GenSTEPS is now one year old! We launched on 1 August 1999 with both our fans and our haters, and so it seems nothing has changed since then :o) The site came about when my old site Stepping Out and Jack’s old site Planet STEPS decided to merge to create a big Steps site aimed to cater for almost every Steps fan’s needs. If you can remember back then the site launched in a black, white and pink look. With a top and bottom frame for navigation. GenSTEPS slowly gain its hits, we only got about 11,000 or so hits in our first month. Probably launching in August wasn’t the greatest idea in the world as soon after its launch both myself and Jack, and like a lot of our possible visitors, were on holiday! September was a better month and slowly we worked on GenSTEPS version two. This launched in October if I remember correctly and was a blue and pick colour, shortly afterwards Jack was approached by Steps management and was whisked off to the official site where he is still today!

GenSTEPS went into a quiet period during November as I tried to get the site back on its feet. So I asked a good friend of mine Char to redesign the site after Jack’s departure and brought on a couple of friends from the web to help me out with the site. GenSTEPS 3 launched in the new year which also saw the website get more hits than ever. This was due to STEPS forthcoming album release in the US gaining some interest in the US and during December and January GenSTEPS was getting over 55,000 hits a month which shows how important it is for STEPS to break the US market! Today GenSTEPS 3.5 launches, this is as we’ve stumbled across time problems etc. with holidays and have no chance in getting version four launched. We will be changing the colour scheme etc from the current version four before finally opening sometime in Late September / Early October. In a year, and with counters going wrong left, right and centre (I’m sure all webmasters can relate to this!) GenSTEPS counter says we’ve had over 445,000 hits to our main page which is amazing, thanks to everyone for visiting the site. I’m sure its probably over 450,000 but I can’t prove that. But that counter doesn’t tell the true story our statistics show that many visitors enter the site via other pages so if the total page hits for the site was counted it would probably pass 500,000! Again thanks to all your support!

What’s the future for GenSTEPS? Well the site is here to stay but it might have a change of staff come October. I’m probably panicking the other people who run the site, but they have nothing to worry about. But if you visit this site daily and feel you could have a positive affect on this site then perhaps you can have you chance! We are also trying to sort out some competitions for you and also the much debated argument over multimedia. GenSTEPS plans to be online for as long as STEPS are about! If that is another year then so be it, if the STEPS phenomenon goes on for another five years who is to say that we will not still be here? So here is for another year in Steps World and lets hope the new album lives up to what it is sounding like in our heads! GenSTEPS would like to thank the following people, who for the last year have made GenSTEPS what it is! Sherwin – Thanks for the domain(s) and the webspace, without you’re help we wouldn’t be here today! Jack – Thanks for merging your old site with mine, and helping me with the site until those people took you 🙂 Keep up the good work on the official site! Char – Thanks for your help with the graphics and design, I can’t do it for the life of me! Keep up the good work with GenSTEPS and you’re own little projects 🙂 Andre – Thanks for doing the reviews, it takes a lot of my back as we do get one or two of them don’t we? Keep up the work with your Westlife site! Rui – Thanks for the wallpapers and the help with the site, good luck with the Britney Site! and finally you – without you coming on a daily/weekly/monthly basis we wouldn’t be here. Your love and support has kept this site going through the bad times, long may it continue!

Matt – Webmaster GenSTEPS.com

We become a year old and all of a sudden the news floods in! Steps and Five will launch their UK tours from a Butlins holiday camp this winter. Steps take to the stage on 17 November at Butlins in Minehead, Somerset and will be followed by Five on 25 November. The shows will take place in a specially constructed Big Top Arena that will hold 6,000 fans. Tickets go on sale tomorrow (Tuesday 1 August). Steps member H was a former redcoat at this very camp and his band mate Lisa started her performing career there too. H said: “Lisa worked as a visiting cabaret act during the two years I was there but our paths never met.” The band’s forthcoming performances have been described by the camp’s marketing director, Ken Johnston, as “the crowning glory of Butlins biggest-ever winter programme”. Other acts to play Butlins in Minehead this winter are Atomic Kitten, Scooch and Abba tribute band Bjorn Again. (Source: Dotmusic)

STEPS are signing a sponsorship deal with Kinder chocolate in time for their third album at Christmas. (Reported in the Sunday Mirror) “Indeed, it’s true” agrees the band’s spokesperson. “I don’t know if it will go as far as doing TV ads for Kinder, but there will certainly be a series of magazine adverts and possibly tour sponsorship. Given all the fuss over Cadbury chocolates this weekend, we’re glad it’s not them ….” (Source: Channel 4 Text)

We all know that Lisa has had a brace fitted, she says: “Kids who have braces worry they’ll be laughted at” says Lisa. “But if a pop star can get them, anyone can! (Source: Channel 4 Text)

Here are some STEPS stories related to Scooch: Firstly in the Daily Post today in their Spotted column, they say: Spotted: Steps singer H’s young girlfriend, Sarah Connoley, purchasing what seemed to look dangerously like rival band Scooch’s new single, in their local HMV! The second thing is taken from the August edition of Top Of The Pops magazine: Splashed across a tabloid newspaper are the words ‘Scooch exclusive: “Steps ripped us off”‘ (H’s smile disappears.) What’s this Scooch think goin’ on!? Oh please, there’s no way it could happen cos we came out first. In fact, we were the first girl-and-boy band to come out in ages. No, actually I think it’s quite flattering that people are starting to copy us. But if you’re gonna do it, do it well. (Ouch!) (Thanks to [email protected] for sending that in)