Happy birthday to Forever 🖤

However maligned by the press and the fandom in general (and the industry at the time), it remains one of their best albums in my opinion.

Songs like Holler, Tell Me Why, Wasting My Time, Let Love Lead The Way, If You Wanna Have Some Fun, Oxygen and Goodbye all in one album? All gorgeous, perfect songs. Even songs like Get Down With Me and Right Back At Ya could have been singles, with the right single-mix treatment done to them.

What are your favourites of this album? And what are your least favourites?

Which songs would you wish had been singles? And what type of video would you have given it?

Anyway, make sure to stream/download it today and buy the new vinyl 😜

Happy 25th anniversary! Also, ugh, 25 years since they last released an album.

I still remember being so excited to get the CD, wanting my parents to take me to the shops after school finished on Monday, but for some reason they wouldn't and said we could tomorrow, I was stroppy about it, and for that they made me wait until Wednesday lol.

12 year old me actually had a decent first impression of the album, and Wasting My Time was an instant favourite. I remember playing it and saying to my mum it was my new favourite song, and she said something like "well if that's your favourite than that mustn't say much for the rest of the album" - omg! No taste x

I'll always maintain that it's a very good album, better than many will give it credit for. Fantastic production, some of their best vocal performances, and there are great catchy hooks throughout. Maaaybe the track list order could do with some work, and for sure it should have had different artwork to represent it. Also sometimes I feel like it really should have been their fourth album, that there should have been an album between Spiceworld and Forever that helped to bridge the gap in the change of sound.

Forever is my favourite Spice Girls album!

13 hours ago, -Jay- said:

Happy 25th anniversary! Also, ugh, 25 years since they last released an album.

I still remember being so excited to get the CD, wanting my parents to take me to the shops after school finished on Monday, but for some reason they wouldn't and said we could tomorrow, I was stroppy about it, and for that they made me wait until Wednesday lol.

12 year old me actually had a decent first impression of the album, and Wasting My Time was an instant favourite. I remember playing it and saying to my mum it was my new favourite song, and she said something like "well if that's your favourite than that mustn't say much for the rest of the album" - omg! No taste x

I'll always maintain that it's a very good album, better than many will give it credit for. Fantastic production, some of their best vocal performances, and there are great catchy hooks throughout. Maaaybe the track list order could do with some work, and for sure it should have had different artwork to represent it. Also sometimes I feel like it really should have been their fourth album, that there should have been an album between Spiceworld and Forever that helped to bridge the gap in the change of sound.

the SHADE from your mum

But in all seriousness, I remember being so excited for new music from them and to listen to what they had come up with... I've always loved the album! It wasnt an instant favourite like the previous two but Ive grown to listen more to it than Spice or Spiceworld actually.

I listen to it often and it sounds gorgeous on vinyl.

I would have loved for them to really campaign for it with more promo and singles and always imagined a club-night disco type of video for If You Wanna Have Some Fun and a continuation of the 4-elements theme with Oxygen for instance...

But what I would have done was have them more 'together' in the videos. I think the individual sections in Holler are iconic - at least Vics and Emmas- but I wish they had more scenes together as a unit. So I would have loved them to correct that for the following singles.

And I can't quite imagine a tour would be mainly in black and red colours like the EMA's performance. I think they would have gone more colourful there. If they were really to stick to the 4-elements coming up together, they could do a tour set list that would encompasse this theme, Act 1 - Earth, Act 2 - Water, Act 3 - Fire, Act 4 - Wind, Act 5 - The four elements coming together to create Friendship/Togetherness

Would have been incredible!

Going through an oxygen phase at the moment!

It's so strange to think of the (admittedly brief) Forever era being 25 years ago...just because I can remember it so clearly.

The fan forums were such an exciting place to be in the lead up to the release. It seemed most of the fandom was in love with Holler. The tracks were posted on the old SpiceNews site. I limited myself to listening to only two. Tell Me Why and Right Back At Ya. I wanted to hear the rest of the album when I bought it.

Of course, my main memories of this era is how the group botched so much of the release. In the US, the album was out for weeks before the Holler video was debuted on MTV's TRL. It seemed such obvious mistakes were being made. The fan forums had a ton of claims about big upcoming TV appearances...and how the promo blitz was about to kick in. Then...after years of hype, the whole project was just over. It was kinda shocking.

But. Anyway. What about the actual album? I've always thought Holler and If You Wanna Have Some Fun are as good as the the group's previous singles run...and I really like Oxygen. The rest of the album, I think, is good...except for Time Goes By. Didn't like it 25 years ago. Don't like it now.

I'm partial to the Spice Girls' first two albums...partly because they sound like the work of people who were making the project their top priority. To me...Forever sounds like what it is; good work by a producer (Rodney Jerkins) who's doing his best...but is being overextended by how in demand he was at the time. In fairness to Jerkins, I like what he did for the Spice Girls quite a bit better than his work for Britney Spears. His work for Michael Jackson is punchier, but I don't think he gave MJ any songs as good as Holler.

But I have always maintained this. Forever had the makings of a hit, and the group wrecked the potential of a very expensive/high profile project. I have to wonder how differently things would have gone if they'd given Holler and If You Wanna Have Some Fun the same push that Mel C gave I Turn To You...or Victoria gave Out Of Your Mind.

Edited November 9, 2025Nov 9 by Piers

On 07/11/2025 at 15:01, vibe said:

Going through an oxygen phase at the moment!

it is such a gorgeous song! I personally think it is up there with Too Much and Goodbye

Happy anniversary to Headlines (Friendship Never Ends) the most bittersweet of all Spice Girls singles

Released as the lead (and only) single to promote their long-awaited for Greatest Hits, it is a ballad that really tried to reach the highs of their previous ballads but never quite manages to get anywhere.

The instrumental is lovely, but it never quite goes anywhere and they sound disjointed over it. Mel C and Victoria's verses after the first chorus sound out of place and copy+pasted in, and Victoria leading the second part of the chorus doesn't sound good at all (sorry Vicky...)... Mel B having no verse, is awful. She should have been given some of Victoria's parts imo...

Further to this, that bast*rd video... I don't even want to talk about it.

I think it is bittersweet because it could have been so much better and it just sounded and looked undercooked. A sort of 'this will do' type of approach, where they were all recording in separate countries (literally Emma, Geri and Mel C in UK and Vic and Mel B in LA), and were clearly just trying to badly replicate a formula of their old sound. Plus, they were clearly trying to make Victoria the main centerpiece both in the video and the song itself, and it just doesnt work because Victoria is QUEEN of Harmonies and she always delivers on a good bridge (Viva Forever, Goodbye) but to lead the chorus? Crazy!

The live version sounds a million times better, even if Victoria struggles with her parts (as usual)... the rockier elements were so welcomed and provided a much better production to the song, elevating it to a much needed high!

Bittersweet also because they barely promoted it, aside from a MIMED performance on Children in Need (video-ed in from LA....) and a couple of interviews. That, coupled with a strange and downright stupid release strategy (digital single first, Greatest Hits following week, and only then the physical single), it meant it was one of the biggest flops of Children in Need ever and their worst performing song to this day.

Still, I find myself enjoying it from time to time. It has a lovely sentiment but it's all a bit meh...

25 minutes ago, Mr.X said:

Happy anniversary to Headlines (Friendship Never Ends) the most bittersweet of all Spice Girls singles

Released as the lead (and only) single to promote their long-awaited for Greatest Hits, it is a ballad that really tried to reach the highs of their previous ballads but never quite manages to get anywhere.

The instrumental is lovely, but it never quite goes anywhere and they sound disjointed over it. Mel C and Victoria's verses after the first chorus sound out of place and copy+pasted in, and Victoria leading the second part of the chorus doesn't sound good at all (sorry Vicky...)... Mel B having no verse, is awful. She should have been given some of Victoria's parts imo...

Further to this, that bast*rd video... I don't even want to talk about it.

I think it is bittersweet because it could have been so much better and it just sounded and looked undercooked. A sort of 'this will do' type of approach, where they were all recording in separate countries (literally Emma, Geri and Mel C in UK and Vic and Mel B in LA), and were clearly just trying to badly replicate a formula of their old sound. Plus, they were clearly trying to make Victoria the main centerpiece both in the video and the song itself, and it just doesnt work because Victoria is QUEEN of Harmonies and she always delivers on a good bridge (Viva Forever, Goodbye) but to lead the chorus? Crazy!

The live version sounds a million times better, even if Victoria struggles with her parts (as usual)... the rockier elements were so welcomed and provided a much better production to the song, elevating it to a much needed high!

Bittersweet also because they barely promoted it, aside from a MIMED performance on Children in Need (video-ed in from LA....) and a couple of interviews. That, coupled with a strange and downright stupid release strategy (digital single first, Greatest Hits following week, and only then the physical single), it meant it was one of the biggest flops of Children in Need ever and their worst performing song to this day.

Still, I find myself enjoying it from time to time. It has a lovely sentiment but it's all a bit meh...

These Say You’ll Be There and Love Thing slanders…not on my watch! To me Headlines dies the moment they let Geri sing that long from the start

24 minutes ago, Rebel said:

These Say You’ll Be There and Love Thing slanders…not on my watch! To me Headlines dies the moment they let Geri sing that long from the start

where did I slander those songs????????????? Victoria shines in those, but sadly not in this one!

1 hour ago, Mr.X said:

where did I slander those songs????????????? Victoria shines in those, but sadly not in this one!

haha yeah I always champion VIctoria to take more lead but sadly she didn't sound as good like back in the days

Crazy to think this was 18 years ago. What’s crazier is that it was a 7 year gap from Holler/Let Love Lead The Way to Headlines or a 9 year gap from Stop to Headlines. ( singles to feature Geri). So it’s double the length of time.