Istanbul will always be my ultimate fave Spice live show simply because it was the first video I remember watching over and over again. :lol: You're right though, the staging was really dramatic and moody which gave it an edge. Their Naked performance was probably my favourite moment with Mel C belting at the end and the creepy voices (not actually sure if they were supposed to be creepy but they scared me :lol:). Also the costume reveal from Move Over to Wannabe. :wub:

Crazy to think that the last ever 5-piece tour was actually their worst ever :(

 

Of course it has some highlights, but the dark and boring staging, the awful set list and the costumes really kill the enjoyment for me. I went to see it at the 02 at the time and whilst of course it was amazing to see them for the first time, it was all a bit meh to be honest...

 

 

High points:

- Viva Forever - perfect, specially the music arrangement

- Stop

- Mama

- 2 Become 1

- Goodbye

- The intro was cute too, a great way to start the show

 

The mid-points:

- Who Do You Think You Are (the staging, cos the fact that it wasnt live was too noticeable)

- Holler (purely for the novelty of finally getting a live performance, but they sounded terrible and the arrangement wasnt the best either...)

- Headlines (it was cute with this live arrangement, though the staging could have been better...)

- Too Much (it was fine, but nothing special... I dont think the remix was particularly interesting at all)

- Wannabe (I often find Wannabe is just sort of.... there... when it comes to their live tours... a bit meh)

 

Low points:

- The solos were totally pointless... we wanted ALBUM TRACKS!!! At best, a solo medley would have been cute but this was just trash

- That awful Celebration covers medley...

- That awful If You Can't Dance performance...

- The Spice Up Your Life reprise. Totally pointless and awful

- The costumes... like, what the f*** was that?...

- The talking bits they had a certain points, were so clearly scripted that just sounded fake as f***...

- The cancellation

In comparison, I think their first ever live show still holds today as their best: Istanbul. All 5 were amazing, the staging was moody but cool and the vibe was Spice with an edge. The only thing I am missing from Istanbul show is a couple more Spiceworld tracks like Viva Forever and Never Give Up On The Good Times. Apart from that it was perfect!

 

Second would be Christmas in Spice World for the live arrangements and set list alone! Plus, *some of the girls* were incredible live at the time! Those performances of Step To Me, Viva Forever and Never Give Up were just incredible. The only bad bits were Mel C (sorry but she really didnt seem like she wanted to be there) and the costumes.

What where your favourite and least favourite live shows?

 

Do you live in my mind??? Because I agree with every letter you wrote here!

I agree word for word with that!!

This just came on to my YouTube suggestions and I had watch and it made me quite emotional :cry:

 

Their appereance at the MTV EMAs in 2000 was full of drama, a badly lipsync'd performance (it was already seen as bad to do that at the time...) and rumours of infighting. The performance itself was also met with a lot of indiference, whereas this was meant to be their big big return to the international performance stage. But they looked uncomfortable in their new, shiny, leather outfits and styling. Beyond the lipsyncing, the staging was quite... well... terrible and bare... whereas they usually would have simple choreo and a lot of colour and attitude, this felt too 'polished' for them, and the whole thing became so boring...

 

Plus, Mel C was visibly drunk and it showed both in the performances and in her demeaner towards the press and public. She even shouted at someone to 'Shut the f*** up' leaving the rest of them very visibly uncomfortable... Also, the interviews backstage were so... well... ackward and some of them clearly didn't want to be there...

 

I think this appereance and how it was received was the last straw of the camel's back, looking back at it. The reception was so frosty, off the back of an underperforming album (for their standards) and relenteless press-attacks in ways they probably hadnt experienced before...

 

It was also their very last appereance as the original 4-piece, led to them calling it quits and them as a group were not seen together again in the same room until 2007 <_<

 

This was such a bittersweet night, damn :unsure:

 

 

 

Weren't they supposed to be live but the record label forgot to pack the correct backing track or something so they had to mime at the last minute? Apparently Melanie C was seething about it and kicked off big time.

Which means they barely rehearsed it since they could have still asked for it to send over in time for the live performance

They should have booked MTV Music Awards in the US to promote Holler before the album release instead and here they could pushed onto the second gear, Tell Me Why or If Wanna Have Some Fun (and save Let Love Lead The Way for a double A-Side with this one instead)

I’ve always quite liked this performance. The choreography was more advanced than their previous routines and they all smashed it every time.

 

It never struck me that they looked drunk or uncomfortable. I enjoy how Melanie C throws her jacket off half way through. Given what the press were saying about her weight gain at the time, I admired that she was resilient and unapologetic.

 

Styling wise, I think they look really cool but such a drastic image change probably didn’t help with international recognition and promotion. But they were bored of the caricatures. So fair play.

 

Agree that live vocals would’ve improved public and critical reception.That was a shame because we know they could do it.

Weren't they supposed to be live but the record label forgot to pack the correct backing track or something so they had to mime at the last minute? Apparently Melanie C was seething about it and kicked off big time.

 

Oh. Yeah. That is what Mel C claimed...though even back then, I thought this excuse was wonky. There were pyrotechnics and a lifting stage...not to mention the need to get mic checks. For the purposes of going through things with the show's crew, all of this wouldn't have happened just moments before the live show. Basically, what I'm saying is...this was 2000, not 1960. Even if a mistake was made with a wrong tape, a file could have been sent to correct the situation.

 

Realistically, I think it was always the plan to lip-sync...but Mel C had been pretty critical of other performers not performing live that year. I'd guess the tape excuse was just the easiest thing for her to come up with...since she'd legitimately spent so much time trying to build her credibility. Why would they lip-sync the show? Well, the group's least confident live performer (Victoria) has some vocals in that song that are way more challenging than what came before. There's also the fact that...although they'd sung live on plenty of shows...they were never strangers to lip-syncing an awards show.

 

Side note. Can't remember the last time this was discussed in here...but there is a story to Wyclef Jean's "Spice Girls broke my heart" song that intro's them. His claim at the time was that he offered them a song, but they never responded. He was also critical of Darkchild...saying all the songs he did sounded similar. To Wyclef's credit, he did have a good run of hit songs around that time (both his and stuff he wrote for others). Who knows why a collab didn't work out. It could be as simple as...Darkchild was the executive producer on Forever...and had an interest in keeping the album as much of his material as possible.

They sang live at MtV Europe three years before so then lipsyncing that night was a regress in their professional career. I think they just didn’t find time as a group to rehearse and just decide to lipsync it. By 2000, we already had Britney and J.Lo lipsync to a pre-recorded vocals, the girls could have done the same too.

May I be the only one but I LOVED so much the image of Emma and Victoria on the Holler era. They were extremely hot and sexy! Also Mel B looks great , but love so much Emma with the big ponytail and Vicky with the long here . I think Holler will be always my fave Spice song ( sorry not sorry :D )

Edited October 28, 2024Oct 28 by Joshnat192

They sang live at MtV Europe three years before so then lipsyncing that night was a regress in their professional career. I think they just didn’t find time as a group to rehearse and just decide to lipsync it. By 2000, we already had Britney and J.Lo lipsync to a pre-recorded vocals, the girls could have done the same too.

 

If you are referring to their SUYL performance from 1997, I believe that one was playback as well lol They mimed to their Istanbul vocals because nobody had heard them at the time! The 'Flamenco, Lambada' section is exactly the same for both lol

If you are referring to their SUYL performance from 1997, I believe that one was playback as well lol They mimed to their Istanbul vocals because nobody had heard them at the time! The 'Flamenco, Lambada' section is exactly the same for both lol

 

Oh really lol now I have to go back watch both performances back to back. Well, at least miming to their live vocals would have still been better!

Never Give Up On The Good Times is the main song on the new Victoria's Secret TV advert

 

They should play the song in their stores too so I'll pay more visit :D

Didn’t they take the music video down on YouTube?

Honestly, they could just replace this ad as their official MV and it would work perfectly. I'm sure there are enough footage for them to frankenstein a 4 minutes music video form.

Didn’t they take the music video down on YouTube?

I forgot about that, I wonder why it was removed :unsure:

 

A fan upload:

 

I forgot about that, I wonder why it was removed :unsure:

 

A fan upload:

 

 

To be honest, it is a terrible video :blink:

It is what it is. I agree could have been much funkier I mean look at the incredible lyric videos, but it is cute enough I guess.