The Face in the Crowd

By Paul Stock

Not the best dancer in S Club, Rachel Stevens has more than made up for this on Funky Dory. PAUL STOCK asks 'what's the dory' from the former shoe shop salesgirl

That diminutive sex bundle, Rachel Stevens, even agrees with something of a dismissal of her role in S Club 'the one there to top all those FHM polls'. But as the two singles already lifted off Funky Dory, the David Bowie-inspired title track and the oh so bitchy Sweet Dreams My LA Ex prove, she doesn't need nobody else.

"In S Club I played a role in a band. Inevitably, with so many of us we were each given labels 'this one's the singer', 'this one does the dancing'... But now I can go off and be me. And I'm enjoying being me. My horizon's wide open now."

Indeed she goes on to qualify that maybe she could have done without waiting so long, kicking her heels, and twiddling her thumbs on the set of Seeing Double, that S Club movie which didn't do anyone any good and sent pop movies hurtling back to the type of direness we hadn't seen since someone told Dave Clarke and his flippin' five that a movie would help their careers and coffers no end.

"I've always wanted it. I'm a very determined person, and you always have to look to the future. In a way, I didn't want S Club to end none of us did but in a bigger way we knew that we all wanted to do our own stuff. I do prefer it. I think the rest of the guys would agree that we finished S Club at the right time.

"But I'm still getting used to how quiet it is without S Club. When we all used to travel together in convoy it was mad."

Finger-bleedin' good

You won't find the girl dissin' her S Club past either, to my eternal chagrin no, not even that lamentable film.

"Songs like Reach and S Club Party are pop classics and I'm really proud that I had a part in them. Pop should never be a dirty word, and I don't agree that you need to grow up in a garage with a guitar making your fingers bleed in order to be considered a musician. Just because you've come from a pop background it doesn't mean you have no right to make music.

"With S Club, we knew that it had a certain shelf life and it wouldn't last for ever. I love what I do and I want to carry on doing it.

"It's funny that now I'm on my own, I'm seeing it from a whole different light, you know, the business, even though I'm doing the same stuff TV shows, interviews, etc. I'm doing it differently this time and seeing different things. Before the videos, I'm going to the meetings and discussing with the director what we want to do. Getting more involved and having more input."

Indeed, this head-screwed-tightly-on Rachel has kept the services of pop svengali, Simon Fuller, the man behind not only S Club but also the Spice Girls, and who was involved in a certain little Pop Stars project. This is despite tabloid tales of some of the S Clubbers not being entirely happy with Fuller's machinations, something Rachel dismisses as utterly ludicrous.

"I've always had a very good working relationship with Simon and his team. When S Club was coming to an end, we had a chat about where I wanted to go and what he had in mind. Then it was a natural progression from there.

"The whole band was very satisfied with Simon's management of S Club, and what we earned. If it was an issue I wouldn't be with him now."

Ashes to ashes, funk to funky

The here and now is working out just fine too, with Funky Dory being a superb pop debut. There's songs on there written by the likes of Cathy Dennis and Guy Chambers, well known for their work with Robbie and Kylie. There's also a healthy smattering of tracks which can be considered for single release, from the resounding twang of Fools to the breezy yet affirming Breathe In, Breathe Out. Even better is Solid, the type of song that would trounce any opposition, pop-pickers. Even so, you get the feeling that it's the title track that Rachel's proudest of, and even if didn't follow the success of Sweet Dreams chart-wise, that doesn't stop it being a superb song. It's somewhat reassuring too, that Rachel not only appreciates the qualities of the Bowie track the guitar-riff sample comes from, but also the ethos of that song's subject matter one Andy Warhol.

"I heard David Bowie getting interviewed on Radio 1 and they played Funky Dory to him and I got the thumbs up," she veritably swoons at the memory. "I was actually quite starstruck to think that a legend like David Bowie was aware of me and liked my track. I've never been a huge Bowie fan but I love the guitar sound on the song, it's got a real Latin feel to it.

"I love pop and I love mainstream music, but there's more than one way to skin a cat. This album is the type of music I listen to and am passionate about. Pop is about more than popularity. Pop is a state of mind. Pop is art. Pop is an art. A pop song is never just a pop song, any more than a tin of soup is ever just a tin of soup."

Kinky boots

Despite being the one in S Club who won all those polls in lad's magazines, Rachel actually has some problems with her pert and perky ways. Good news for all of us not entirely happy with our body proportioning then.

"I'd like to be taller. One of the first things people say when they meet me is, 'god, you're really short'.

"I'd love to have long legs, but I'm getting used to my little ones now. I think they look great on my album cover I want more of that, please. I also think I've got very slightly webbed feet, but maybe that's my overactive imagination."

Talking about feet, Rachel has plenty of knowledge about them as she saw a great many pairs very close up when she used to be a shoe shop sales assistant.

"I was quite a good saleswoman actually, I was always very confident that I would sell the shoes. My technique was just to be honest, I think that is the key. If you're honest with someone then they'll trust you and are more likely to buy something."

The truth about cats and dogs

While 2003 was certainly a year where Rachel moved onwards and upwards in her career, it was one which had extreme highs and something of a low in her relationship with ex-Holby City star, Jeremy Edwards. The low point coming just as Sweet Dreams was getting released.

"It was a really hard time for me. However I think when you get through something like that it makes you stronger as a couple, and I think that has happened to us. We're back on track now and it's going well. It was difficult to concentrate on chart positions and things like that at the time.

"Jeremy was really drunk when we got together, he actually couldn't see straight!

I just knew he was the one for me. The brother of one of my very close friends was good pals with Jez, so I knew him a little bit already. Actually, I used to have a crush on him," she confesses.

"We argue about silly things, like who left the milk out. Then there's this thing where he wants a cat and I want a dog, which could be an issue. Even if he does give in there'll be problems. I want a cute, little dog and, if you're a boy, it's not good for your image to walk a little yappy thing in the park, is it?"

All this time spent as one half of a celebrity couple means Rachel is missing out on of life's little pleasures being chatted up (read accosted) by some sleazy lounge lizard. She claims she's never had the pleasure.

"I've never had anyone use a chat-up line on me. I honestly believe that people don't use them. I don't get chatted up very much at all. But I don't mind as I've got my man.

"People are very friendly and will come and talk to me if I'm in a club, but I don't see that as being chatted up."

As well as arguments about cats and dogs, it seems that Jeremy has to deal with Rachel's rather full-on phobias.

"I get so freaked out by lifts you wouldn't believe it I still won't get in one. It can be a real pain in hotels when I have loads of bags and I have to take the stairs. I've thought about hypnotherapy, really I have, and I think I might go for it.

"Spiders too! If I saw a spider I'd completely freak out. But not if it was on the other side of the room I'm not that bad. I normally just hoover them up or flush them down the toilet. And I used to be a bit scared of flying..."

Whip it good!

Talking of flying, Rachel has also of late been getting a reputation as a rather raunchy airport security nuisance, getting her collection of exotic whips confiscated at Heathrow Airport which was a bit much considering she just wanted to show them to the Queen.

"Yes, they wouldn't let me fly with them as they were deemed 'dangerous objects'. So Sarah from my management company had the lovely job at 8.30 in the morning of going to an equestrian shop to find me six new whips!

"I don't take them home, and I don't think Jeremy is upset about that. I think he'd be very scared if I came home brandishing whips and chains."

Just as well, as home already sounds like it contains a dominatrix's boudoir.

"I've got a rather saucy black leather bedroom. All my friends think I'm weird, but it's really cool. I've always had really girlie bedrooms and I fancied something more sophisticated. There's a black leather headboard with chrome around it and a matching black dressing table. And instead of bedside tables I've got these little black leather cubes with drawers. I love it."

Let's talk about socks

And get this lads, if your motor's already running from such saucy talk, she's also into cars. You can almost imagine her writhing around in a greasepit with this sort of talk.

"I love my little Mercedes SLK, it's my greatest indulgence. In fact, I love fast cars. Growing up with two brothers, I picked up loads of information about cars. I think boys are a little surprised sometimes when I talk about engine sizes and carburettors."

To finish things off, let's get comfy and talk about socks. Yes, you read that right, socks, but the girl can even put an eye-pleasing winter-warmer spin on something as mundane as this.

"I've got tons," she boasts. "And I've got these amazing, thick, comfy ones like legwarmers that I live in over the winter."