Steps singer steps in to help save church where band shot ‘iconic’ Tragedy video



Lisa Scott-Lee makes £2,000 donation person to money for crumbling All Saints successful Harrow Weald, London

Lisa Scott-Lee, (centre), with Steps bandmates (from near to proper) Faye Tozer, Lee Latchford-Evans, Ian ‘H’ Watkins and Claire Richards. Photograph: JustGivingLisa Scott-Lee, (centre), with Steps bandmates (from near to proper) Faye Tozer, Lee Latchford-Evans, Ian ‘H’ Watkins and Claire Richards. Photograph: JustGivingNadia Khomami Arts and contented correspondentThu 15 Dec 2022 eleven.22 ESTLast changed connected Thu 15 Dec 2022 11.56 EST

To some, it could look similar not thing much than a crumbling web religion successful the suburbs of London. To fans of Nineteen Nineties dance-pop, but, it's miles the web tract of a tune video that mightiness look arsenic for each clip etched into the minds of millennials.

But All Saints religion successful Harrow Weald – the putting for the video of the Steps unmarried Tragedy – confronted an unsure aboriginal aft it suffered structural illness of its outer passageway remaining summer, revealing mediocre foundations. And erstwhile it got present to coins, the religion conscionable couldn’t marque it each by myself.

But, upon proceeding the news, Steps vocalist Lisa Scott-Lee made a large donation –in a bid to marque definite the religion survives. As such, a portion of popular past – arsenic good arsenic a spot of worship – mightiness beryllium going to being preserved.

Part of the crumbling All Saints religion successful Harrow Weald. Photograph: JustGiving

“I can’t let this beryllium a tragedy,” the vocalist said arsenic she donated £2,000 to a fundraising web page, prompting Steps fans astir the satellite to marque a drawstring of other donations.

Scott-Lee saw the enchantment connected Twitter connected Wednesday nighttime and recovered the accusation hard to endure. She knew she “had to measurement successful to assistance the stunning religion that helped motorboat our careers”, she stated. “It holds truthful galore recollections for maine and Steps.”

The 1998 screen of the Bee Gees azygous went to No 1 successful the UK charts and sold 1.4m copies. The video focused connected the woman participants of the enactment being walked down the aisle, lone to beryllium rescued and whisked acold from their mundane husbands-to-be by utilizing their peppy bandmates. An accompanying creation habitual – presenting fingers astir the look and immoderate superior shimmying – rivalled the popularity of the Macarena connected schoolhouse playgrounds.

Since her donation, she has received an abundance of thankful messages connected societal media, “with 1 calling maine Saint Scott-Lee, that's a chunk acold but precise candy”, she stated. “I acquisition precise fortunate that I’m nevertheless enjoying a a deed assemblage with Steps 24 years on. Tragedy turned into our archetypal No 1 UK deed and sold other than the unsocial Bee Gees exemplary – they thanked america personally connected the time.”

“The religion furnished a beauteous backdrop to the Tragedy video,” she recalled. “The information is, we didn’t person the fund for extras and truthful we requested our households to diagnostic successful the video. Our existent dads walked the Steps girls down the aisle.”

Her funniest representation of the sprout is driving “spherical and spherical the religion successful a wedding car with my dad, Tony, and going past the autobus forestall galore instances arsenic the manager wasn’t prepared for me”, she stated. “The adorable aged women connected the autobus forestall were pointing astatine maine arsenic they thought I’d been stood up and felt atrocious for me.”

She added: “People accidental our Tragedy video is iconic and I felt this donation changed into the slightest I could do. And with plentifulness of quality beings experiencing difficulties due now, I desired to springiness thing backmost and assistance the religion astatine Christmas time.

“I presume the religion became a fortunate entreaty for Steps, it’s each travel afloat ellipse successful a highly bully manner,.”

The Rev John Barker, the vicar astatine All Saints Harrow Weald, stated the donation meant the arena to the church, which wishes £50,000 to marque each the upkeep, inclusive of to the lavatories. “The world that it changed into a full astonishment makes it adjacent greater of an aboriginal Christmas present.

“Last summertime play became precise adust and each of our foundations commenced to move. The religion is connected clay and the clay dried out. The passageway that links the religion to the loos had the maximum immense cracks, we had to sound it down earlier than it collapsed connected us. We were told it’s going to terms america astir £50,000 to regenerate it.”

Steps, which besides includes Lee Latchford-Evans, Claire Richards, Faye Tozer and Ian “H” Watkins, person simply completed a UK excursion aft the merchandise of their ultra-modern album, Platinum Collection. The grounds celebrates the institution’s 25 years successful the opus manufacture and went to No 1 eventual summertime – making Steps the superior British, mixed-gender instauration to attain the pinnacle spot wrong the medium charts successful 4 consecutive galore years.

Apart from Scott-Lee’s contribution, helium stated the religion had had other than 25 donations from places including Canada, Australia and the United States. “And each and sundry’s pronouncing the same, that their lives person been touched by mode of that tune video. They don’t privation to adjacent the religion disappear. I’m truthful thankful and thanking God for this surprise.”