Mr.X

Oh wow this is an amazing thing to have. First of all, thank you so much for sharing!! It's honestly such a kick and joy to have this, as most of it is completly unseen I think the AI upscale does make them look so weird though. The original, even if grainy or old, would be much better, imo. It's ok to look rough, it was in 1996, literally 30 years ago. Technology wears out, and it is beautiful that way imo. Either way, thanks for sharing

This is amazing. Some VERY RARE footage from early days pre-UK/West Spice album release when they were promoting in Japan in summer/early Autumn 1996 has been released including some *actually live* performances (which was so rare back in the day lol). They sound amazing and this is mostly all unseen footage 😍 hate that it is AI upscalled though as they look mostly disfigured lol

was it?? I remember that and, well.......... I'm glad the Spice Girls didn't do that in 1997, and instead a bit later on would have been fun to do with a proper team behind it. Richard Curtis would have been amazing. Can you imagine Gerita's and Emma's acting though?....

Exactly. Don't really get the drag from the other comment lol... like, yes we are aware this is not 'new' and yes we all want 'new' things. It's just nice to have them officially put out there in great quality rather than fan-uploaded potato-quality videos (some of them with awful AI upscales where they look worse than the aliens from SpiceWorld The Movie!!)

The CD version is sold out on Italy and Spain Universal shops... maybe it is selling? lol Over the past two years they have been more focused on appealing to the Collectors' market, which is an interesting turn of events as they are maybe attempting to branch their legacy to a wider crowd rather than the usual fanbase that will just buy a new variant of Spice lol They have done partnerships with the Royal Mint, Royal Mail, now the Singles Collection box sets. these are not just a CD and vinyl (like Mel B called it lol), they are proper collectors' editions. Collectors have money and often they are on the hunt for special releases like these: expertly made, official, released by 'proper' companies like the royal mint and and which are rare or will become in the future. These Collection boxes seem very pointed to collectors rather than the casual, usual fan. Which might also point towards why so many casuals where pissed that this was the release and not something catered for them. The coins, the stamps, the collectors items... It's a clever expanse into more up-market products and will certainly bring in a lot of money and prestige, so good for them.

Did he? I know the girls were talking with Richard Curtis (from Love Actually fame) to do a TV series with them in 1998 and also Disney to develop an animated film, both of which got cancelled /thrown away when Geri left...

Yeah that release strategy was crazy! I never understood why Simon and the label agreed to it since the US market was so vastly different from the European one. They needed to promote there more, and could have easily waited a bit more and release the album in early 1998 in the US to coincide with the tour. That would have made much more sense and probably the radios and MTV wouldnt be so saturated by them. Ultimately, this is Simon's fault. He overworked them and not only they got exahsuted, but the industry got exhausted as well.

Yeah specially after Too Much and Stop, which are excellent songs and not necessarily songs "for children" or even Teen-Pop, and which had both been in the Top20 of Billboard and they were on a massive US tour in the summer... wild..

They have been releasing videos on YouTube of their performances on Top of the Pops from over the years, which is something the fans have been asking for, for ages. You can also buy them on iTunes as videos, which will count towards the sales and charts of their respective singles. So far, they have released the very first Wannabe performance on TOTP and the very last performance without Geri, Viva Forever.

You are not wrong. Radios in the US started to boycott them around the Spice Up Your Life release date as they were seen as an act for children, and then when Simon was fired there was an industry shift against them. In the US, priority was definitely given to Destiny's Child and TLC when it comes to girlbands BUT ALSO to teen-pop acts like Britney, Christina and N*SINC... The US has always been very 'America-first'... It's amazing how popular they still remained in 1998/1999 in the US, against this industry backlash though. And how they are still very popular today, they could still very easily sell out a massive tour over there and the GH sold like 1,5million copies there which is not bad at all

Randomly, two What I Am remixes have been released on a new mix artists EP REVERSAL 002 These are the K-Warren Remix and the The Groove Chronicles Remixes, both of which have been released on the full What I Am EP (2024). You can get them both here: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/reversal-002/6780516822

Yep, everyone wants new Spice Girls! It seems only the girls themselves don't...

I had a listen to it again just now and yeah it is one of their worst possible demos that we know of lol... at least Feed Your Love was somewhat more listenable and was 'new'. We had this and in this quality already, and it sucks lol

Damn right, Jay I think it is extremely sad on how they behave with most of the releases. It might not be selling millions but it is your own legacy of music we're talking about here and it is disrespectful. And yes, by their own fault, they have been reduced to rumours about a tour, Wannabe and selling tshirts. Funny enough, when the pre-announcement went viral, there were many people demanding a tour and an album, not just a tour. Clearly the demand is there. But some of them only see a tour as a possible way to reunite, which also is so self-defeating because they know two of them wont want to tour. I blame Mel C here, primarily, but also Mel B only talks about a tour as well. I think without new music or at least something new, it will be hard to convince Geri to get back on stage again. So they are stuck, stuckup and rude. It does not bode well at all for anyone. Fans are bored of this, and I bet the label is seriously pissed - again! I would be if not even one of them acknowleged any release since 2022!

You could tell Madonna was a bit taken by Emma, waving at her at first when arriving, giving her a big hug and even talking a bit with her before moving on to give her speech. She knows Emma is not just a Spice Girl, she is a Spice Girl that also released Free Me which has been hugely influencial in Madonna's own career (in my dreams)