Faye Tozer
Encyclopedia
Faye Louise Tozer is an English
singer, songwriter
and actress; famous for being a member of pop group Steps.
Since Steps split on 26 December 2001, Faye Tozer has only returned to the pop charts once, duetting with Russell Watson
, whom she met at a BBC
Proms In The Park concert in 2001. Their UK
single Someone Like You charted at #10 in May 2002 and she joined him on his extensive UK tour around the same time. In July 2006, Faye was featured as a guest vocalist for Plastic Cinema for 2 songs: Take Me Under and Any Minute Now.
Ever since the band's break-up, rumours had been circulating that they would reunite in one form or another. In 2009, Lee Latchford-Evans revealed that the band had been approached to perform a series of concerts. He hinted that a future reunion was possible, but that "it isn't the right time right now".
In early 2011, rumours began circulating that Steps would reunite for a TV series and a one-off concert to mark the tenth anniversary of their 2001 split. Despite the claims being reported by various news stations and newspapers, the reunion was denied by bands members, including Claire Richards on her Twitter page. Richards also announced on 9 July 2011, that a Steps reunion would be "silly", but she would "never say never". However, contrary to these claims, just 12 days later, it was announced that Steps would be reuniting for a four-part Sky Living documentary, depicting their split and the intermittent years. The band would also release their 'Ultimate Collection', as well as potential new material.
In a new promo for the show each member reveals their true feelings, with ‘H’ sharing that he regrets the way it all ended but insisting, “If I were to revisit it and turn the clock back, I would probably have done it exactly the same way.” Evans has commented: “They took something away from three people that we loved and we didn't get a choice because certain people took that choice away from us and I think that is very unfair.” Steps Reunion begins on Sky Living at 9pm on Wednesday, September 28.
Steps recently said in a recent interview with Digital Spy
that they believe there is a gap in the market for their brand of "happy pop". Scott-Lee said "Times have changed, but we are in a recession and Steps' music was very light-hearted and fun, so there could be a place for that in today's society," "What else is interesting is that there aren't any boy/girl pop groups out there at the moment, so there's definitely a gap there." Steps released there Ultimate Collection on 10 October and became the bands third number one album, later the announcment of a nationwide area tour was confirmed for 2012 followed with a possiblity of a new studio album.
's one-woman musical Tell Me On A Sundrti Webb and Patsy Palmer
would alternate in the same role. In 2005, Tozer toured with the musical Love Shack, which also featured former pop singers Jon Lee
and Noel Sullivan
, and performed in a production of Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens
at The Venue Leicester Square
.
In 2006 she toured in a production of Me and My Girl
opposite Sylvester McCoy
, 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
. The tour continued into 2008, and ended in November. 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
.
Faye has recently filmed roles in the independent film
s Kung Fu Flid & Mixed Up
In 2010, Faye will be appearing in "In The Spotlight - Songs From The Musicals" touring a number of venues around the UK.
In December 2010 will be starring in "Aladdin" at the Grove Theatre in her home town of Dunstable along side Sooty, Sweep and Richard Cadell. She is currently represented by Olivia Bell Agency.
, Bedfordshire
. They divorced after five years.
On 24 February 2009, 7.30a.m, Faye gave birth to her first child, named Benjamin Barrington Tozer-Smith. On 5 December 2009 Faye married Michael Smith in a ceremony at Beamish Hall which was televised on an episode of Celebrity Four Weddings.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and actress; famous for being a member of pop group Steps.
Music
Steps were a pop group that achieved a series of charted singles between 1997 and 2001. Their name was based around a simple marketing gimmick: each of their music videos were choreographed, and the dance steps were included with most of their single releases. Steps formed on 7 May 1997 and disbanded on 26 December 2001. In total Steps have sold over 25 million records, including 15 million albums worldwide.Since Steps split on 26 December 2001, Faye Tozer has only returned to the pop charts once, duetting with Russell Watson
Russell Watson
Russell Watson is an English tenor who has released singles and albums of both operatic-style and pop songs. The self-styled "People's Tenor" had been singing since he was a child, and became known after performing at a working men's club...
, whom she met at a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Proms In The Park concert in 2001. Their UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
single Someone Like You charted at #10 in May 2002 and she joined him on his extensive UK tour around the same time. In July 2006, Faye was featured as a guest vocalist for Plastic Cinema for 2 songs: Take Me Under and Any Minute Now.
Ever since the band's break-up, rumours had been circulating that they would reunite in one form or another. In 2009, Lee Latchford-Evans revealed that the band had been approached to perform a series of concerts. He hinted that a future reunion was possible, but that "it isn't the right time right now".
In early 2011, rumours began circulating that Steps would reunite for a TV series and a one-off concert to mark the tenth anniversary of their 2001 split. Despite the claims being reported by various news stations and newspapers, the reunion was denied by bands members, including Claire Richards on her Twitter page. Richards also announced on 9 July 2011, that a Steps reunion would be "silly", but she would "never say never". However, contrary to these claims, just 12 days later, it was announced that Steps would be reuniting for a four-part Sky Living documentary, depicting their split and the intermittent years. The band would also release their 'Ultimate Collection', as well as potential new material.
In a new promo for the show each member reveals their true feelings, with ‘H’ sharing that he regrets the way it all ended but insisting, “If I were to revisit it and turn the clock back, I would probably have done it exactly the same way.” Evans has commented: “They took something away from three people that we loved and we didn't get a choice because certain people took that choice away from us and I think that is very unfair.” Steps Reunion begins on Sky Living at 9pm on Wednesday, September 28.
Steps recently said in a recent interview with Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
that they believe there is a gap in the market for their brand of "happy pop". Scott-Lee said "Times have changed, but we are in a recession and Steps' music was very light-hearted and fun, so there could be a place for that in today's society," "What else is interesting is that there aren't any boy/girl pop groups out there at the moment, so there's definitely a gap there." Steps released there Ultimate Collection on 10 October and became the bands third number one album, later the announcment of a nationwide area tour was confirmed for 2012 followed with a possiblity of a new studio album.
Film and theatre
Most of Tozer's post-Steps work has been in the theatre. In 2004 she toured the UK in a production of Andrew Lloyd-WebberAndrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
's one-woman musical Tell Me On A Sundrti Webb and Patsy Palmer
Patsy Palmer
Patsy Palmer is an English actress. Palmer made an early television appearance on the children's drama show Grange Hill, but is best known for playing Bianca Jackson in the popular British television soap opera EastEnders. Originally in the cast from 1993–1999, Palmer returned to EastEnders in...
would alternate in the same role. In 2005, Tozer toured with the musical Love Shack, which also featured former pop singers Jon Lee
Jon Lee (S Club 7)
Jonathan "Jon" Lee is an English singer and actor. Lee is best known as a former member of pop group S Club 7 who split in April 2003. He was the youngest member...
and Noel Sullivan
Noel Sullivan
Noel Sullivan , is a Welsh singer and actor. He was a member of the British pop group Hear'Say. Like the other members of the group, he won his part through the talent show Popstars.-Early life and career:...
, and performed in a production of Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens
Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens
Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens is a cult science fiction musical reminiscent of The Rocky Horror Show. The 2006 West End run starred Faye Tozer and was choreographed by Bruno Tonioli...
at The Venue Leicester Square
The Venue Leicester Square
The Leicester Square Theatre , is a 420-seat studio theatre in Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster, London, which opened in 2002 with the premier of Boy George's Taboo. The building originated as the Notre Dame Hall in 1953, replacing an earlier building that had been destroyed by World...
.
In 2006 she toured in a production of Me and My Girl
Me and My Girl
Me and My Girl is a musical with book and lyrics by Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose and music by Noel Gay. It takes place in the late 1930s in Hampshire, Mayfair, and Lambeth....
opposite Sylvester McCoy
Sylvester McCoy
Sylvester McCoy is a Scottish actor. As a comic act and busker he appeared regularly on stage and on BBC Children's television in the 1970s and 80s, but is best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1987 to...
, acted in the film Lady Godiva Back in the Saddle and appeared in the charity fitness DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
The Allstar Workout.
In 2007, Tozer appeared in a production of Dial M for Murder
Dial M for Murder
Dial M for Murder is a 1954 American thriller film adapted from a successful stage play by Frederick Knott, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, and Robert Cummings. The movie was released by the Warner Bros...
and in October began touring with the production Over the Rainbow
Over the Rainbow
"Over the Rainbow" is a classic Academy Award-winning ballad song with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg. It was written for the movie The Wizard of Oz, and was sung by Judy Garland in the movie...
- the Eva Cassidy Story playing Eva Cassidy
Eva Cassidy
Eva Marie Cassidy was an American vocalist known for her interpretations of jazz, blues, folk, gospel, country and pop classics. In 1992 she released her first album, The Other Side, a set of duets with go-go musician Chuck Brown, followed by a live solo album, Live at Blues Alley in 1996...
. The tour continued into 2008, and ended in November. At Christmas 2007, she appeared in the pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
Aladdin
Aladdin
Aladdin is a Middle Eastern folk tale. It is one of the tales in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights , and one of the most famous, although it was actually added to the collection by Antoine Galland ....
at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle
Theatre Royal, Newcastle
The Theatre Royal is a Grade I listed building situated on Grey Street in Newcastle upon Tyne. It was designed by local architects John and Benjamin Green as part of Richard Grainger's grand design for the centre of Newcastle, and was opened on 20 February 1837 with a performance of The Merchant...
.
Over Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
2008, Tozer played alongside X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
finalist Ray Quinn
Ray Quinn
Raymond Arthur "Ray" Quinn is an English actor, singer, and dancer. He finished second in talent show The X Factor in 2006, and won the 2009 series of Dancing on Ice. He also appeared as victimised teenager Anthony Murray in the Channel 4 soap opera Brookside...
in Aladdin
Aladdin
Aladdin is a Middle Eastern folk tale. It is one of the tales in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights , and one of the most famous, although it was actually added to the collection by Antoine Galland ....
, at the Broadway Theatre in Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
.
Faye has recently filmed roles in the independent film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
s Kung Fu Flid & Mixed Up
In 2010, Faye will be appearing in "In The Spotlight - Songs From The Musicals" touring a number of venues around the UK.
In December 2010 will be starring in "Aladdin" at the Grove Theatre in her home town of Dunstable along side Sooty, Sweep and Richard Cadell. She is currently represented by Olivia Bell Agency.
Discography
- 1998: Step OneStep OneStep One is the debut album by British pop group Steps. It was released in the UK and Europe on 14 September 1998. The album charted at number two on UK Albums Chart upon its release. In 2000, the album was re-released in the US, containing songs from both Step One and its successor, Steptacular...
- 1999: SteptacularSteptacularSteptacular is the second studio album by British pop group Steps, released in the United Kingdom on 25 October 1999. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number one, where it remained on the position for three weeks, selling 260,000 copies in the same time frame...
- 2000: Buzz
- 2001: Gold: Greatest Hits
- 2002: The Last Dance
- 2011: The Ultimate Collection
Tours
- Step One Tour (1999)
- The Next Step Tour (1999)
- Steptacular Tour (2000)
- Steps Christmas Tour (2000)
- Gold Tour (2001)
- The Ultimate Tour (2012)
Personal life
In 2002, she married her longtime Danish boyfriend Jesper Irn at the Priory Church in her hometown of DunstableDunstable
Dunstable is a market town and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, 30 miles north of London. These geographical features form several steep chalk escarpments most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north.-Etymology:In...
, Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
. They divorced after five years.
On 24 February 2009, 7.30a.m, Faye gave birth to her first child, named Benjamin Barrington Tozer-Smith. On 5 December 2009 Faye married Michael Smith in a ceremony at Beamish Hall which was televised on an episode of Celebrity Four Weddings.