When those black london cabs stopped driving and lit up in the Olympics closing ceremony and the instantly recognisable beat of 'Wannabe' kicked in, I was so excited that I almost wet myslef, I felt like a teenager again. Yes it was the much anticipated and much publicised return of the biggest selling girl group of all time, ever! In the words of Ben Elton at the 1997 Brit Awards; "They are of course, Ginger, Sporty, Scary, Baby and Posh - the all conquering Spice Girls!" I only wish they could have been on longer, two Spice Girls songs is never enough.
Back in 1996, a group of five young girls burst onto the music scene with so much energy, they were loud, brash and full of beans. The Spice Girls made such a huge impact with only one song, one song that would come to define pop music for a generation, that song was 'Wannabe' a multi million selling number one in over 30 countries. This was only the start of it, a string of number ones hits singles followed, including three classic consecutive Christmas number ones, a smash movie, a sellout world tour. To sum it up, the Spice Girls were a global phenomenon that paved the way for the pop music of the late 90s and early 2000s, like Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys.
They were so massive, they were everywhere. From your packet of crisps, to your lollipops, they were on your pencil case, lunch boxes, they even had their own bloody PlayStation game, you name it they did it. There wasn't anything the Spice Girls wouldn't whack there name on to make a quick quid and we lapped it up, I remember collecting the postcards, any magazines with them on the cover and hundreds and hundreds of Pepsi ring pulls to get an exclusive CD with tracks that I already had but I didn't care, if it was the Spice Girls I wanted it.
Catchy pop songs and big personalities wasn't the only thing the group had going for it. What helped the Spice Girls become the runaway global marketing success was their style, each one of them had their own individual look that was copied all the world over. From the ridiculous platform trainers to kappa track suit, the little black dress, anything with leopard print on it and of course that iconic Union Jack dress that has become one of the most famous pieces of clothing in the world. There was something for everyone, and everyone had their favourite Spice Girl, mine was Geri, although I loved them all.
I was quite young at the time and was under the impression the Spice Girls had always been together and always would be, but alas, it wasn't to be. I can remember it as if it were yesterday, they had been on the national lottery draw to promote their latest single, but Geri wasn't there, they said she was sick and like a fool I believed them, even though the papers had been speculating for the last few weeks that she had gone and the Spice Girls were over, and they might have well have been. I was grief-stricken, but I'll always remember them at their best.
They amassed an impressive string of hits, including classics 'Spice up your Life', 'Say you'll be there.' I could go on, so I will! 'Who do you think you are', 'Stop' but my favourite has to be 'Viva forever' which is coincidentally the name of their new west end musical. After the success of 'Mama Mia' and 'We will rock you' the jukebox musical has become the in thing for bands to get in on, to rejuvenate their carer and to make a nice big pile of money and the Spice Girls have jumped on the bandwagon and who could blame them.
'Viva forever' has been written by the wonderfully talented and hilariously funny Jennifer Saunders and produced by Judy Craymer, the woman behind 'Mama Mia' so it's in good hands. Now I'm not to sure of the plot as of yet but I'm sure it will have something to do with girl power, friendship, sisters doing it for themselves, well you get the gist. I'm sure it won't be ground breaking but what it lacks in depth and artistic merit it will more then make up for in fun, brash, camp, ridiculous enjoyment for the family, anyone who grew up in the 90s and countless hen parties, I can't wait!
What do you think? Are you as excited about the new musical as I am? Let me know. Be sure to check out more from I Love The 90s
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