TBH I would like for them to do Glasto. It would bring them even more cred and we would FINALLY have official broadcasting-quality videos of the performances!

 

So, let's bring it. Who do we call? :cheer:

Edited June 25, 20223 yr by Mr.X

Its so gonna happen !!

think the Spice Girls are big enough for a full set on the main stage at Glastonbury, as the headliners of, say, Saturday night.

 

The legends slot is cute, but they deserve better!

think the Spice Girls are big enough for a full set on the main stage, as the headliners of, say, Saturday night.

 

The legends slot is cute, but they deserve better!

 

I don’t think you realise how huge the legends slot is… it is by the most reported slot of the whole festival and I mean if Glastonbury see Spice Girls as legends who are we to argue? Also they are not current in any way whatsoever so don’t see how they justify a main stage night time slot.

I remember us having this debate before! :lol: I do believe that the Legends slot is a better fit for them. I think they’d get a better audience / general public reaction by performing there in that context.

 

For some reason I feel like if they were headliners that they wouldn’t get quite the same response; unfortunately I feel that they’d not be regarded as being worthy enough for that slot (even if we know that they are more than worthy enough).

Has to be the legends slot!

 

They will have one hour and fifteen minutes which is enough !!

Im not adverse to the legends slot, just think that there is much more prestige in the main slot and they can do it.

 

The legends slot is also the type of slot you do once and thats it. Would seriously doubt that if they do a legends slot, they would ever be invited back again.

 

I think the main slot would be amazing, specially on a Saturday or Friday, and people would be warm to them. I want them to do Glasto and then come back again in a few years. The legends slot would be a one-off only though.

Geri and Melanie C were together today, watching the final of the Women's EURO 2022

 

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Today is the day! Good luck to @lionesses from all of us, you are an inspiration. Come on England!! @england #WEURO2022 #GirlPower 🦁🦁🦁

 

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@lionesses Heroes, one and all!! How incredible to watch a group of young women come together, have each others backs, change peoples perceptions and touch the hearts of the whole country. You have inspiried a generation of young women to lace up their boots and take on the boys! What a joy to watch this iconic moment with my fellow Spice Girl @therealgerihalliwell , We’re beyond proud. #eurochamps #girlpower #footballcamehome #thegirlssortedit

 

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At the final! @lionesses !

 

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Yay congratulations! @lionesses ! 🦁🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 so proud of you 👏🏻

 

 

There's also some stories!

 

Maybe we should ignore this one... https://www.instagram.com/p/CgsKYx6rY-6/ :arrr:

 

 

Sky coverage about the win actually references the Spice Girls: "Euro 2022: The Queen, Spice Girls and Three Lions stars react to England’s win" https://news.sky.com/story/euro-2022-the-qu...ds-win-12663268

Gerita the Chiquita's hair is VERY red.

Remember in the first few months of their fame when they all had false ages in the pop magazines? Emma was just 18 for a little while, I think maybe they had Geri as being 20 or 21? I assume this came from their management, and if so why would they do that and try and get away with it? :lol: I wonder when and how the truth came out? I don’t suppose it caused any controversy. Those pre-internet days could be wild!

Remember in the first few months of their fame when they all had false ages in the pop magazines? Emma was just 18 for a little while, I think maybe they had Geri as being 20 or 21? I assume this came from their management, and if so why would they do that and try and get away with it? :lol: I wonder when and how the truth came out? I don’t suppose it caused any controversy. Those pre-internet days could be wild!

 

I've always wondered how the girls would have fared if they launched in the internet era or the streaming era. I think that if they had launched and had the same levels of success then they would have transitioned into solo careers with a lot more success as it would have been easier for them to truly launch worldwide album campaigns and also gain more "sales" from lower charting singles but then I also wonder whether they would have been cancelled much quicker with some of the views and things they said and did? They truly were one of the last 'air of mystery' bands despite being so overexposed. They lost that along the way of course.

I definitely think so, they could have had One Direction style solo careers at least where they more easily charted with albums around the world!

I mean, Louis and Liam's albums went Silver thanks to passive streams. I feel like if their solo careers had happened today they definitively would've had better "sales" and more singles lifted from those albums. On the other hand, it would've just been inflated and not really been a sign of popularity either. I don't think things would've overall turned out differently. Geri still wouldn't have continued to release music once the hits dried up, Emma would still release music when someone else handles things for her and Mel B and Victoria probably would've taken interest in other things because music doesn't pay well if you don't tour. Melanie C would still probably be the only Spice Girl to continuously release solo music.

Remember in the first few months of their fame when they all had false ages in the pop magazines? Emma was just 18 for a little while, I think maybe they had Geri as being 20 or 21? I assume this came from their management, and if so why would they do that and try and get away with it? :lol: I wonder when and how the truth came out? I don’t suppose it caused any controversy. Those pre-internet days could be wild!

 

If I'm remembering this correctly, the fake ages came from that 1996 video press release that launched the group. It's the one that has them performing Wannabe (and has been misinterpreted as an alternate version of the video over the years). The girls themselves give wrong ages in that video. Super odd. Did they think Geri being 23 or whatever was going to sink their chances at radio? I don't think there was much scandal about the real ages cause they seemed to drop the charade so quickly. I'm fairly sure they were answering their real ages in some of those early TV appearances.

If I'm remembering this correctly, the fake ages came from that 1996 video press release that launched the group. It's the one that has them performing Wannabe (and has been misinterpreted as an alternate version of the video over the years). The girls themselves give wrong ages in that video. Super odd. Did they think Geri being 23 or whatever was going to sink their chances at radio? I don't think there was much scandal about the real ages cause they seemed to drop the charade so quickly. I'm fairly sure they were answering their real ages in some of those early TV appearances.

 

The only thing I can imagine is that the video is compromised of old footage and some of it was shot pre-August 1995, hence Geri is actually 21 in the video?

The only thing I can imagine is that the video is compromised of old footage and some of it was shot pre-August 1995, hence Geri is actually 21 in the video?

 

This is the video.

 

 

It's their electronic press kit from the Wannabe launch. It would have been their introduction to a lot of media companies (in fact, I still see a lot of shows borrowing from this video). Bizarrely enough, they actually used this video to open the 1997 Billboard Music Awards...with that soundbite of Geri claiming to be 21 when she was actually 25 by the time of the awards show.

 

I mean. They're definitely lying here...but my guess is Simon/Virgin/whoever told them to. They also tended to lie about how they long they'd been together early on. There's a radio interview clip in the One Hour Of Girl Power video where they claim to have been together for four years...when (at the time the footage was shot) they were actually several months short of hitting even the three year anniversary of the initial group audition. I think it was Rolling Stone that confronted them about lying about how long they'd been a group. But the girls just smiled and thought it was funny...so...it never really became a thing.

I've always wondered how the girls would have fared if they launched in the internet era or the streaming era. I think that if they had launched and had the same levels of success then they would have transitioned into solo careers with a lot more success as it would have been easier for them to truly launch worldwide album campaigns and also gain more "sales" from lower charting singles but then I also wonder whether they would have been cancelled much quicker with some of the views and things they said and did? They truly were one of the last 'air of mystery' bands despite being so overexposed. They lost that along the way of course.

 

I think there's another major factor that could have shaped their careers if they launched in the streaming era...that's not actually linked to streaming. The brutality of their reviews and the tabloid articles in general just wouldn't be as intense. The tides have somewhat changed in that arena. The way write-ups treated them is appalling by today's standards. It's not that reviews aren't still often critical/snarky. But just read NME's unhinged review of Northern Star. It claims the album is so bad that if Mel tries to record again, someone should shoot her to death because no court would convict them (I'm actually putting this more nicely than they did). Few critics were even bothering to listen to Geri and Victoria's albums...and were instead just launching into tirades about their weight and trumped up "controversies" (why they were so bothered by Victoria wearing a lip ring one time...I'll never know). I remember Mel C being branded "The One Who Ate All The Pies Spice". Honestly, I think so much hate crushed their spirits.

 

For Mel C, I think a pursuit of critical acceptance partly led to the bland, compromised Reason. Telstar folding is ultimately what did in Victoria...but she'd previously spoken about actually being happy enough with her chart positions, it was just her critiques that stung so much. I know the common perception today is that she didn't belong making music...but her unreleased pop material showed an honest artistic growth...until she second guessed herself and ruined it all with Damon Dash. Geri, I've always interpreted as an uncommonly sensitive celeb...and it's obvious the articles were a blow to her confidence. A lot of the solo albums weren't *perfect*...but had they been given fair write-ups by...sane reviewers/columnists...I'm curious if their collective solo careers would have soldiered on longer...and evolved differently.

I think there's another major factor that could have shaped their careers if they launched in the streaming era...that's not actually linked to streaming. The brutality of their reviews and the tabloid articles in general just wouldn't be as intense. The tides have somewhat changed in that arena. The way write-ups treated them is appalling by today's standards. It's not that reviews aren't still often critical/snarky. But just read NME's unhinged review of Northern Star. It claims the album is so bad that if Mel tries to record again, someone should shoot her to death because no court would convict them (I'm actually putting this more nicely than they did). Few critics were even bothering to listen to Geri and Victoria's albums...and were instead just launching into tirades about their weight and trumped up "controversies" (why they were so bothered by Victoria wearing a lip ring one time...I'll never know). I remember Mel C being branded "The One Who Ate All The Pies Spice". Honestly, I think so much hate crushed their spirits.

 

For Mel C, I think a pursuit of critical acceptance partly led to the bland, compromised Reason. Telstar folding is ultimately what did in Victoria...but she'd previously spoken about actually being happy enough with her chart positions, it was just her critiques that stung so much. I know the common perception today is that she didn't belong making music...but her unreleased pop material showed an honest artistic growth...until she second guessed herself and ruined it all with Damon Dash. Geri, I've always interpreted as an uncommonly sensitive celeb...and it's obvious the articles were a blow to her confidence. A lot of the solo albums weren't *perfect*...but had they been given fair write-ups by...sane reviewers/columnists...I'm curious if their collective solo careers would have soldiered on longer...and evolved differently.

 

 

I think you hit the nail on the head with their solo careers having soldiered on longer if it they had not have had those ridiculous reviews and the horrendous treatment by the tabloid press, partly because I think the public was massively influenced by the turn of the tide against the girls following what the press was saying about them blindly and turning their backs on them.

I'm still not sure if their solo careers would've lasted longer - as previously said, today you pretty much need to have other income besides releasing music to make a living off being a "solo artist", usually touring. The only one of the girls who've ever shown interest/willingness in getting down and touring in tiny venues is Melanie C - Geri gave up the minute it became apparent she couldn't do arenas and Emma's only done one off shows where she knows she'd sell out.

 

Geri liked having a solo career if it meant she could go to number one and do the whole pop star stick, Mel B never truly knew what the hell she was aiming for and Victoria always seemed half-engaged with it. Emma had a decent run with Free Me, but again, she kind of stayed away from touring because it meant she couldn't do the big pop star thing.

It’s a very good point about reviews! Critics were completely unafraid to stick the knife in with the Spice Girls and be so personal in those days. The NME review you mention is so shocking and simply wouldn’t happen anymore. It shouldn’t have done then either, but they got away with it because NME had a reputation of looking down on pop artists - it was seen by many as being expected, completely fair game and even hilarious. How times have changed.

 

It really is the complete opposite now - critics are largely afraid to write a review which isn’t glowingly positive (particularly about the biggest stars) because they’re too afraid of the intense backlash that can come from an artist’s fanbase on social media. Plus for some publications it’s no longer in their best interests to write anything too critical because it sours the relationship between them and record labels, and they need to keep them happy so they have access to exclusives like interviews.

 

So yes, I agree with many things raised, that if they’d been launching their solo careers with today’s conditions, they would likely have had an easier time of it in terms of how to promote it - instant worldwide attention after unveiling a new album on social media. The ease of that album being accessible everywhere thanks to streaming - no need for them to exhaust themselves by travelling all over the world for interviews and performances. And the girls not having to face such a huge level of demoralising scrutiny from the media.

 

It’s strange really that such a lack of kindness was seemingly an acceptable thing in British publications in those days. Melanie must have read so many things that would have got to her during the Northern Star era, and that must have been a lot to take. I always think of the Smash Hits Poll Winners Party from 1999 when this happened, from the votes of young readers of the magazine - Worst Group: Spice Girls / Worst Female Singer, Worst Dressed Person, Most Tragic Haircut: Melanie C / Worst Single & Worst Video - Goin’ Down. Though at least she avoided “Sad Loser of ‘99” which was won by Billie Piper… :blink: It’s wild that kids and teens were encouraged to send in their hate.