Almost FAYE-mous...
Find out what happened at Faye Tozer's new video shoot....
When the glamourous Faye Tozer called us and said she was recirding a new single, we breathed a huge sigh of relief we didn't want her doing a Stephen Gately and dissapearing after the big split, never to be seen again. So, when she invited us along to join her on the set of her very first post-Steps foray into pop, we were there with bells on...
So here we are in a film studio in Manchester, where Faye is filming the video for her collabaration with hunky opera star, Russell Watson, Someone Like You.
Faye's looing cute and girlie, a far cry from her wacky Steps persona and Russell gazes into her eyes. Men in headphones snap clapperboards and frown when anyone coughs. The rest of the promo, which is directed by former Ultravow star Midge Ure, will feature them smooching on the dancefloor, walking on a beach and...yawn! This Romeo and Juliet vibe is a tad boring, but Midge assures us the video is about a relationship between Faye and Russell, so it would be sloppy stuff!
We find Faye in her star dressing room and knock on the door, only to be greeted by a very glamourous cleaning lady. Ooops, our mistake, it's Faye herself wearing a shellsuit!
The contents of her rider - lemon barley squash and cherry flavoured Tunes are scattered across the table. And she's also brought a glittery fairy with her, which she keeps in her make-up bag for good luck. "It was given to me by a special friend," says Faye. "They said, 'When you bring it with you it will inspire you to inspire others through your performance". And so far it's worked. "Well nothing's gone wrong yet," she smiles. "Unlike in the Chain Reaction video shoot where my nurses uniform fell open and I flashed at all the cameramen!"
Faye first met Russell Watson last summer at a concert in Hyde Park and soon agreed to join forces with him. "He is a very cheeky, naughty boy" she grins toying with her ringlets.
Since Steps first announced their split on Boxing Day, Faye's been to Hawaii, taken a crusie on the QE2 and performed with Russell in New Zeland. Now she's back in the UK, and busy working on solo material.
"I've been writing since I was 16 years old. The new stuff is definately going to have more of a rock edge to it. Jasper is going to play on some of the tracks. I'll be playing keyboard and piano and experimenting with samples," she reveals. "And as for my look, I'm going to start being me, rather than trying to fit an image." She insists there's no rivalry with her former bandmates. So, who is she still in touch with? "Don't ask me that. Next question!" she says, in the nicest possible way.
Have we struck a sore spot? "I'm not in competition with anyone, my new material will be out at the end of the year. It's not about who releases something first - I just want to make sure that the quality of the music is high".
