Steps

The Last Dance (Nov 26, 2002 - #57). The band has made music videos for many of their songs. 5. The band's name is parodied in Terry Pratchett's novel Soul Music by the dwarf "rock band" "We're Certainly Dwarfs". Gold - The Greatest Hits (Oct 27, 2001 - # 1) (4x Platinum). Playfair defends Don Quixote's tilting at windmills, saying that the windmills of course were not giants, but thinking they might be shows imagination:. 4. Scott plays Justin Playfair, a man who believes he is Sherlock Holmes; his psychiatrist (last name "Watson") goes along with him in search of Moriarty.

Buzz (Nov 11, 2000 - # 4) (2x Platinum). Scott and Joanne Woodward (based on the play of the same name written by James Goldman.) In the film, George C. 3. The band takes its name from the 1971 movie "They Might Be Giants" (IMDB listing (http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0067848/combined)) starring George C. Steptacular (Nov 6, 1999 - # 1) (4x Platinum). He designed many of their album covers — including the famous podiums of Lincoln — and performs and sings on many of their songs, both in their albums and occasionally live. 2. Throughout their career, Brooklyn musical inventor Brian Dewan has been a frequent collaborator and friend of the group.

Step One (Sep 26, 1998 - # 2) (5x Platinum). Disney Sound released the CD and DVD separately on February 15th. 1. 2005 saw the release of Here Come the ABCs, TMBG's follow-up to the successful children's album No!.
Albums. Following the Spine Surfs the Hiway Tour of 2004, the band announced that they would take an extended hiatus from performing to focus on other projects, such as a musical produced by Flansburgh and written by his wife, Robin "Goldie" Goldwasser, titled People Are Wrong!. Words Are Not Enough/I Know Him So Well (double "A" single) (Dec 15, 2001 # 5). TMBG contibuted "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too," a political campaign song from the late 1800's.

Chain Reaction/One For Sorrow (remix) (double "A" single) (Oct 6, 2001 - # 2) (Silver)
16. All proceeds went to progressive orginizations such as Music For America and MoveOn.org. Here And Now/You'll Be Sorry (double "A" single) (Jun 16, 2001 # 4)
15. The compilation was released by Barsuk and featured indie, alternative, and high-profile acts such as Death Cab For Cutie, The Flaming Lips, and Bright Eyes. The Way You Make Me Feel/Too Busy Thinking About My Baby (double "A" single) (Jan 6, 2001 - # 2)
14. TMBG also became slightly involved with the electoral process by contributing a track to the Future Soundtrack For America compilation, a project compiled by John Flansburgh with the help of Spike Jonze and Barsuk Records. Stomp (Oct 28, 2000 - # 1)
13. (TMBG MP3 Music Store (http://www.theymightbedownloads.com/)).

When I Said Goodbye/Summer Of Love (double "A" single) (Jul 15, 2000 - # 5)
12. By doing this, the band gets to keep money that would otherwise go to record companies. Deeper Shade Of Blue (Apr 15, 2000 - # 4)
11. In addition, they started one of the first artist-owned online music stores, at which customers can buy MP3 copies of their music for US$10 an album. Say You'll Be Mine/Better The Devil You Know (double "A" single) (Dec 25, 1999 - # 4) (Gold)
10. They also went on tour again, visiting over 30 cities. After The Love Has Gone (Oct 23, 1999 - # 5) (Silver)
9. TMBG teamed up with Homestar Runner to provide music for several cartoons as well as hiring its creators to do an animated music video for their song "Experimental Film".

Love's Got A Hold On My Heart (Jul 24, 1999 - # 2) (Silver)
8. They followed that up with a new album, The Spine, and an associated EP, The Spine Surfs Alone. Thank ABBA For The Music (ABBA medley performed with B Witched, Billie, Cleopatra and Tina Cousins) (Apr 10, 1999 - # 4) (Silver)
7. In 2004 they released their first new rock work in years, the EP Indestructible Object. Better Best Forgotten (Mar 20, 1999 - # 2) (Gold)
6. They followed it up in 2003 with their first book, an illustrated children's book with an included EP, Bed, Bed, Bed. Tragedy/Heartbeat (double "A" single) (Nov 21, 1998 - # 1) (Platinum)
5. In 2002 they released their first album "for the whole family", No!.

One For Sorrow (Sep 5, 1998 - # 2) (Gold)
4. The film was released on DVD in 2003. Last Thing On My Mind (May 2, 1998 - # 6) (Silver)
3. The film, released in 2002, won rave reviews and several awards, and was featured in dozens of film festivals. 5,6,7,8, (Nov 27, 1997 - # 14) (Silver)
2. In 2001, they released the album Mink Car and were filmed as the subject of a documentary made by AJ Schnack titled Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns. Singles
1. "Boss of Me" became the band's second top-40 hit in the UK.

It is scheduled to air in the UK during 2005. This owes largely to the use of songs from all of the Giants' previous albums: the infamous punching-the-kid-in-the-wheelchair scene from the first MITM season, for example, was done to the strains of "Pencil Rain" from Lincoln. In November 2004, it was confirmed that MTV have commissioned a reality show following Lisa in the same vein as The Osbournes. The decision to include the TMBG single "Boss of Me" as the theme song to the hit television series Malcolm in the Middle, as well as on the show's compilation CD, has brought a new audience to the band. In 2004, she signed a new record deal, married boyfriend Johnny Shentall, and released the single 'Get It On' as a guest vocalist for the dance act Intenso Project. More recently, they composed and performed the music for the TLC series Resident Life and a song about the cartoon Courage the Cowardly Dog. Lisa was dropped from her initial record contract in 2003 after just two singles, with a third single and album consequently cancelled. They also perform the theme music ("Dog on Fire", composed by Bob Mould) for the Peabody Award-winning The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Lisa Scott-Lee has released three singles as a solo dance artist. They Might Be Giants have also performed on other movie and television sound tracks, including The Oblongs, the ABC News miniseries Brave New World, and Ed and His Dead Mother. Lee Latchford-Evans has appeared on UK reality shows 'The Games', 'The Match' and 'Celebrity Fear Factor'. Also in 1999, They Might Be Giants became the first band ever to release an entire album exclusively on the Internet with Long Tall Weekend, available through Emusic's "TMBG Unlimited" service. In the same year she married her Danish boyfriend Jesper Irn and a year later toured the UK in the theatre production of 'Tell Me On A Sunday'. In 2004, however, Dan Hickey left the band and was subsequently replaced by Marty Beller, who had already played with TMBG for kids' shows and other projects. Faye Tozer reached #10 in the UK with Russell Watson on the track "Someone Like You". The Band of Dans was a trio of guys named Dan: guitarist Dan Miller, drummer Dan Hickey and bassist Danny Weinkauf.

Ian Watkins subsequently took the lead role in the 2003 London production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. In 1999, the ever-changing backing band lineup settled on The Band of Dans, forming a full house line-up of Johns and Dans for almost five years. Since disbanding, Ian Watkins and Claire Richards (billed as "H and Claire") released three top 10 UK singles and a poorly performing album, which led to the duo being dropped from their record label in 2002. Several albums have followed, including John Henry (1994) and Factory Showroom (1996). After the group spent much of 2001 strongly dismissing claims of a split, fans were furious and accused the group of capitalising off the success of a host of merchandise released in the lucrative pre-Christmas market. The 1992 release of Apollo 18 saw Flansburgh and Linnell attract a supporting band, consisting of former Pere Ubu bassist Tony Maimone and drummer Brian Doherty. Many UK tabloid papers published the fans' disgust on their frontpages, displaying quotes taken from Steps messageboards. Following those successes, Bar/None Records released the B-sides and rarities compilation Miscellaneous T in 1991.

In 2001, following their shock Boxing Day split, the group were heavily criticised by their own fans. This reflects the high "kid appeal" that TMBG has, resulting from their often silly or absurd songs and poppy melodies. More seriously, Lee Latchford Evans was criticised for the following allegedly racist remarks in an interview: "Foreign people and people from ethnic minorities should all go home so that there can be more jobs for proper English people." Steps responded (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/850520.stm) that the quote was taken out of context. Further interest in the band was generated by a pair of music videos featured in Warner Brothers cartoon Tiny Toon Adventures: "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" and "Particle Man". Steps received some criticism for their tendency to cover other bands' tracks rather than develop original scores. Flood earned them a gold album, thanks to the singles "Birdhouse in Your Soul", which reached number 6 in the UK charts, and "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)". Despite a brief renewed effort in 2001, Steps did not pursue a lengthy campaign for US success, instead they focused on consolidating their UK acheivements, as one of the most successful pop groups of the late 1990s and new millennium. In 1989, they signed with Elektra Records, and released their third album Flood the following year.

However, their US success was limited to a #81 peak of their album "Step One", which for the US was a hybrid of their first two UK albums. The first single from Lincoln, "Ana Ng", reached number 89 on the UK Billboard charts, and was No.1 in the College Charts, earning the attention of major labels. In 1999, they were the support act for Britney Spears on her first US tour. This album caused a major shock within the US music industry when in its first week of release it knocked U2's The Joshua Tree off the top of the Billboard College Charts (the US music industry's equivalent to the "Alternative/Independent" charts elsewhere in the world) after only a one week stay at the top (most were expecting U2 to be on top for the remainder of the year). Internationally, Steps had their greatest success in Australia, New Zealand and Belgium, with #1 singles early in their career. In 1988 they released their second album, Lincoln. During their chart career of four years, they placed 15 consecutive singles in the British top 10, placed all four of their albums in the top 5 and reached number one with two of them, and toured extensively to sell out crowds. The video for "Don't Let's Start" became a hit on VH1, earning them a broader following.

In 2000, Steps were handed a special Brit Award for being the both the best selling tour act and albums act of 1999. The duo released their self-titled debut album in 1986, and it became a college radio hit. However, on the night the award was handed to the Scottish band Belle & Sebastian, who were assumed to be rank outsiders. Despite the allegation that a significant amount of votes for Belle & Sebastian were traced to one location, the band held onto their award as foul-play was denied by organisers of the Brit Awards. It soon caught the eye of Bar/None Records and earned them a review in People magazine. Pete Waterman, the mastermind behind the group, claimed to have been told days before the ceremony that Steps had won the award, as voted for by listeners of BBC Radio 1. They did many live performances in New York but when Linnell broke his wrist in a biking accident and Flansburgh's apartment was broken into and all his guitars stolen, they set up the Dial-A-Song system with an answering machine hooked up to a tape of them playing popular songs. In the same year, Steps were at the centre of a controversy surrounding the 'Best Newcomer' gong at the Brit Awards. Although they had a strong local following, they had a hard time getting a record deal.

Steps were part of the ensemble that released "Thank ABBA for the Music" (a cover of ABBA's "Thank You for the Music") in March 1999, as perfomed at the Brit Awards.The other artists singing were Tina Cousins, Cleopatra, B*Witched, and Billie. The band began performing their own music, accompanied by a drum machine, and soon became fixtures on the Manhattan underground. They continued releasing singles and reached number two with both The Way You Make Me Feel and Chain Reaction (originally recorded by Diana Ross) before disbanding on December 26, 2001. The two finally reunited, and moved to Brooklyn to continue their career. Their second, and final number one single Stomp reached the number one position in October 2000. Eventually the two went to separate colleges after high school, and Linnell joined The Mundanes, a New Wave group from Rhode Island. Over the next year they hit the top 10 several times, with songs such as Better Best Forgotten, Love's Got A Hold On My Heart, Deeper Shade of Blue (originally intended for Tina Cousins) and a double A sided single of Say You'll Be Mine with their version of Kylie Minogue's Better The Devil You Know. They began writing songs together in high school, but they never officially formed a band.

Their next single, a cover version of the Bee Gees Tragedy became their first number one single in January 1999. The two Johns first met as children in Lincoln, Massachusetts. The hit singles continued, with their cover version of Bananarama's Last Thing On My Mind, and the most ABBA flavoured of their singles, One For Sorrow, reaching the UK Top 10. They are also known for "Boss of Me," the theme to the hit television comedy, Malcolm in the Middle for which they won a Grammy Award. Waterman's stated intention was to try to recreate the sound of ABBA and blend it with a more modern style, however their first single 5,6,7,8 was a techno line dance and though not typical of what would become their style, it became their first hit. Their appearance on the show Tiny Toon Adventures also gained recognition for their songs "Particle Man" and "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)". They were seen performing by producer Pete Waterman (formerly of Stock Aitken Waterman) and signed to a recording contract on his EBUL label. TMBG's most famous songs are probably one single from each of their first three albums, "Don't Let's Start" (from They Might Be Giants), "Ana Ng" (from Lincoln), and "Birdhouse in Your Soul" (from Flood).

The group, consisting of Claire Richards, Faye Tozer, Ian Watkins (known as H), Lee Latchford Evans and Lisa Scott-Lee, formed on May 7, 1996. They Might Be Giants (commonly abbreviated to TMBG) is a pop/rock duo consisting of John Linnell and John Flansburgh, collectively known as "the two Johns" or "John and John". Each of their music videos were carefully choreographed, and the dance steps were included with each of their single releases. The Spine Surfs Alone (2004). Their name was based around a simple marketing gimmick. Indestructible Object (2004). Steps were a British pop group who achieved a series of hit singles during the late nineties and into the millennium. Bed, Bed, Bed (2003).

They Might Be Giants In Holidayland (2001). Music From Malcolm In The Middle (2000). Man, It's So Loud in Here (2000). Boss Of Me (2000).

Working Undercover For The Man (2000). S-E-X-X-Y (1996). Back To Skull (1994). O Tannenbaum (1993).

Why Does The Sun Shine (1993). The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight) (1992). I Palindrome I (1992). Istanbul (Not Constantinople) (1990).

Birdhouse In Your Soul (1989). Purple Toupee (1989). They'll Need A Crane (1989). (She Was A) Hotel Detective (1987).

Don't Let's Start (1987). 1985 Demo Tape (1985). Wiggle Diskette (1985). Users Guide to They Might Be Giants (album) (2005).

Almanac (album) (2004) (Internet release only). Venue Songs (2004) (Internet release only). Dial-A-Song: 20 Years Of They Might Be Giants (2002). They Got Lost (2002).

Long Tall Weekend (1999) (Internet release only). Live (1999). Then: The Earlier Years (1997). Live!! New York City 10/14/94 (1994).

Miscellaneous T (1991). Here Come the ABCs (2005) (CD and DVD released separately). The Spine (2004). No! (2002).

Mink Car (2001). Severe Tire Damage (1998). Factory Showroom (1996). John Henry (1994).

Apollo 18 (1992). Flood (1990). Lincoln (1988). They Might Be Giants (aka The Pink Album) (1986).

Experimental Film (2004) (animated, with Homestar Runner characters). Courage The Cowardly Dog (2003?) (computer animated, aired on Cartoon Network). Boss Of Me (2001) (premiered on FOX, some airplay on MTV2 and other stations). Doctor Worm (1998).

Snail Shell (1994). The Guitar (1992). The Statue Got Me High (1992) (two versions exist - the BBC aired a different variation). Particle Man (1990) (animated, with Tiny Toons characters).

Istanbul (Not Constantinople) (1990) (animated, with Tiny Toons characters). Istanbul (Not Constantinople) (1990) (claymation version). Birdhouse In Your Soul (1990). They'll Need A Crane (1988).

Purple Toupee (1988). Ana Ng (1988). Rabid Child (1986) (home video, not released publicly). Don't Let's Start (1986).

Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head (1986).