Glitter & Gold: The Original Steps Podcast

After an incredible UK and Ireland tour, Here & Now - The Steps Musical has come to an end (hopefully not for the last time) and we're celebrating the remarkable journey of a show that exceeded every expectation. In this special retrospective episode, we look back at the creation, success and legacy of the musical, from its earliest beginnings to a UK tour that won over audiences and critics a...

For the first time in Glitter & Gold history, we’re finally in the same room recording together - and you can definitely feel the chaos... We put the call out on Instagram for your questions… and you absolutely delivered. From our predictions for what Steps 30 could look like, to our ultimate Anti Tour dreams, plus some seriously controversial opinions, nothing is off limits. Follow ‘Glitter &...

We're delighted to be joined by global hit songwriter and producer Andy Goldmark, who co-wrote four songs for Steps’ third studio album Buzz. Andy reminisces on being asked to A&R the album and his involvement in writing and producing "Buzzz", "Happy Go Lucky", "Mars & Venus" and "Wouldn’t Hurt So Bad", and what it was like working with the band during the early 2000s. He also reveals whic...

The Steptoons may have only played a small role in the Steps history books, but we’ve always wondered about the story behind their creation, and who was responsible for bringing them to life. Chris Melvin was the man behind the project, and the story of how he ended up working for Jive and creating the Steptoons is a fascinating chain of events. A chance meeting with the band on the set of the Ame...

Ooo Ooo!! The tour rewatch continues as we look back at the Summer 2000 Arena Tour - a massive step up from the previous year’s Next Step Tour. No space buggies or rocket ships this time; instead, we’re treated to a Gothic City set, with the band determined to prove they’d grown up and earned their status as the best-selling British live act. The tour ran for 31 dates, including a special June 10t...

Get the b-b-buzz as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Steps poptastic 3rd studio album. Producing 6 UK Top 5 singles (including the #1 ‘Stomp’) Buzz marked a huge step up for the group — both musically and visually — featuring co-writes from all 5 members, plus recording sessions in New York and Sweden with some of pop’s biggest names, including the one and only Cyndi Lauper. It is responsible...

GO STEPS, GO STEPS!!! Strap into the Steps space buggy and blast off with us to the glittering world of 1999, as we relive one of the most iconic pop arena tours the UK has ever seen. We take a nostalgic deep dive into The Next Step Tour , the Steptacular arena tour that didn’t just break records - it redefined what a pop concert could be. With its ground breaking staging, high-octane dance routin...

It is just a matter of weeks before 'Here & Now - The Steps Musical' begins its 10 month tour across the UK and Ireland, so we had to get writer of the show Shaun Kitchener back on the podcast for a little catch up before the madness begins again. We have a quick reminisce on the Birmingham run and then find out what you can expect from the HUGE 260 date UK tour.  Tickets to our Here &amp...

It’s the supergroup you never knew you needed and the most fabulously chaotic episode we have ever done. Joining us on the pod to help celebrate our 30th episode is the iconic young divas from Right Back At Ya! Joel and David. As we manifest potential new music in 2027 for the 30th anniversary, we each bring 2 songs that we believe Steps should cover for the ultimate 10 track album.  Listen t...

Steppers, this is a BIG one. THE Tony Moran, responsible for the 'One For Sorrow (Tony Moran Remix)' and who Billboard ranked as one of the most successful dance artists of ALL TIME is our very special guest on Glitter & Gold. For the first time since he created the remix back in 1999 (to coincide with the launch of Steps in America) Tony tells us about how the opportunity to remix the track c...

We are beyond thrilled and honoured to have the legendary Mr. Chris Fox on the podcast to talk to us about his involvement in the Steps 25 campaign in 2022. This included restoring, remastering and recreating over 60 (!!!) incredible Steps music videos, live performances and never before seen footage from the Sony music archives. He is also responsible for producing the Platinum Megamix music vide...

We are back for 2025 and what better way to kick things off than popping into Better Best Bargains with our fabulous special guest Helen Colby, who absolutely stole the show in her role as Tracey in Here & Now. Helen shares all the behind the scenes gossip on how she got cast in the show, the rehearsals, the Birmingham run and if we will see her grace the stage again in the upcoming tour. Hele...

We have been building up to this very special episode all year. With the opening night of 'Here & Now' just days away, we are thrilled to have writer of the show Shaun Kitchener on the podcast to tell us everything he is legally allowed to say before November 9th. Is 'Experienced' the encore in the show? Does 'Words of Wisdom' make an appearance? Is there still time to work 'Hard 2 Forget' int...

In celebration of its 25th anniversary this month, we are delving into one of the most poptastic albums of the 90s ‘Steptacular’. Steptacular undoubtedly cemented Steps reputation as being the best pop act in the UK; producing 6 top 5 singles, 2 sold out arena tours and going 4x platinum. Released on October 25th 1999, It has sold over 1.3 million copies and remains their only UK number 1 studio a...

Our H & Claire deep dive continues with Part 2 focussing on the album 'Another You, Another Me' and the conclusion of the duos story (for now...). The album had some big name songwriters on board, including swedish writer Jorgen Elofsson who wrote ‘Its The Way You Make Me Feel’ by Steps and has written for Boyzone, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears and Westlife (just to name a few). Sam Watters w...

The time has finally come to take a deep dive into the 'H & Claire' story. In Part 1 we are deep diving into the formation of the duo and the 3 singles ‘DJ’, ‘Half a Heart’ and the AA side ‘All Out Of Love/Beauty and the Beast’. We went into this with the goal to celebrate an era that has been somewhat ignored or a taboo topic at times. As we look back it's hard not to appreciate the incredibl...

To celebrate it's 13th anniversary, we are diving into the 2011 documentary series 'Steps Reunion', which followed the band as they celebrated their tenth anniversary since their split. The show led to the 'Ultimate Collection' topping the charts and the sold-out 'Ultimate Tour'. It also inspired the similar show 'The Big Reunion', featuring other pop acts reuniting after their own splits. Despite...

Everyone knows Steps for their range of covers, including staple tracks like ‘Last Thing On My Mind’, ‘Tragedy’, ‘Chain Reaction’ and ‘Something In Your Eyes’ (just to name a few). But, did you know there have been a number of songs Steps recorded first (either as a group or solo tracks) that have then been covered by other artists? We deep dive into 14 versions of Steps and solo tracks that have...

To celebrate 21 years of ‘Lately’, we are thrilled to have Pete Day & Paul ‘Bronze’ Newton from Point4 on the podcast to tell the complete untold story of the making of ‘Unleashed’, the original debut album from Lisa Scott-Lee that was recorded with Mercury records. The guys tell us EVERYTHING from writing and recording the singles ‘Lately’ & ‘Too Far Gone’, the cancelled 3rd single ‘I’ll...

There is SO much love for the b-sides from the original 1997-2001 run, so we thought it was about time we gave you our "Words of Wisdom" by taking a deep dive into them. Rather than talk through them in order of release, we asked you over on Instagram to vote for your favourite tracks so we could countdown based on your rankings and you came through with the votes (over 1200 to be precise). Do you...

Joining us on the podcast this month is legendary remixer Gareth Shortland. Having first had the opportunity to remix tracks for Claires solo album 'My Wildest Dreams' in 2019, Gareth has since been an instrumental part of all the Steps and Claire campaigns and become the go to person for mixes for other pop legends including Will Young, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Sarah Harding and Four of Diamonds (jus...

The party (on the dancefloor) continues this month with Part 2 of our birthday celebrations as we listen to more of your FABULOUS voice notes and questions. You all came through with the messages and we cannot thank each and everyone of you enough for the love and support. Along with our usual news round up, we also have a special recap from friend of the pod Frankie @justfrankstar who attended th...

We are BACK for 2024 and kicking things off with our 1st birthday celebrations. We put a call out for you all to send in voice notes and messages to read out and you delivered in a BIG way, with one particular voice note taking us all by surprise...... While we took a break over the Christmas and New Year so much has happened in the Steps world, from the forthcoming vinyl reissues AND the BIG news...

Things are getting festive on the podcast this month as we bring you the final episode for 2023, talking all things Christmas. We are covering everything from the 2000 Christmas tour (release that footage H), the one off tracks AND most importantly, we deep dive into the 'Light Up The World' album and tour. PLUS we have a very special message from 'H' (ie. Benny) from the cast of the forthcoming S...

To celebrate Claire’s recent album EUPHORIA, who better to chat to than the ONE and ONLY Mr. Steve Anderson. We chat to Steve about the entire creative process of making the record (where he served as Producer), the song selection, the ones that didn’t quite make it, hopes to take the album onto the road and most importantly, Claire’s cooking!!! We also touch on Steps recent Brighton Pride show, s...