GenSTEPS regular Phil went along to the Bristol signing yesterday at the Virgin Megastore and managed to smuggle a camera into the store to get us a few pics of the group! He was one of the lucky 600 out of a whopping 10,000 people to actually get those autographs! Thanks very much for the report.

For the third time in a year the centre of Bristol was brought to a complete standstill by Steps. There were laughs, excitement and drama as we all queued to meet our heroes. Armed with my Walkman, a supply of Mars bars and my secret Steps weapon… a mysterious bag! When I arrived at the Virgin Megastore at 9am, we found a large number of people already there – about 100 or so. Some had been there since 5am and travelled from places such as Manchester! But by 10am there were more than 300. I was lucky enough to bump into GenSTEPS regular Adam (aka Steptac). The crowd was very good humoured and we quickly settled into our spot. We began quietly but as the morning went on we became more lively.

By 11am there were more than 1,000 people and the queue was as far as the eye could see (and around the corner!). Suddenly an ambulance pulled up outside the store – was this a Steps ploy to get themselves in? No, it wasn’t but it caused lots of excitement. The Virgin staff very kindly came out and handed out sweets to everyone. At about 12pm rumours began to circulate that Steps had arrived, unconfirmed reports said only two of them were there. By now there were nearly 3,000 people queuing up and things were definitely becoming more and more excited as reporters and cameras scoured the street filming and chatting to fans. Suddenly a fire engine arrived. In her excitement a Steps fan had got her head stuck in some railings and had to be freed. What fans will do to meet their heroes!

By 1pm the queues had grown to nearly a mile in length and as many as 6,000 people! Steps were still nowhere to be seen and the crowd became agitated as time continued to tick by, until a policeman who was there announced that Steps had arrived. Soon, people were moving in to see the fab five, albeit a bit later than planned! When we got inside we could see the table where Steps were signing the albums, but we couldn’t actually see them until just before we met them. This was our only chance to get pics of them. Unfortunately H and Lisa were at the far end and it was impossible to get a pic of them. When it was our turn I spoke to Lee briefly and gave him the mysterious bag, then there was Claire. I gave her the roses I had bought for her and just went very quiet (!) as she signed my album cover. Then there was Faye who was very chatty as were Lisa and H who all signed the cover too. We chatted about my photo I have from the Step One tour. Unfortunately they couldn’t sign it, but we had a little chat about things, all for 30 seconds before the security staff moved us on. H and Lisa were going to pose for a pic, but I was asked not to take it! [Those pesky security guards! Don’t they know it’s for GenSTEPS?! – Jack]. Outside we all looked at what each other had got. Some were crying, others like me were speechless beyond belief! Unfortunately only 600 fans managed to see them, bad luck for all others. It has turned out however that over 10,000 people attempted to get in to meet them. It was a great day with a great atmosphere and I feel very lucky to have met them, a dream come true!