The five-piece band have revealed via their social media handles that a new album will be released on November 27, and that a month-long UK tour will take place next year. The album, called What The Future Holds, will be their sixth in total, and their second since returning from their 2013-17 hiatus.
The group’s website gives a glowing overview of the upcoming record. According to their description, the ‘versatile’ new album was produced with help from Fiona Bevan (who has written for One Direction and Lewis Capaldi), Ina Wroldsen (writer for Britney Spears and Shakira), Karl Twigg (a collaborator on Steps’ first three albums), and a host of fresh contributors. On their new team, the band said: ‘We will never forget the past with Steps, it’s what made us… but we’ve got to look to the future too’.
The British band has called What The Future Holds their ‘most ambitious album to date’. They went on to say: ‘What the Future Holds is the best distillation of Steps so far; an album that shows both a deeper shade of blue and a brighter future… Showcasing the big melodic choruses of [our] top-tier bangers but also bringing back the harmony-laden ballads and some atmospheric mid-tempos’.
Steps are perhaps best known for their late 1990’s dance-pop beginnings, with hit singles such as 5, 6, 7, 8, One For Sorrow, and Tragedy first attracting an international audience. In 1999, the group’s Next Step tour was the biggest-selling UK pop tour to date; they received the ‘Best Selling Live Act’ BRIT award in 2000. However, despite their huge success, the band suffered significant in-group tensions and split the following year. They did not reunite until 2011.
A year after their 2012 comeback album was released and touring concluded, the band announced that they were ‘taking a break’, but not splitting. Their first post-hiatus album, 2017’s Tears On The Dancefloor, drew much greater critical and commercial success. Clash Magazine said the record was ‘Tremendous fun… packed to the rafters with absolute bangers’. The album entered the UK charts at number two (behind Ed Sheeran), and its 22-date supporting tour saw a massive turnout of enthusiastic fans.
2020’s What The Future Holds is set to be a nostalgic yet forward-thinking addition to Steps’ discography, and its 14-date UK tour is likely to be among the most anticipated of 2021. You can pre-order the new album, concert tickets, and VIP packages here. Steps’ UK tour dates are as follows:
November 2021
02/11/21 – FlyDSA Arena – Sheffield
03/11 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham
05/11 – Resorts World Arena – Birmingham
08/11 – Utilita Arena – Newcastle
11/11 – AO Arena – Manchester
13/11 – P&J Live – Aberdeen
15/11 – SSE Arena – Belfast
18/11 – M&S Bank Arena – Liverpool
19/11 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
22/11 – The SSE Hydro – Glasgow
25/11 – The Brighton Centre – Brighton
26/11 – The O2 – London
29/11 – Motorpoint Arena – Cardiff
December 2021
01/12/21 Bournemouth International Centre – Bournemouth
