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Steps – 5th July 2018 – Greenwich Music Time Festival, London, UK

4 min read
Photo: Halestorm PR

Pride was out on full display last night with one of pop musics most celebrated and loved acts dominating the outdoor stage in the picturesque London suburb of Greenwich. With the historic Old Royal Navy College grounds serving as the picture perfect backdrop of the night, 90’s pop hit makers Steps brought their hit Summer of Steps tour to the capital as they continue to celebrate the success of latest album, Tears on the Dancefloor and its expanded edition, Party on the Dancefloor, which have been certified gold and have achieved number one status on the UK charts.

As the sun blazed high over the skies of a balmy London, fans turned out in huge numbers for one the hottest tickets of the summer music line-up in the capital. Greenwich Music Time has for several years been one of the most adored outdoor music series in the country and this year was especially popular due to the line-up of several cherished acts including Emile Sande, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and Nile Rodgers being among the guests penned in to perform for fans this year.

As Eurovision entrant and former X-Factor starlet Sarah Aalto warmed the crowd up with hits including a Kylie Minogue megamix and her Eurovision entry song, Monsters, an ecstatic crowd reaction signalled the start of the nights headline performance as the silhouettes of the band making their way to the back of the stage appeared behind a dressing of black fabric.

Over the course of 90 minutes, the band unleashed hit after hit for fans all too eager to join in with the bands iconic choreographed dance moves to some of their most successful singles including Say You’ll Be Mine, their Kylie cover of Better The Devil You Know and their sugar coated cover of Diana Ross’ Chain Reaction which saw all five members dressed as naughty doctors and nurses and playing seductively with their talented troupe of backing dancers.

The bands debut single, 5, 6, 7, 8 provided a sweet injection of southern twang and line-dancing dance steps with the band wearing a range of flamboyantly tasseled outfits while The Way You Make Me Feel brought the tone down as the band delivered the power ballad in acoustic form for the crowd; showing off the impeccable vocals of the collective.

We were taken back in time to the bands debut album with flawless renditions of Better Best Forgotten,  Last Thing On My Mind, After The Love Is Gone and debut album closing track Love U More; transported to the era of disco with an electrifying performance of Stomp – complete with disco ball head-piece waring dancers who accompanied the highlight of the set, and left breathless from a goose-bump-inducing performance of Heartbeat while new album notables Tears On The Dancefloor, Scared of the Dark, Neon Blue and Glitter and Gold – the latter making a debut appearance for a Steps tour – got the audience working up a sweat as they helped Claire, Faye, H, Lisa and Lee belt out the sparkly pop nuggets.

Closing the set the band offered us a nostalgic trip with Deeper Shade of Blue raising the hypothetical roof over the historic Old Royal Naval College grounds and Claire belting out an inspiring rendition of One For Sorrow while Tragedy capped the night on a phenomenal performance from the pop quintet; every member of the audience complimenting the song with their own versions of the tracks famous choreographed dance moves.

Whether it was their first time seeing Steps live or their tenth as in the case of this reviewer, last nights show felt like the first time we saw Steps live. It was a truly electrifying performance from an outfit who know how to turn it out for their fans time and time again.

Setlist:
Summer of Love
Better the Devil You Know
5, 6, 7, 8
Say You’ll Be Mine
It’s the Way You Make Me Feel
Chain Reaction
Heartbeat
Stomp
Glitter & Gold
No More Tears On The Dancefloor
Better Best Forgotten/Last Thing on My Mind
Neon Blue
Love U More / You’ll Be Sorry / After the Love Has Gone / Love’s Got a Hold on My Heart

Encore:
Deeper Shade of Blue
Scared of the Dark
One for Sorrow
Tragedy