The 'Steptacular' album from Steps

Steps has hurdled the sophomore jinx. The British group, which is coed, with two boys and three girls made a big splash worldwide with its debut album Step One. That one had sellers like Last Thing on My Mind and 5,6,7,8. The second Steps album though, already has three hit singles to date, Tragedy, the remake of the Bee Gees classic, and two originals After the Love Has Gone and Love's Got a Hold on My Heart. And there is a fourth one in the offing and it promises to be the biggest ever. This is Make It Easy on Me, which was a big hit in the '80s when it was first recorded by Rick Astley.

Steps is made up of Lisa Scott-Lee, a dance teacher, cabaret band star Faye Tozer, Claire Richards, former member of the group TSD, stage actor Lee Latchford and camp entertainer Ian Watkins who is known simply as H for hyperactive. They got together four years ago and convinced ace producer Pete Waterman to give them a crack at stardom. Waterman was one of those pop geniuses who steered the careers of the likes of Rick Astley and Kylie Minogue to the top of the charts. For a new group, getting the chance to work with him can be compared to getting an imprimatur from the Pope.

Although there are five of them Waterman decided to cast them in the mold of the most successful coed group of all time, ABBA. They do sound like ABBA in most of their songs but more vibrant, more energetic and with a more diverse repertoire. The description ABBA on speed, truly fits Steps to a tee. It is no wonder then that the group was one of those chosen to perform the special ABBA tribute, Thank You for the Music at the Brit Awards last year. Now it may seem like a tall undertaking for a new group to follow on ABBA's footsteps, but with the massive sales of the second album, it can now be rightly said that Steps is definitely a success on its own.

Take note, as you will find several budding solo acts in Steptacular. All of the members have solo turns in Say You'll Be Mine, Claire and H duet on When I Said Goodbye. H sings My Best Friend's Girl. Claire sings I Think It's Love. Faye's solo is You're Everything That Matters to Me. And it is Lisa's gentle vocals, which can be heard on Make it Easy on Me. Those who want to hear more of Lee will just have to wait for the third album but he can be heard in all of the other songs like After the Love Has Gone, Tragedy, Love's Got a Hold on My Heart, Deeper Shade of Blue, Movin' On, Never Say Never Again, I Surrender, Since You Took Your Love Away and the new version of One for Sorrow.

There is no reason for pop music fans to miss the sweet sound of all-girl groups while the Spice Girls remains suspended in assorted stages of togetherness because B* witched is very much around. This pretty foursome made waves two years ago with its distinctively Irish-tinged tune C'est La Vie. The song was the first of a series of hit singles from the group's self-titled first album. Those that followed sere Rollercoaster, To You I Belong, and Blame it on the Weatherman.

B*witched has recently released its crucial second album and is now in the midst of a suspenseful watch for the sophomore jinx. Like Steps, there is a marked effort to come up with a tighter, better produced album with a more varied line-up of songs. The most remarkable cut is I Shall Be There where the girls share the spotlight with the famous World Music act Ladysmith Black Mambazo. This one gives Awake and Breathe a dark mysterious quality but teeny-bopper fans have no reason to be turned of because B*witched also presents higher tunes with lots of pop attitude.

They can still go the jig to the bouncy Jump Down, Someday is sweetly restful. Leaves, Are You A Ghost and The Shy One echo psychedelia. They sing for Grandmas with It Was Our Day, Red Indian Girl, If It Don't Fit and My Superman are unique pictures songs with lots of humor. Jesse Hold On is pure love. And the a capella In Fields Where We Lay makes you think of how beautiful Ireland must be.

B*witched is made up of twins Edele and Keavy Lynch, Sinead O'Carroll and Lindsay Armaou. Edele and Keavy are sisters to Shane who is a member of the also famous Boyzone.