Steps - Here and Now/You'll Be Sorry (#Steps20)

Original release date: May 28th 2001 

Buy Here and Now/You'll Be Sorry here (Amazon UK)

Read all my Buzz20 posts here 

For some reason, that escapes me right now, there was a whopping five month gap between It's The Way You Make Me Feel and Here and Now/You'll Be Sorry. Perhaps the intention of once and future monarchs of pop, Steps, was to release both songs individually? There certainly would have been (just about) enough time to do so, before focusing on their Greatest Hits campaign later that year. Regardless of the reasoning, both Here and Now and You'll Be Sorry were worthy of their time in the singles chart spotlight (and let's not forget Steps were probably the last group to master the art of the double-A side. See also Heartbeat/Tragedy, When I Said Goodbye/Summer of Love). The final single from the very good indeed Buzz album showcased two different sides of the group - the shimmering sophisticated pop of Here and Now juxtaposed with the exhilarating contemporary euro-disco of You'll Be Sorry. Much like the building anticipation for Deeper Shade of Blue to be released during the Steptacular album campaign, fans had taken Here and Now to their hearts and were eager for it to be a single. The band didn't disappoint, securing a 2 part video (with the AA side) and a healthy plethora of commissioned remixes to suit every mood. It is no surprise, really, that so many people were charmed by this elegant number. It tells a tale of putting your heart on the line, no more games or shenanigans, just laying down exactly how you feel about a person in the hope that you can move forward together. Remixed for the single version, it was wrapped in an ebullient groove that glittered like a priceless chandelier. The chorus demonstrated the sumptuous nature of their textured vocals, harmonisation that placed them alongside some of pop's greatest. The accompanying video saw the famous five running around a maze (presumably looking for the, ahem, here and now they desperately craved) - I loved the fact that (SPOILER ALERT), thanks to finding a spaceship in the middle of the maze, it led directly into the video for You'll Be Sorry. Genius. It was an instant hit, no unlucky thirteenth release for these guys - debuting at number four.

Now, I have a confession - despite general consensus (and a recent extensive twitter poll I conducted) evidencing that fans favoured Here and Now, I always preferred You'll Be Sorry. Honestly though, it was like choosing between chocolate and ice cream; both are delightfully edible. I just loved how YBS was a more dramatic choice, like a musical rendition of ace 80s tv show Dynasty, full of resentment, recrimination and foreboding. It invoked the halcyon days of the dark disco rhythms of ABBA's Voulez Vous with a contemporary sheen. I was absolutely besotted with the way the exquisite quintet sang with such intensity - I mean, who hasn't wanted to rage at an errant lover, whethet they meant it or not. Thanks to the all conquering chorus and assertive dance routine, the song became a cathartic way to sing and dance through your emotions. What is not to love?! It remains one of my favourite Steps singles, an underrated gem that always makes me feel better about myself. If they sang this at their upcoming concerts, I'd bypass cloud nine and float straight to pop utopia. And of course, they didn't skimp on the remixes and video for this song. Intergalactic on both counts, in all senses of the word. Now if only they'd considered Paradise Lost for a further, final single from the album...

Top 25 songs of the week:

25 ~ Carlos Marco, Sugar
24 ~ Sir Ivan ft Debbie Gibson, I Am Peaceman
23 ~ Blas Canto, In Your Bed
22 ~ Little Mix, Power
21 ~ JIM, Under Attack (NE)
20 ~ Olly Murs ft Louisa Johnson, Unpredictable
19 ~ Tom Chaplin, Solid Gold
18 ~ Erasure, Love You To The Sky
17 ~ Sergey Lazarev, Lucky Stranger
16 ~ Carlos Marco, Summer Something
15 ~ Robbie Williams, Heavy Entertainment Show
14 ~ Take That, New Day
13 ~ Sound of Arrows, Beautiful Life
12 ~ Steps, Scared Of The Dark
11 ~ Mary Lambert, Know Your Name
10 ~ Tove Styrke, Say My Name
09 ~ The Heydaze, New Religion
08 ~ Smith & Thell, Row
07 ~ DNCE, Kissing Strangers
06 ~ Jukebox The Ghost, Stay The Night
05 ~ Jakil, Every Time We Talk
04 ~ Eric Odeen, I Don't Really Dance
03 ~ Bleachers, Don’t Take The Money
02 ~ Steps, Story Of A Heart
01 ~ Sean Smith, Magic (NE/1 week)