Faye Tozer | |
|---|---|
 Tozer performing in 2017 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Faye Louise Tozer |
| Born | 14 November 1975 Northampton, Northamptonshire, England |
| Origin | Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England [1] |
| Genres | Pop, musical theatre |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, dancer, actress |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Member of | Steps |
| Website | www |
Faye Louise Tozer Smith (born 14 November 1975) [2] is an English singer and actress, best known as a member of the pop group Steps.
Steps are a pop group that have had a series of charted singles between 1997 and 2020. Their name is based on a gimmick: each of their music videos are choreographed, and the dance steps are included with most of their single releases. Steps have sold over 22 million records, including 15 million albums.
During Steps’ split Tozer returned to the pop charts once, duetting with Russell Watson. Their UK single "Someone Like You" charted at No. 10 in May 2002 [3] and she joined him on his UK tour around the same time. In 2006, Tozer was featured as a guest vocalist for Plastic Cinema for two songs: "Take Me Under" and "Any Minute Now".
Steps reformed in May 2011 for a four-part documentary series on Sky Living titled Steps: Reunion. The series started airing on 28 September, following an announcement of a second greatest hits album, The Ultimate Collection , that was released on 10 October 2011. The album entered the charts at number one, becoming the band's third album to achieve this feat. The second series of Steps: Reunion titled "Steps: On the Road Again" aired on Sky Living in April 2012; the series followed the band as they embarked on their sellout 22-date UK tour. On 24 September 2012, the group confirmed they would release their fourth studio album Light Up The World on 12 November 2012, alongside a six-date Christmas tour, starting from 30 November and ending on 5 December. [4] The group reformed for a second time on 1 January 2017 in celebration of their 20th anniversary, and later announced their fifth studio album Tears on the Dancefloor , which was released in April 2017 and entered the charts at number 2. [5] On 5 March 2017, the group confirmed the release of the new album, alongside its lead single, "Scared of the Dark", and a 22-date tour, Party on the Dancefloor. [6] A deluxe edition of the album, titled Tears on the Dancefloor: Crying at the Disco, was released on 27 October. [7]
In November 2017, Tozer announced that the reunion was no longer just a 20th-anniversary celebration and that the group intends to continue after their 2018 Summer of Steps tour. [8] On 7 September 2020, via their social media accounts, Steps announced the release date of their album entitled What the Future Holds . The album was released on 27 November of the same year, with pre-orders available from 8 September. [9] The next day, they confirmed a new 14-date UK tour (with special guest Sophie Ellis-Bextor) starting in November 2021. [10] The first single from the album was the Greg Kurstin-and-Sia-penned "What the Future Holds", released on 9 September 2020. It was followed by "Something in Your Eyes" on 27 October 2020. "To the Beat of My Heart" was released as the album's third single in January 2021. [11]
The first single of What the Future Holds Pt. 2 was confirmed as a reworked version of "Heartbreak in This City" featuring Michelle Visage. [12] [13]
 | This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(August 2024) |
Tozer has combined a pop career with theatre work and acting. In 2004 she made her professional musical-theatre debut in a national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber's one-woman musical Tell Me on a Sunday . She and Patsy Palmer alternated in the role. Tozer toured with the musical Love Shack, which also featured former pop singers Jon Lee and Noel Sullivan, and soon after starred as Jubilee Climax in a production of Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens at The Venue Leicester Square in London's West End.
In 2006 she toured in a production of Me and My Girl , acted in the film Lady Godiva Back in the Saddle and appeared in the charity fitness DVD The Allstar Workout. In 2007, Tozer appeared in a production of Dial M for Murder and in October began touring with the production Over the Rainbow – the Eva Cassidy Story playing Eva Cassidy. At Christmas 2007, she appeared in the pantomime Aladdin at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle.
Over Christmas 2008, Tozer played alongside X Factor finalist Ray Quinn in Aladdin, at the Broadway Theatre in Peterborough. Tozer has filmed roles in the independent films Kung Fu Flid and Mixed Up. In 2010, Tozer appeared in "In The Spotlight – Songs From The Musicals" which completed a UK tour, directed by Karen Edwards and choreographed by Tom Gribby. In December 2010 she starred in Aladdin at the Grove Theatre in her home town of Dunstable.
In 2011 Tozer starred alongside her fellow Steps group member Ian "H" Watkins in a UK premier tour of Rhinestone Mondays. The musical was the first Country and Western to be produced, with Tozer playing the part of Annie. In 2013 Tozer starred in the musical The Tailor-Made Man at the Arts Theatre in London's West End for a limited 8-week run. She played the part of silent movie star Marion Davies. Tozer has played the role of Miss Hedge in Everybody's Talking About Jamie in London's Apollo Theatre in the West End.
Tozer appeared on the fifth series of Big Star's Little Star with her son Benjamin.
She also placed third in a celebrity edition of Four Weddings , losing out to Michelle Marsh.
In 2017, Tozer was one of four contestants on season 7, episode 8 of The Celebrity Chase, progressing to the episode's Final Chase.
From September 2018, Tozer participated in the sixteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing , where her professional dance partner was Giovanni Pernice. The couple were joint runners-up in the final. [14]
| Week No. | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | |||
| Horwood | Bussell | Ballas | Tonioli* | ||||
| 1 | Cha-cha-cha / "Lullaby" | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 29 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Viennese Waltz / "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 31 | Safe |
| 3 | Quickstep / "You're the One That I Want" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 36 | Safe |
| 4 | Rumba / "Chandelier" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 29 | Safe |
| 5 | Foxtrot / "Just the Way You Are" | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 33 | Safe |
| 6 | Jazz / "Fever" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | Safe |
| 7 | Tango/ "Call Me" | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 38 | Safe |
| 8 | Jive/ "Reet Petite" | 9 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 36 | Safe |
| 9 | Paso Doble/ "Unstoppable" | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 38 | Safe |
| 10 | Waltz / "See the Day" Lindy Hop-a-thon / "Do Your Thing" | 9 Awarded | 10 6 | 10 extra | 10 points | 39 45 | Safe |
| 11 | Charleston/ "The Lonely Goatherd" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 40 | Safe |
| 12 | Samba/ "I Go to Rio" Argentine Tango/ "La cumparsita" | 9 9 | 9 10 | 9 10 | 10 10 | 37 39 | Safe |
| 13 | Viennese Waltz / "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" Showdance / "Lullaby of Broadway" Jazz / "Fever" | 10 10 10 | 10 10 10 | 10 10 10 | 10 10 10 | 40 40 40 | Runners-Up |
She appeared on a celebrity special of the classic game show Catchphrase , with Sir Chris Hoy, Martine McCutcheon and hosted by Stephen Mulhern all trying to guess the familiar phrases.
In 2002, she married her longtime Danish boyfriend Jesper Irn at the Priory Church in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. They divorced after five years. [17]
On 24 February 2009, she gave birth to her first child, named Benjamin Barrington Tozer-Smith. [18] On 5 December 2009, Tozer married Michael Smith in a ceremony at Beamish Hall, televised on an episode of Celebrity Four Weddings . [19] and moved to Boldon, South Tyneside.
Gareth Paul Gates is an English singer-songwriter and actor. He was the runner-up in the first series of the ITV talent show Pop Idol in 2002. As of 2008, Gates had sold over 3.5 million records in the UK. He is also known for having a stutter, and has talked about his speech impediment publicly.
Ian Watkins, known by his stage name H, is a Welsh singer and actor. He is a member of the British pop group Steps.
Steps are a British dance-pop group consisting of Lee Latchford-Evans, Claire Richards, Lisa Scott-Lee, Faye Tozer and Ian "H" Watkins. They were formed in May 1997 and achieved two number-one albums in the UK, 14 consecutive UK top-5 singles including two number ones. The group has sold over 22 million records worldwide, 15 million albums worldwide. In-addition to earning a BRIT Award nomination in 1999, for Best Newcomer, the group would be an opening support act for Britney Spears on her debut American tour the same year. When Richards and Watkins departed to form a recording duo, the group disbanded, on 26 December 2001 (officially). Their penultimate single reached No. 5 on the UK charts, while their final album of greatest hits, Gold (2001), was the group's second No. 1 album in the UK.
Lisa Scott-Lee is a Welsh singer and member of the pop group Steps, formed in 1997. Scott-Lee signed a record deal with Mercury Records and launched a solo career in 2003, achieving only minor success after the release of debut single "Lately". She was dropped after her second solo single. She released her debut solo album Never or Now in 2007 through Concept Records.
Russell Watson is an English tenor who has released singles and albums of both operatic-style and pop songs.
Jonathan Lee is an English singer and actor. Lee is the youngest member of pop group S Club, who disbanded in April 2003, before reuniting in March 2023. With a long career in musical theatre, he has taken on roles in more than 17 productions, including the West End shows Les Misérables and Jersey Boys.
Michelle Visage is an American singer, television personality, broadcaster, producer, and actress. She gained recognition as a member of the dance-pop group Seduction, who charted five singles on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1989 and 1990. She later served as lead vocalist of the R&B and dance group The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M., who reached the top of the dance charts with the single "It's Gonna Be a Lovely Day" in 1993.
Lee Latchford-Evans is an English singer, dancer, stage actor and one of the five singers of the British pop group Steps.
Lyn Paul is an English pop singer and actress. She came to fame as a member of the international chart-topping pop group the New Seekers in the early 1970s. She has more recently found success and critical acclaim starring in the long-running West End musical, Blood Brothers.
Claire Richards is an English singer and member of the pop group Steps. As a solo artist, Richards has released two studio albums: her debut, My Wildest Dreams, was released in 2019 and Euphoria, a covers album, was released in 2023.
"5,6,7,8" is a song by British group Steps from their debut studio album, Step One (1998). A techno-pop and country pop song written by Barry Upton and Steve Crosby and produced by Karl Twigg, Mark Topham and Pete Waterman, it was released as their debut single in November 1997 by Jive and EBUL following their formation after each group member responded to a magazine advert looking for people to audition to be in a pop band.
"Dancing with a Broken Heart" is a song by Australian singer–songwriter Delta Goodrem. It was sent to Australian radio on 26 July 2012 and was released physically and digitally on 10 August 2012. The song is the second single released from Goodrem's fourth studio album Child of the Universe, on which it appears slightly remixed. It debuted on the ARIA Charts at number 15, but only stayed in the top 50 for three weeks. It received mixed to positive reviews.
Tears on the Dancefloor is the fifth studio album by British group Steps. It was released on 21 April 2017, by Absolute and Fascination Records. The album is the group's first album in five years since Light Up the World, and their first proper album since Buzz in 2000. Following two years of planning, recording began in October 2016. The Alias was enlisted to serve as the executive producer for Tears on the Dancefloor and various songwriters submitted songs for the group to record, including Steve Mac, Ina Wroldsen, TMS and Fiona Bevan. It also features a cover version of "Story of a Heart" by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of ABBA, a cover of "I Will Love Again" by Lara Fabian as well as a cover of "No More Tears on the Dancefloor" by Anders|Fahrenkrog, from which the album's title is derived.
The Party on the Dancefloor Tour was the eighth concert tour by British group Steps. It was launched in support of their fifth studio album, Tears on the Dancefloor (2017) and its subsequent deluxe edition. It began on 12 November 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland at the SSE Arena and concluded on 10 December 2017 in Cardiff, Wales at the Motorpoint Arena. The tour was first announced in March 2017, consisting of dates in Europe.
"Scared of the Dark" is a song recorded by British group Steps for their fifth studio album, Tears on the Dancefloor (2017). On 6 March 2017, the group announced their twentieth anniversary celebrations in the form of a new single, album and accompanying tour. "Scared of the Dark" premiered on The Ken Bruce Show on BBC Radio 2 on 9 March, and was released as the lead single from the album the following day. It is a disco song written by Carl Ryden and Fiona Bevan and performed mostly by band members Claire Richards and Faye Tozer. It garnered rave reviews from music critics, many of whom praised Steps for deliberately not conforming to current musical trends and for sticking to their original sound but with a modern feel. Within twelve hours of release, it reached number one on the iTunes Store in the United Kingdom, and debuted at number 37 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Story of a Heart" is a song co-written by Swedish musicians Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and recorded by Benny Andersson's Band for their first compilation album of the same name (2009); it features vocals from Swedish singer Helen Sjöholm. British group Steps covered the song for their fifth studio album, Tears on the Dancefloor (2017). It was released as the second single from the album in the form of a remix EP on 12 May 2017, with a radio release slated for 16 June.
"Neon Blue" is a song recorded by British group Steps for their fifth studio album, Tears on the Dancefloor (2017). Written by Carl Ryden and Fiona Bevan, it was announced as the third single from the album on 20 July 2017, and subsequently released on 4 August. Musically, it is a mid-tempo pop ballad which begins with a soft piano introduction and builds into an upbeat synth track, while lyrically, it is about encouraging a downcast friend to come out and have some fun. Band member Ian "H" Watkins described "Neon Blue" as a gay anthem due to its message of coming out. It garnered a positive response from music critics, with a general consensus that it is a classic Steps song. Its accompanying music video features a man and a woman who have had bad fortune in their relationships meeting at a party in a night club and their luck turning around. "Neon Blue" was included on the set list of their eighth headlining concert tour, the Party on the Dancefloor Tour (2017).
What the Future Holds is the sixth studio album by the British group Steps and was their first album to be released with their new record label BMG on 27 November 2020. They had originally intended to release the project in the Spring, however the global outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and imposing of lockdown resulted in a temporary delay of promotion. The album was preceded by singles "What the Future Holds" and "Something in Your Eyes". Promotional tracks "Under My Skin", "Hold My Heart" and "To the Beat of My Heart" were also released, the latter becoming the album's third single in January 2021.
"Heartbreak in This City" is a song recorded by British group Steps from their sixth studio album, What the Future Holds (2020). A single mix was released with singer and television personality Michelle Visage in February 2021 as the lead single from their seventh studio album, What the Future Holds Pt. 2 (2021). The single peaked at number 15 on UK Download chart.
What the Future Holds Pt. 2 is the seventh studio album by the British group Steps. It is a sequel to the sixth album What the Future Holds. The album was released on 10 September 2021 by BMG Rights Management.
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