A step in a new direction

She may have come off second best in the recent chart battle with her former Steps colleagues H & Claire, but Faye Tozer remains undeterred and is heading into the studio to start work on new material.

For her first solo outing, Faye teamed up with opera star Russell Watson to duet on Someone Like You, which reached number 10 in last week's chart.

But the unlikely coupling were outdone by H & Claire, who went in at number three with their single DJ. But Faye says she was quite happy with her chart placing.

"I thought it would be between 15 and 20 because a lot of people had seen it when I was touring around with Russell," she says.

"And we didn't have the TV exposure that I would have had with Steps. So I was very surprised and overwhelmed really.

"I didn't feel in competition with H & Claire as it was a completely different thing. They did a pop record whereas mine was a very interesting ballad with Italian opera on it."

Faye is set to take a very different direction with her solo material. She goes into the studio this week to start work on her debut album which she says will have a more guitar-led sound.

"We start in the studio this week and we're starting from scratch. There's quite a few songs lined up that I like, that are the right kind of thing. And I'm hoping to co-write on every song, if they'll let me.

"I enjoyed doing pop music within Steps but it wasn't something that I'd choose to do myself. When I was with Steps I was always writing different music anyway. It was a hobby but now I can put that into practice.

"I don't know if Steps fans will like it. They followed me round with Russell so they're obviously adaptable.

"But I think some fans are into my celebrity rather than the overall picture so I think they are just fascinated to see what I'll do next."