"Tell me what you want what you really, really want!" This line must have defined the musical industry for many young girls growing up in the early '90s like myself. The look came complete with "titanic platform" shoes, which dominated the young fashion industry around the world.
The Spice Girls were the first major British pop music phenomenon of the mid-'90s to not have a debt to independent pop/rock. Instead, the all-female quintet derived from the dance-pop tradition. The group used dance-pop as a musical base, but they infused the music with a fiercely independent, feminist stance that was equal parts Madonna, post-riot grrrl alternative rock feminism, and a co-opting of the good-times-all-the-time stance of England's new lad culture.
Their proud, all-girl image and catchy dance-pop appealed to younger listeners, while their colorful, sexy personalities and sense of humor appealed to older music fans, making Spice Girls a cross-generational success. The group also became chart-toppers throughout Europe in 1996, before concentrating in America in early 1997.
How such a phenomenon came to an abrupt end is a blur to me. Too much rumors circulated about it before. Today, we come across bits and pieces of news about individual members.
Of course Victoria being Mrs. Beckham remains most visible. But recently, reunion rumors have started to surface. There were articles claiming that the girls turned down request for reunion performance for the Queen's Diamond jubilee celebration just recently.
Geri Halliwell echoed her former bandmate Melanie Chisholm's calls for a Spice Girls reunion performance to launch London's 2012 Olympic Games. Mel C. previously admitted she'd love to reunite the girl group, which also includes Melanie Brown, Victoria Beckham and Emma Bunton, to sing at the opening ceremony, which will be directed by Oscar-winner Danny Boyle.
Halliwell is in favor of the plan, insisting the "Wannabe" hitmakers are the perfect group to represent Great Britain. She tells Britain's Daily Mirror, "The Spice Girls are part of me and always will be. If it happened and felt natural and right, then I'm always open to singing with the other girls."
Adding, "Singing at the games is a great idea and would be an amazing opportunity and it's a sign the Brits are back. This is our time. Everything is circular and now there's a British pop revival."
But before we can see the most famous female pop group of all time, their fans were able to see all the girls gathered together for the premiere of a musical featuring their songs.
Last Tuesday and for the first time since they last appeared together on their 2008 comeback tour, the group met at the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel to promote new the stage show "Viva Forever." They posed for photos on the main staircase, where they shot the music video for their debut single "Wannabe" back in 1996.
The singers took to their Twitter accounts to share their excitement, with Beckham writing, "Good morning London!! Song of the Day (is) 'Reunited' (by) Peaches and Herb... Sunny day in London, so nice being home!!!"
Meanwhile Brown added, "Whoop whoop where my spice b**tches at!!!... Lovin ALL spice fans always!" Halliwell also tweeted the message, "Look back, realize how far you've come," while Chisholm wrote, "BIG DAY!!!" "Viva Forever" will feature 18 Spice Girls songs when it opens at the West End's Piccadilly Theatre in December.
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