Claire Richards' backstage rider is “mostly wine.”
The 46-year-old singer, who was part of pop group Steps since its formation in 1997 alongside Faye Tozer, Ian H Watkins, Lisa Scott Lee and Lee Latchford-Evans, will hit the UK in October and November on her Everybody Dance tour.
Claire revealed what awaits her and the rest of Steps backstage, and there's always plenty of alcohol on offer.
Speaking to Table Manners, a podcast hosted by musician Jessie Ware and her mother Renee, she said: “Yeah, mostly wine. Usually… a couple of bottles of Prosecco, a couple of rosés and whites. No reds. I used to have a bottle of gin and a couple of tonics for H, but now I have tequila.”
Ahead of his solo tour, the “Better Best Forgotten” singer described the show as a “big dance show” that will have fans on their feet.
She said: “It's all disco and dance hits from the '70s to now.”
“So it's just going to be a big show and there will be dancers and I think there will be other performers and I'm a singer. I'm a hired singer so I'm really looking forward to it because I get to do all the things I love and not have to worry about anything else.”
Clare also spoke about why Steps split up in 2001, citing “burnout” and “discord” between the five members, as well as demanding work schedules that took a toll on everyone.
She explained: “Ultimately, I think it was probably burnout. There was friction and things happened that became big problems because we were constantly being squeezed.”
“When I was in a band in the '90s, it was work, work, work, work. There was no time to rest, and the most I could get was about two weeks over Christmas.
“The rest of the time they're just sitting in a record company office managing schedules, with no thought given to the human being on the other side.”