"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 following their formation after each group member responded to a magazine advert looking for people to audition to be in a pop band.
"5,6,7,8" peaked at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart (one of Steps' lowest chart positions) but has become the third-best-selling single of their career in the United Kingdom, selling 365,000 copies and receiving 3,440,000 streams as of March 2017. "5,6,7,8" peaked at number-one in Australia and reached the top five in Belgium and New Zealand. Its accompanying music video was shot on a beach and features the group driving quad bikes and dancing in a bar. "5,6,7,8" was performed on The Ultimate Tour in 2012, Party on the Dancefloor Tour in 2017 and What the Future Holds Tour in 2021.
Background and release
Steps were put together in 1997 following an advert in The Stage magazine asking for applicants to audition for a place in a pop band. Out of the thousands who applied, Lee Latchford-Evans, Lisa Scott-Lee, Faye Tozer, Claire Richards and Ian "H" Watkins successfully secured a place in the band. Latchford-Evans performs the majority of the song, while Scott-Lee sings the middle 8, or bridge. It was recorded at PWL Studios in Manchester, England, and mixed by Lee Sharma at the same venue. Upton also arranged the track and played the guitar, while the banjo, violin, drums and keyboards were played by Sean Lyon, Chris Haigh, Chris McDonnell and Twigg, respectively.
Al Unsworth and Bradlee Spreadborough served as the assistant engineers and it was mastered at Transfermation Studios in London, England. "5,6,7,8" features all of the band members on lead vocals except for Ian "H" Watkins, who only performs background vocals. Various versions of the song were included on the CD single in the United Kingdom, Europe and Japan, including an extended version, an instrumental and a remix by W.I.P.; the CD single in the United Kingdom and Europe also included the B-side, "Words of Wisdom", also written by Upton and Crosby. It was released in the United Kingdom in November 1997, and it was later included on their first greatest hits album, Gold: Greatest Hits (2001), the W.I.P. remix on their first compilation album The Last Dance (2002) and their second greatest hits album, The Ultimate Collection (2011).
Reception
Critical reception
Lucas Villa from AXS said that "5,6,7,8" "was the beginning of Steps' campy, feel good sounds." Andy Coleman from Birmingham Evening Mail described it as a "line dancing ditty". Gary James from Entertainment Focus noted that the song "stands out from the rest of their catalogue for being somewhat a novelty single." He added, "It’s blend of country, techno and pop had us reaching for our lassos and thinking perhaps Rednex had returned with a 'Cotton Eyed Joe' for 1997." Sophie McCoid from Liverpool Echo called it an "epic tune". Mark Beaumont from NME described it as a "more traditional hoedown". Peter Robinson of NME gave the song a negative review in 2001. In his review of Gold: Greatest Hits, he wrote "Steps were only signed for one single – with good reason, for '5,6,7,8' was shit of the very highest order." Similarly, Digital Spy writer Robert Copsey wrote that retrospectively, the track was a "bizarre" choice of lead single in his review of The Ultimate Collection in 2011. In a review of Steps' best-selling songs for the Official Charts Company in March 2017, Copsey noted how "5,6,7,8" distinctly differs from the rest of their discography in terms of its techno-pop genre, line dancing lyrics and lack of lead vocals solely from Claire Richards.