Chris Herbert I knew the band were exhausted. But they were also becoming hard work as well. I couldn’t recognise whether it was pure exhaustion, whether they were suffering mentally, or whether they were just playing up. It was a combination of all those things. There was also a bit of bullying going on. Reach for the Stars is a wonderful way to encourage and congratulate those, regardless of age, who are celebrating a milestone…and feel ready to SPREAD THEIR WINGS AND FLY! According to producer Pete Waterman, the proudly cheesy Steps were supposed to be “Abba on speed”, a claim to which Abba might well take offence: their debut single, 5, 6, 7, 8, was ostensibly a nursery rhyme based around line-dancing. “One of the girls who auditioned [for the band originally] was quite deep and spiritual, and said it hurt her soul to sing that song,” Steps’ Claire Richards says. “I’m not that deep.” I was moving into my teenage years when the Spice Girls started, and so Iwas trying to work out who Iwas. But Iwas also trying to sort of hide who Iwas, and it was too revealing to talk about pop music. It was too revealing to say that you were afan of Girls Aloud, even, when they first started. And so Iwouldn’t.” Even at uni, Cragg would pretend to like Radiohead (“I kind of did… for abit”), while he was working out his sexuality and identity. ​ “I didn’t really talk about [pop music] – Ididn’t say that Iliked it.” Formed in May 1997, Five, AKA Ritchie Neville, Scott Robinson, J Brown, Sean Conlon and Abz Love, released their debut single Slam Dunk (Da Funk) just six months later and found themselves living in a house together as teenagers. The band’s 11 UK Top 10 singles, three Top 5 albums and two arena tours spanned less than a four-year period. That it ended in burnout, depression and fist-fights was hardly surprising given their light-speed ascent. In recent years, there has been a happy ending of sorts with Neville, Robinson and Conlon reuniting as a three-membered Five and releasing a new album last year. But it all started out via five lads standing out from an initial crowd of 3,000 wannabes that featured a pre-fame Russell Brand among their number …

Scott We had to lie and tell anyone that asked that Sean had glandular fever. We knew that he was having a breakdown and he’d left. But the label wanted to make sure that Kingsize was going to sell so they said we couldn’t tell anyone. You could include anything you wanted to by using the editable version of our cute printable bookmarks. We're sure that you have some great ideas of your own, but here's a few of ours to get you started:

Ritchie They wanted a band with edge and that’s what they bloody well got. We’re all very strong characters so eventually there’s going to be those eruptions. We were young, we didn’t have that level of maturity.

Scott J was breakdancing, which is hilarious because he went on to really not like fame and stuff like that. Everyone was standing in a semi-circle and J was in the middle doing head-spins. Brian Higgins is the British mega-producer who, along with Miranda Cooper and the rest of his Kent-based pop factory Xenomania, was the brains behind some of the most celebrated, most innovative and frankly best pop tunes of the past two decades: Girls Aloud’s Biology, The Promise and the aforesaid Sound of the Underground; Sugababes’ Round Round and Hole in the Head; Rachel Stevens’ highly underrated album, Come and Get It – acommercial failure, but so good it landed on The Guardian ​ ’s list of 1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die. Mark Beaumont If you see the indie versus pop thing as a bit of a battle, which to some degree it was, it woke the pop world up to the potential of what could be done with the internet. Over time, they certainly weaponised that. Chris Herbert It burned them out. In hindsight, I would never do that again. We took on too much too soon. Stars are echoes of the past. It's important to look to them for guidance, but as long as people reach for them, they never realize the beauty and potential awaiting just in front of them."From Emmy-nominated science TV star and host of Netflix’s hit series Emily’s Wonder Lab Emily Calandrelli comes an inspirational message of love and positivity. Pete Waterman Had I heard of them before? No. Had anyone? No. Did I care? No. I felt sorry for Steps. Reach for the stars. Although you will never touch them, if you reach hard enough, you will find that you get a little stardust on you in the process." To chat about Reach For The Stars, 1996 – 2006: Fame, Fallout and Pop’s Final Party, journalist Michael Cragg has worn aGirls Aloud T‑shirt for the occasion, from the band’s debut 2003 album.

Ritchie Neville I turned up and it was a media circus. There was press there and a Spice Girls tribute band performing. I was in this queue just going, “What the hell is this?” Mark Beaumont (writer for Melody Maker and NME) It was the first show of strength of the internet because the Brits were the establishment stronghold and here was Belle and Sebastian using the weight of their fanbase to break the stranglehold of pop. I think it was the first high-profile example of the internet being used to shift culture. The text is simplistic and straightforward, yet captures the hopefulness and youthfulness that is quite unexpected. The illustrations are beautifully rendered and wonderful done filled with wit and whimsical line drawings and photography, which give a delightful and charming aura for the book. Scott There would be rows that would break into fights. And J would always be in the middle of that. There were points where a couple of us would be recording and then we’d go and the other three would come in. Expect while reaching for the stars, people to whirl by with their dark clouds and storm upon you."

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p>An aspiring media professional, Srija is currently pursuing her Master's degree in Mass Communication at St. Xavier's University, Kolkata, after completing her degree in journalism. With experience in PR and social media, she has also honed her leadership skills through her participation in a youth parliament. Srija's interests include devouring books, watching movies, and exploring new places through travel.

In 1996, Take That, Britain’s biggest pop act, broke up. This was headline news. It prompted tears, the rending of garments and, according to Michael Cragg, left a vacuum that needed swiftly to be filled. Britpop still reigned, of course, but Britpop “was a bloke-heavy swirl of guitar-led authenticity, coke-sweat and lad mags”.

At Kidadl we pride ourselves on offering families original ideas to make the most of time spent together at home or out and about, wherever you are in the world. We strive to recommend the very best things that are suggested by our community and are things we would do ourselves - our aim is to be the trusted friend to parents. The story of a chance is about a small boy who finds a chance. I would definitely read this aloud to students to inspire them also. The reader will follow the boys journey as he takes chances and fails. What if you don’t get another chance? Don’t be afraid to take a chance that you have and regret it. Be brave and take a chance on yourself. A chance may be the start of something beautiful. Carl Schurz, a 19th Century politician, and former U.S. senator was the first one to use the quote 'reach for the stars' indirectly in one of his speeches. Since then, many influential people have used this quote in many of their saying and speeches.Want a disclosure about quotes as inspiration? This quote-list is everything that you all need in your life to feel motivated. Claire I remember Pete Waterman going crazy and causing a real stink because if it wasn’t us who should have won, Five were in that category, Cleopatra. It was all the new pop of the time. No one could believe it. Kidadl is independent and to make our service free to you the reader we are supported by advertising.