 2020 he competed in the twelfth series of the British television series ''Dancing on Ice''. Career St ...

Lee Latchford-Evans Lee Latchford-Evans (born 28 January 1975) is an English singer, dancer, stage actor and one of the five singers of the British pop group Steps (pop group), Steps. Early life From Ellesmere Port, Evans was born as Lee Latchford Evans, with hi ...

and

Lisa Scott-Lee Lisa Scott-Lee (born 5 November 1975) is a British singer from St Asaph, Wales. She is a member of the pop group Steps, formed in 1997. Scott-Lee signed a record deal with Mercury Records and launched a solo career in 2003, achieving only min ...

. Beginning in April 2012, 'The Ultimate Tour' supports the band's compilation album, '' The Ultimate Collection''. It is the group's first concert tour in 11 years. Additional dates were added for the summer of 2012, playing music festivals. The tour predominantly visited arenas across the United Kingdom as well as a one-off performance in the Republic of Ireland. The initial UK dates sold out in the first few hours of their general release, leading the band to announce six new dates. Dates were also added for music festivals for summer 2012.

Background

Sony record company intended to release a greatest hits album with the Steps music due to the ten-year anniversary following their 'acrimonious' split in 2001. Claire Richards said with the production of The Ultimate Collection album coupled with the ten-year anniversary, 'it just seemed right' to get back together. As the group reconciled, plans for a reunion tour developed. The tour was announced by Steps in their

Sky Living Sky Living was a British pay television television channel, channel owned and operated by Sky Limited, Sky. The channel's programming was aimed mainly at women and young adults. It originally launched as UK Living yet became Sky Living by 2011. H ...

documentary "Steps: Reunion". The tour was confirmed on the band appearance on ''

This Morning This Morning may refer to: * ''This Morning'' (TV programme), a British daytime television programme * ''This Morning'' (radio program), a Canadian radio show which aired from 1997 to 2002 * ''CBS This Morning'', an American morning show, succes ...

''. The band performed hits "

Tragedy A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...

" and "

It's the Way You Make Me Feel "It's the Way You Make Me Feel" is a song by British dance-pop group Steps, released as their 12th single on 1 January 2001. It is the second track to be released from their third album, '' Buzz'', and peaked at number two on the UK Singles C ...

Concert synopsis

The pre-show begins with a video shown on a large screen dominating the backdrop of the step, showing a one-minute countdown as the dancers come onstage. As the dancers arrive onstage, images of vaults and tubes with Steps inside are shown on the screens. The concept behind this is that the five members of Steps have been

cryogenically frozen Cryopreservation or cryoconservation is a process where biological material - cell (biology), cells, Biological tissue, tissues, or Organ (anatomy), organs - are frozen to preserve the material for an extended period of time. At low temperature ...

since their 2001 split at the final Manchester date. The five band members rise onto the stage in five separate glass tubes, symbolising the idea that they are being awoken ten years after the split. The set list begins with " Here and Now" by performing from inside the tubes throughout the song. The song goes straight into "

You'll Be Sorry A contraction is a shortened version of the spoken and written forms of a word, syllable, or word group, created by omission of internal letters and sounds. In linguistic analysis, contractions should not be confused with crasis, abbreviations ...

". Afterwards, each member in turn is spotlighted as they introduce themselves to the crowd as their names appear on the screen. This is followed by "

Deeper Shade of Blue "Deeper Shade of Blue" is a song by British dance-pop group Steps, released as the fourth single from their second studio album, ''Steptacular'' (1999), on 3 April 2000. The song was originally recorded by English singer-songwriter Tina Cousins ...

" which also contains a dance break which samples

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

Hold It Against Me "Hold It Against Me" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her seventh studio album, ''Femme Fatale'' (2011). It was written and produced by Max Martin, Dr. Luke and Billboard, with additional writing by Bonnie McKee. Luke explained t ...

. The group then exits the stage as a musical interlude and dance number by the dancers is played. Steps returns to the stage on a lift that sees them above the stage in height. Saying that they are back, they each split the crowd into different teams. Each member has their own team, and their own new dance move they show. Using these dance moves and the original choreography, they perform a medley of " Last Thing on My Mind", " Better Best Forgotten" and "

Love's Got a Hold on My Heart "Love's Got a Hold on My Heart" is a song by British pop music group Steps. It was written and produced by Andrew Frampton and Pete Waterman, and released in July 1999 by Jive and Ebul as the lead single from the band's second album, '' Step ...

", followed by "

5,6,7,8 "5,6,7,8" is a song by British group Steps from their debut studio album, ''Step One'' (1998). Written by Barry Upton and Steve Crosby and produced by Karl Twigg, Mark Topham and Pete Waterman, the song blends techno-pop and country pop sty ...

" which is followed by a video montage of fans performing

. The next section begins with a salsa dance routine performed by the dancers. This section consists of "

Summer of Love The Summer of Love was a major social phenomenon that occurred in San Francisco during the summer of 1967. As many as 100,000 people, mostly young people, hippies, beatniks, and 1960s counterculture figures, converged in San Francisco's Haig ...

" Tour Mix, which was originally intended for the Steptacular Tour and "

Better the Devil You Know "Better the Devil You Know" is a song by Australian singer Kylie Minogue, taken from her third studio album ''Rhythm of Love (Kylie Minogue album), Rhythm of Love'' (1990). The song was written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman and was rel ...

", mixed with

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

's "

Judas Judas Iscariot (; ; died AD) was, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. Judas betrayed Jesus to the Sanhedrin in the Garden of Gethsemane, in exchange for thirty pieces of ...

". As with all of their other tours in the past, they each perform solo songs. Lee, performs a

mashup Mashup may refer to: * Mashup (culture), the rearrangement of spliced parts of musical pieces as part of a subculture * Mashup (education), combining various forms of data and media by a teacher or student in an instructional setting * Mashup (mus ...

Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, d ...

's hit "

Moves Like Jagger Moves may refer to: * ''Moves'' (ballet), by Jerome Robbins * ''Moves'' (magazine), a periodical * ''Moves'' (Singing Adams album), 2012 * ''Moves'' (Kirara album), 2016 * "Moves" (Big Sean song), 2017 * "Moves" (Olly Murs song), 2018 * A mo ...

" with

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

's " S&M". Faye performs " One Night Only". H performs a cover of Journey's "

Don't Stop Believin' "Don't Stop Believin" is a song by American rock band Journey. It was released in October 1981 as the second single from the group's seventh studio album, '' Escape'' (1981), released through Columbia Records. "Don't Stop Believin shares writi ...

". Lisa sings a medley of "

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

", " Beautiful People" and her debut hit single " Lately". Finally, Claire, performs a cover of

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

's " I Surrender". The next section begins with an operatic-style video interlude. "

" is next followed by "

Heartbeat Heartbeat, heart beat or heartbeats may refer to: Science and technology * Heartbeat (biology), one cardiac cycle of the heart * Heartbeat (computing), a periodic signal to indicate normal operation or to synchronize parts of a system ** Heartbea ...

". " When I Said Goodbye" is then performed, followed by " One For Sorrow". After the band goes offstage, during which a musical interlude is played, they return onstage with "

Stomp Stomp may refer to: *Stomp (strike), a downwards kick using the heel Music and dance * ''Stomp'' (album), by Big D and the Kids Table, 2013 *Stomp (jazz), a type of rhythmic jazz tune popular in the 1920s *Stomp (theatrical show), a percussive ph ...

" and "

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". The show ends with their cover

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's "

Dancing Queen "Dancing Queen" is a song by the Swedish group ABBA, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, '' Arrival'' (1976). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson. Andersson and Ulvaeus also produced the ...

", a song which was recorded especially for their '' Ultimate Collection'' album. After a brief pause, a remix interlude is heard before Steps return to the stage for the final time to perform the encore consisting of "

". The tour uses innovative technology such as super high-resolution video screen. The screen is used reached to by the band, including H's solo section in which he performs synchronising movements against images onscreen, and a section performed by the whole band which references

rhythm game Rhythm game or rhythm action is a genre of music-themed action video game that challenges a player's sense of rhythm. Games in the genre typically focus on dance or the simulated performance of musical instruments, and require players to pres ...

s such as '' Just Dance''.

Support acts

Kamaliya Kamaliya Zahoor (, ; born Nataliya Viktorivna Shmarenkova on 18 May 1977), known professionally as simply Kamaliya, is a Ukrainian singer, actress, television personality, model and former Mrs. World beauty pageant titleholder. She has become w ...

*Shockolady *

Alexandra Burke Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke (born 25 August 1988) is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She won the fifth series of the talent television show ''The X Factor'' in 2008. Following the show, she was signed to Syco Music and releas ...

(Swansea)

Setlist

Futuristic Intro #" Here and Now" #"

" #"

" (Sleazesisters Anthem Mix – Intro) – Contains elements of

#Medley: " Last Thing on My Mind"/" Better Best Forgotten"/"

" #"

" Salsa
Costume Change #

" #"

"/"

" Solos #

Lee solo: "

" / " S&M" #Faye solo: " One Night Only" #'H' solo: "

" #Lisa solo: "

" / " Beautiful People" / " Lately" #Claire solo: " I Surrender" Ballads
Costume Change #

" (Features an opera-styled intro) #"

" #" When I Said Goodbye" #" One For Sorrow" Disco
Costume Change #

" #"

" Encore
Costume Change #

# "Goodbyes"/"Thank Yous"

Tour dates

;Festivals and other miscellaneous performances :This concert was a part of " Live at the Marquee" :This concert was a part of "Forestry Commission Live Music" :This concert was a part of "Gŵyl Gobaith Music Festival" ;Cancellations and rescheduled shows

Box office score data

Broadcasts and Recordings

During the autumn of 2011,

broadcast 'Steps Reunion', which documented the group's initial reconciliation. The show proved to be extremely successful, as it gained 1.3 million viewers each week throughout the series. Following the success of 'Steps Reunion', Sky Living broadcast 'Steps: On The Road Again', which started on Monday 23 April and ends on Monday 28 May. The show documents the band throughout the creation and development of the Ultimate Tour, including dance rehearsals, costume fittings, promotion interviews and the pre-tour performance at London's

G-A-Y G-A-Y is a long-running gay nightclub brand, based at the Heaven nightclub in Charing Cross, London, owned by Jeremy Joseph. G-A-Y also operates a sister gay bar on Soho's Old Compton Street, and previously operated another club at Goslett ...

nightclub. The concerts performed at Liverpool Echo Arena, Manchester Arena, The first Birmingham's LG Arena Show, Cardiff Motorpoint Arena and London O2 Arena, were all recorded for a Live CD release teamed up with Concert Live. The 3-disc set comes with choreographed videos, exclusive interviews and rehearsal footage, as well as never-before-seen photographs of the band. A new edition of the 'Ultimate Collection' was released on 30 April 2012, entitled 'Ultimate Collection: Tour Edition'. On Monday 28 May, Sky Living It are showing a 1-hour programme showing footage from Step's sold out concerts at The O2 Arena in London before the release of The Ultimate tour Live DVD on 29 October 2012. It charted at number one on the

Official Charts Company The Official UK Charts Company Limited (formerly Music Industry Chart Services Limited), trading as the Official Charts Company (OCC) or the Official Charts (formerly the Chart Information Network), is a British inter-professional organisation ...

's Music Video Chart on 4 November 2012

Reception

The tour proved to be extremely popular amongst fans as the initial UK dates sold out in the first few hours of their general release. 100,000 tickets are claimed to have been sold when the tour officially went on sale, making it one of the most popular tours of the year. The tour received fairly positive reviews, with positive critiques of their general energy and interaction with the crowd and praise over Claire's rendition of Celine Dion's 'I Surrender'. The overall reception by fans was extremely positive.(2012-04-26)
"Fan Reviews – Ticketmaster "
ticketmaster.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-05-10.

External links

*
Ultimate Steps

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ultimate Tour Steps (group) concert tours 2012 concert tours