Steps - Heartbeat

What this video is

Released 9 November 1998 as a double A-side with 'Tragedy', 'Heartbeat' became Steps' first UK number one single, spending 30 weeks on the UK Singles Chart and selling 1.21 million copies — more than the group's three previous singles combined. The video arrived at the apex of the late-90s British bubblegum-pop moment, when highly produced, narrative-driven videos for five-piece pop acts were a primary vehicle for…

Why it matters

A landmark release in the late-90s UK dance-pop canon: the first chart-topper for one of the era's defining pop acts, representing the peak of the Jive/PWL-adjacent bubblegum aesthetic. The video's theatrical fairy-tale register set a template for high-concept, narrative-heavy UK pop promos of the…

The director

British music video director and cinematographer. Served as director-DP across at least seven Steps videos (1998–2001), including One for Sorrow, Tragedy, Heartbeat, Better Best Forgotten, Stomp, and It's the Way You Make Me Feel. Earlier credits include…