“If something brings you joy, and doesn’t hurt anyone, enjoy it! Don’t apologise.“
Super Duper Chris Cooper
My twenty plus years enjoyment of Steps formed one of my fundamental pieces of words I live by.
At the tender age of twelve when they first appeared, I was in love. Not just with Claire, but with learning the dance moves and enjoying the pure catchiness of it all. Steps were immensely successful, but their inherent cheesiness opened them up to ridicule, which at times extended to me. When I was younger that ridicule was occasionally hard to take.
Fortunately I’ve gained a thicker skin as I’ve grown older, which means I’ll happily discuss how important Steps are to me now. I still know the dance moves, belt out the words, and have now seen them live twice. I literally have the t-shirt, and there was even that time Claire replied to me on Twitter (swoons).
The release of a new album got me thinking about Steps, and how they’ve stuck with me for so long. The answer is very simple. They make good pop music, aren’t sorry about it, and they make me happy.
This led to the question of why pop music gets such a hard time. I could probably write a whole piece about that, but honestly, I don’t care. My taste in music is eclectic, and each genre has great stuff in it. In Step’s case, it’s a mixture of often melancholy lyrics with a beat that you can’t resist. One For Sorrow is the perfect distillation of this for me. Raindrops, wistful glances, and an easily learned set of dance moves!
If you don’t like Steps, or you think don’t pop music is cool, that’s fine. I’ll still be throwing my hands up in a Tragedy pose and finding joy in it all.
A quick top five Steps songs you say? Well since you asked…
- One For Sorrow
- Better Best Forgotten
- Last Thing On My Mind
- Neon Blue
- Something In Your Eyes
Realistically I could go to at least fifteen, but that’s a good starting point.
One of the benefits of lockdown and WFH has been listening to music at my new desk. Heavy rock is good for getting in the zone, but when a pick-me-up is needed I know where to go.
Claire, Lisa, H, Lee and Faye, thank you.
Be the first to comment