Spice World

Em: 00:01:55

Hi, everyone. I'm Em, and welcome to Verbal Diorama, Episode 336, Spice World.

This is a podcast that's all about the history and legacy of movies you know, and movies you don't. But I see ya. Hold tight. This podcast is here to spice up your life. Welcome to Verbal Diorama.

Whether you're a brand new listener to this podcast, whether you're a regular returning listener, thank you so much for being here. Thank you so much for choosing to listen to this podcast.

Em: 00:02:22

I am so happy to have you here for the history and legacy of Spice World. And if you are a regular returning listener, thank you so much for continuing to listen to and support this podcast.

This podcast has now been running for seven years and, well, 336 episodes. So thank you so much for your support. It genuinely means so much. And animation season is over for another year.

After animation season finished, I took somewhat of an extended break to basically get some things done around my house, as well as buy some new equipment for the podcast. So I'm actually recording this with a brand-new microphone. Huge thanks to the patrons for funding this new equipment.

Hopefully, the difference is notable. Animation season is always one of the most fun things that I get to do on this podcast.

So whether you listen to all, some or indeed none of it, thank you for coming back to this podcast. Anyway, as we step away from animation briefly and instead give this podcast A bit of Spice, let me add a little bit of spice.

Filmed across just seven and a half weeks at the same time as they wrote and recorded songs for Spice World, their sophomore album, the Spice Girls meteoric rise to fame and the prophetic nature of this movie should be studied. In fact, it probably already is. Here's the trailer for Spice World.

Em: 00:05:51

The Spice Girls have become superstars and a global phenomenon as they prepare for what may be their most prestigious concert to date at London's Royal Albert Hall. Everyone in the world wants their two pounds of flesh from the girls at their expense.

Their manager Clifford and his behind the scenes boss, the Chief want to control all aspects of the girls lives with the sole goal of getting them to the concert in the best shape possible. A documentary film crew wants 247 access.

Amid the girls busy schedule, a Hollywood creative team wants them to star in a movie and pitches one outlandish idea after another. The London tabloids want to print whatever salacious story they can get their hands on, even if it ruins the girls careers.

Their best friend Nicola is nine months pregnant and wants them to be her baby's godmothers. And even some out of this world visitors want what all their adoring fans want.

Through it all, the Spice Girls just want to embody girl power and show that friendship never ends, not even with a bomb on a bus. Let's run through the cast.

We have Victoria Adams as Posh Melanie Brown as Scary, Emma Bunton as Baby Melanie Chisholm as Sporty, Geri Halliwell as Ginger, Richard E. Grant as Clifford, Claire Rushbrook as Deborah, Roger Moore as the Chief, Naoko Mori as Nicola Meat Loaf as Dennis Barry Humphries as Kevin McMaxford, Jason Flemyng as Brad, Richard O' Brien as Damien, Alan Cumming as Piers Cuthbertson Smythe, George Wendt as Martin Barnfield and Mark McKinney as Graydon.

This movie also features so many cameos, mostly by Jules Holland, Jonathan Ross, Elvis Costello, Elton John, Bob Geldof, Bob Hoskins, Jennifer Saunders, Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, among many others. Spice World was written by Kim Fuller, was directed by Bob Spiers and based on an idea by the Spice Girls and Kim Fuller.

The rise and fall of the Spice Girls is unlike anything we've ever seen in music history.

Their flame burned hot and bright, but not for as long as you might remember because they became so huge so quickly and even when they did eventually go on hiatus, they were such a cultural touchstone that they barely left our media nor our collective memories. Their creation is down in part to New Kids on the Block.

New kids on the block's success led to British boy bands in the early 90s like Take that and East 17 and Irish ones like Boyzone.

Boy bands flooded the pop market and over in the British R and B market we had girl group Eternal, one of the most underrated British girl groups of all time. I have to say. Coincidentally, the first auditions for what would become the Spice Girls were to stay by Eternal.

But in the 90s, British girl bands doing pop music wasn't seen as marketable or a money making venture in the music industry.

ce of the charts. In February: 1994

The ad said wanted RU 18-23 with the ability to sing, dance? RU streetwise? Outgoing, ambitious and dedicated?

Heart Management limited are a widely successful music industry management consortium currently forming a choreographed, singing, dancing, all female pop act for a recording deal. Open Audition Dance Works 16 Boulderton Street Friday 4th March 11am-5.30pm Please bring sheet music or backing cassette.

Around 400 young women attended the auditions. Geri Halliwell showed up to the auditions for the band after the first round had already been screened and decisions were being made.

She wasn't prepared and had very little idea what she was even auditioning for. Yet she managed to get a spot on the strength of her personality and determination and five girls were selected after several weeks of deliberation.

Victoria Adams, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell and Michelle Stephenson, not Emma Bunton. These five girls were chosen to become a girl band called Touch. The five girls moved into a house in Maidenhead to rehearse and bond as a group.

They started choreographing their own dance routines and worked on writing their own songs. A few months into the training, Michelle Stephenson was let go from the group in either for lack of commitment or close family illness.

on, as a replacement. By late: 1994

They were already a force to be reckoned with. Loud, vivacious, intimidating, energetic and determined. They already had girl power.

They were five girls, each from ordinary working class backgrounds, wanting to make songs that defined their generation and defined girlhood. Hart management, though, still hadn't offered them a permanent official contract, wanting to keep them on their toes and hungry for success.

After Heart set up a showcase performance in front of industry writers, producers and executives. The reaction was positive enough to persuade Bob and Chris Herbert to offer the girls a contract. But the girls refused to sign.

In January, the group began songwriting sessions with Richard Stannard, whom they'd impressed at the showcase, and his partner Matt Rowe. During these sessions, the songs Wannabe and Two Become One were written.

The Spice Girls wrote or co wrote all of their music and the reason Victoria doesn't have a solo in Wannabe is she wasn't there for the writing session and contributed her thoughts over the phone.

Wannabe was recorded in under an hour and not only did they also co write all of their music, they had a clause in their contract stipulating that they each receive an equal share of the songwriting credit, along with their regular writing and producing team absolute.

By March: 1995

They then contacted songwriter Elliot Kennedy and The absolute production team to write and record demos of say youy'll Be There and who do youo Think youk Are. A track called Sugar and Spice led to them renaming themselves Spice. However, that name was already taken, so they became the Spice Girls.

his management company in May: 1995

The characters of Sporty, Baby, Ginger, Scary and Posh, and the individual styles of each girl were a major part of the group's success. They weren't manufactured Personas assigned to them by the record company, they were actually coined by a journalist.

But once the marketing potential in their own characters became clear, they played it up for all it was worth.

Simon Fuller orchestrated a bidding war between major record labels for their debut album, with the Girls wanting to retain complete creative control over their personalities, looks and brand.

ned a five album deal in July: 1995

And in the tradition of the Girls not bowing down to their new corporate overlords, they put themed Spice Girl sex dolls in the limo the label sent to pick them up. But despite this shiny new record deal and this shiny new contract with Simon Fuller, there was an immediate issue.

Because the Spice Girls wanted Wannabe to be their first single, but the label did not. The label preferred Love Thing, a softer R and B song, or Say You'll Be There. Their reasoning was first songs don't often hit.

It's usually second singles that make an impact. But the girls stood firm. Wannabe was their introduction. It mentioned each member by name.

It was punk influenced and anarchic and intimidating on purpose. It wasn't a traditional pop song. It had a rap verse, it had Zigga Cigar and still no one truly knows what that even is.

It wasn't an overly stylized or managed debut. It was raw and honest like the Spice Girls were. Like they always did in their career. The girls banded together and said it was Wannabe or nothing.

The label relented. Girl power won again. And for each of their decisions they were steadfast and had a clear and concise ide of what they wanted and who they were.

ot through the Night in April: 1996

The video was even banned in some Asian countries because the cold was made Melanie B's nipples too visible. The label wanted to reshoot the video for the American market. The Spice Girls didn't. So they didn't.

hree in the UK charts in June: 1996

Constant TV appearances, radio appearances, public appearances. A never ending display of girl power.

ing singles of all time as of: 2010

ould be released in September: 1996

But in traditional Spice Girl style, she refused and she let her natural hair flow freely. And just to fully understand the timelines here, by the time their debut album was 15 months old, they had a movie out in British cinemas.

That's how quickly all of this happened. And it wasn't just the uk. The Spice Girls were a worldwide phenomenon of the likes we've not seen since.

Since sure, One Direction were big, but they weren't Spice Girls big. And success here didn't always mean success in markets like the us.

Oasis were one of the pioneering bands of Britpop along with Blur, but both acts saw limited success in the US. Oasis never had a number one album in the US. They had to make do with Top 5 and Wonderwall going to number 8.

Take that with a pioneering UK 90s boy band, but a relative unknowns in the US. Just like Robbie Williams.

Even Girls Aloud, one of the most successful British girl groups post the Spice Girls sold millions of records in the uk, but not in the us. The Spice Girls broke the US easily, unlike any other band had done. Except maybe for the Beatles.

new concept in British pop in: 1996

But it was a bit of a pipe dream at the time.

But in late: 1996

An initial idea from Disney with a fictionalised version of the Spice Girls, one of them being a single mother and another supporting an ill relative before they end up becoming globally famous, was declined by the Girls. Screenwriter Kim Fuller, the brother of their manager Simon Fuller, offered instead to write something on spec.

st of November: 1996

Also joining that lunch was Simon Fuller's brother, Kim Fuller, who would end up writing the script.

Simon Fuller would rather prophetically lay out the arc of the Girl's future career, including their future success in the us, and had a very specific idea of what the film should be, noting that the Girls weren't actors, they were the Spice Girls, so of course they had to star as themselves in the movie. Kim Fuller wrote a script initially called Five, which was Three Days in the life of the Spice Girls in the vein of the Beatles, A Hard Day's Night.

It would be bright, it would be fun and it would be bold.

Over the next six months, as their fame and success grew in the us, where most of the investment would come from, Simon Fuller's predictions were coming true. And day after day, the Spice Girls were becoming a more viable movie investment. They'd released four number one singles.

sessed with them and in April: 1997

And in May, the Spice Girls went to the Cannes Film Festival, where they arrived by boat in a big burst of colour, wearing headscarves in honor of Grace Kelly. The whole French town went crazy. Traffic stood to a standstill and crowds of 5 to 10,000 people formed to catch a glimpse of Sporty Baby Ginger.

Scary or posh. Now, Simon Fuller was all too aware of the wave the group were cresting on and just like the movie itself, mentions the inevitable backlash.

If A movie was going to be made, it needed to be made sooner rather than later. But he also wanted something that would stand the test of time and something that would sate the lust of Spice Girls fans across the world.

Because Spice Girls fandom was unlike anything you see today.

If you think that Taylor Swift's fans or Beyonce's or Rihanna's fans are voracious and passionate, they were nothing compared to the Spice Girls fans back then. Without the Internet's vast reach, the fans of the Spice Girls were desperate for anything to do with or about their favourite band.

Kim Fuller wrote the script based on the girls own lives and experiences.

They got together in a hotel in London to read it, and Geri was particularly involved and worked closely with additional writer Jamie Curtis once the script was agreed by everyone. What started as a bit of a silly spoofy movie for the fans and quickly turned into a probable blockbuster.

And anyone who was anyone in British music or TV who wanted to be down with the kids or on speaking terms with their own kids wanted a part in this movie. The Spice Girls themselves weren't actors, but Emma had been to the Sylvia Young Theatre School, so knew how to hit a mark.

Mel C had done amateur productions at Performing Arts college. As for a director, Bob Spears had worked on Absolutely Fabulous and Fawlty Towers.

While a few young new filmmakers were touted, Simon Fuller wanted someone he trusted. Spears had been working in America on the Disney movie that Darn Cat at the peak of the Spice Girl's popularity.

He was unaware of the group when first offered the job until his friend and Ab Fab star Jennifer Saunders advised him to take it. He arrived at a meeting with them in a New York City hotel, not knowing what the Spice Girls even looked like.

And this was a movie that was constantly evolving as well, because agents would call up the producers suggesting their clients for cameos and roles in the movie. Every new cameo meant updating the script. Script supervisor Sarah Garner nearly quit due to the endless rewrites.

The Spice Girls themselves also suggested actors they liked, like Alan Cumming, whom Geri had seen in Hamlet.

This would be just after his role in GoldenEye and Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, both previous episodes of this podcast, but before Josie and the Pussycats, which is very similar to this movie in so many ways. That's also a previous episode of this podcast.

People like Richard E. Grant had a daughter who was a fan and he gave the project credibility as the star of Withnail and I. Bob Hoskins did it for his children. Gary Oldman was asked to be in it by Geri, but unfortunately couldn't make it work.

He was also going to do it for his children.

Richard o'Brien, who is of course a queer icon for creating and starring in the Rocky Horror Picture show and for UK kids in the Crystal Maze, was also asked to be in the movie, as well as an actual James Bond, Sir Roger Moore, who did all of his scenes in one day with all of these people. It quickly became the celebrity cameo movie of the 90s when Kim Fuller cut Moore's ridiculously philosophical lines from the script.

Moore had actually memorized them all perfectly and wanted them put back in. Cue Sarah Garner raging from an office at Moore script changes.

Moore just played up the role perfectly, despite the little piglet weeing down his jacket. Meat Loaf wasn't the original choice for Dennis the Bus Driver.

Boxer Frank Bruno was originally cast, but quit the movie after his young son allegedly wasn't allowed to come on set for an autograph. This is a movie that was filmed on set and also on location in London. And filming was fraught with challenges from hundreds of screaming fans.

And media interest in the production was through the roof.

Newspapers were constantly reporting on the filming over the seven and a half week shoot, including calling Naoko Mori, who plays the girl's pregnant best friend, Nicola Rice Spice, which Mori found, quote, mildly racist but also pretty hilarious, unquote. With press and photographers nipping at the heels of the production, leaks were almost impossible to prevent.

The press's antics bordered on the ludicrous. Long lenses were spotted everywhere. People hung out of windows, dressed as builders, followed members of the crew and hid in bushes and trees.

Two even dressed as a pantomime cow and hid in a field of real cows, trying to sneak photos from a telephoto lens sticking out of the cow's rear end. I guess you really could call it cow moouflage. That's enough of that. There were even talks of moles on the set.

The movie was filmed in and around iconic locations including outside BBC Television Centre in London, Parliament Square, the Royal Albert hall, outside St Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Cathedral, Broadgate Circle, Millwall Inner Dock, not on the River Thames, Battersea Park, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, the Mall, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge and most of these scenes are driving the bus. The movie also takes place in the Royal Albert hall as well as Lowsley park in Surrey. The interior sets were filmed at Twickenham Studios.

Despite the gruelling schedule, the 14 hour days, the rapid pace of each shot and the Crack of dawn calls.

Many of the cast and crew remarked that it was an unusually enjoyable shoot and that the Spice Girls themselves had no heirs or graces and they were just down to earth, hard working and professional. As professional as you could be as a Spice Girl. But there were obvious issues. The timescale was incredibly tight.

The budget was also incredibly tight. Sequences were removed due to cost and others had their budget slashed.

They were never going to be able to afford to jump a real London bus over Tower Bridge. But the toy version is actually superbly kitsch and silly and really works for the movie. On screen.

Production values did suffer, even if the production design and costuming really squeezed every penny they could to look great and also age fairly well. Kate Carin was the costume designer and this was the first time the Spice Girls had custom made costumes.

And despite on screen Victoria choosing between the little Gucci dress, the little Gucci dress and the little Gucci dress. There were no Gucci dresses in the movie. All her dresses were custom made for her based on the little Gucci dress template.

Although there were plenty of custom pieces. Emma wore Topshop and designers like Blumarine while sports brands like Adidas were shipping boxes of clothes and shoes for Mel C to wear.

Geri's outfits were mixed with vintage pieces.

Shoe brand Shelly's London made custom footwear for the girls from Karin's designs, including a pair of black and white polka dot knee length boots for Mel B. They also had a deal with Marks and Spencer's in Marble Arch where they could literally go in and fill their trolleys.

Clifford's suits were inspired by 60s movies and comic book villains in monochromatic suits in purples and greens. And the assless chaps on the Dream Boys were Carin's idea as a joke.

conic Union Jack dress at the: 1997

The interior of the bus was described in the script as having no seats, luxuriously carpeted and sectioned off into five individual areas with five of everything. Five towels, five bathrobes, five toothbrushes, five clothes racks. Emma had fluffy chair, pink wall, lots of Teddies and My Little Ponies.

Mel B's area was mystical gothic with leopard skin throws and oriental wall hangings. Geri's was 60s pastiche, posters of Charlie's Angels.

Mel C's had an exercise bike and posters of Liverpool Football Club with Victoria's being voguish, sleek with a rail of expensive clothes and the bus had a kitchen area with drinks and food vending machines.

Horner collaborated with a variety of craftspeople, quilters, drape makers, metal workers and set decorators to perfect the tiniest details of the bus before production began on the Twickenham Soundstage. For inspiration he looked to the work of architects Norman Foster and Richard Rogers, both known for high tech expressionism.

It was supposed to be a modern dollhouse. The vaginal carpet design was apparently accidental though. Horner also owns the miniature bus which was hand painted by himself.

l proper bus was renovated in: 2019

It features a cosy living area with uni and jack cinema style chairs, a TV and CD player with 90s music, all Spice Girls. One hopes a dressing area, one bedroom with a double bed and a single bed and vibrant 90s themed decor.

According to Clive Tickner, Spice World's director of photography, although director Bob Spiers had impeccable TV credentials, including as I mentioned, Fawlty Towers and Absolutely Fabulous, he struggled with Spice World. Tickner alleges that Spears was often inebriated on set and his problems with alcohol affected his decision making and his attitude.

of Spiers, who passed away in: 2008

But producer Peter McAleese would suggest Spiers inexperience in feature films worked against him on the movie. This was a movie written, produced and out within a year.

st of November: 1996

At the same time the Spice Girls were writing and recording the album Spice World and were working from a mobile studio on site as well as going back and forth to Abbey Road in full costume and makeup from filming, they wrote spice up your life 24 hours before shooting that particular scene for the movie at the Albert Hall, Sony executives sent pages of notes. This was a fairly inexperienced production after all, with an inexperienced writer, director and main stars.

The notes suggested changes as well as subtitling Mel C's Scouse accent, but Then previews in Los Angeles went down well without the changes, and so they were scrapped. And with that they had a movie. But now is the perfect time to segue into the obligatory Keanu reference of this episode.

And if you don't know what that is, it's where I try and link every movie that I feature with Keanu Reeves for no reason other than he is the best of Men. And this is a really obvious one actually, because this movie has a bomb on a bus. And what other movie has a bomb on a bus?

Well, of course it's Speed starring Keanu Reeves, and that is the easiest way to link Spice World to Keanu Reeves. So as I mentioned, during the filming of this movie, the Spice Girls were also recording their second album.

An official motion picture soundtrack for this movie was never released because their second album, also called Spice World, served as the soundtrack to this movie. The movie features songs from that album as well as their first album.

Spice Too Much was released in part to promote the film and debuted at number one on the UK singles chart, becoming the Spice Girls second consecutive Christmas number one single. Very important in the uk. The Christmas number one.

It made the group the first act to reach number one with their first six singles and the first to debut at number one in the chart five times in a row.

th December: 1997

of whom passed away in summer: 1997

Also removed from the movie prior to release was a scene involving Gary Glitter, who was arrested just before release and faced trial for child abuse and child pornography charges. His song I'm the Leader of the Gang, I Am sung by the Spice Girls remains in the movie.

December: 1997

rd January: 1998

it was released on VHS in May: 1998

th anniversary in November: 2007

Despite all this, the movie is remarkably difficult to get hold of with second hand DVD copies selling for over £20 and no availability on any streaming or rental service here in the uk, likely due to the rights associated with the music contained within the movie, or Perhaps because the 30th anniversary is looming and maybe they want to re release it for that spice world in 4k anyone? I'm not suggesting it's going to happen, but it probably will happen for the 30th anniversary. Unsurprisingly, critics did not warm to this movie.

It currently holds a 35% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with a consensus of Spice World's lack of cohesive plot will likely lose most viewers, but for fans of the titular girl group, there's more than enough fun to be had in their wacky, albeit superficial whirlwind of an adventure.

Roger Ebert hated the movie, gave it one half of a star, saying the Spice Girls are easier to tell apart than the Mutant Ninja Turtles, but that's is small consolation. What can you say about five women whose principal distinguishing characteristic is that they have different names?

They occupy Spice World as if they were watching it. They're so detached they can't even successfully lip sync their own songs. That's pretty harsh, Rog.

Ebert, only three weeks into: 1998

But this movie has had somewhat of a retrospective critical reassessment over the years, with people calling it self aware and smarter than it was originally given.

Credit for something I agree with wholeheartedly the Spice Girls were milking the very male dominated, occasionally sexist and misogynistic music industry. They made music on their terms and they weren't going to follow the rules. And they didn't with this movie either.

It was nominated for seven Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Actress for all of the Spice Girls, Worst New Star for all of the Spice Girls, Worst Original Song for Too Much, Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay, Worst Supporting Actor for Roger Moore, and Worst Screen Couple for any combination of two people, body parts or fashion accessories. The Spice Girls won Worst Actress over Yasmine Bleeth, Anne Heche, Jessica Lange and Uma Thurman.

he Golden Raspberry awards in: 2004

Another movie written by Kim Fuller starring American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson, Needing five for the Power of Spice turned out to be remarkably prophetic.

Spice World's release in May: 1998

The remaining members assured everyone they would carry on as a foursome.

till, including Ginger Spice.: 1998

Both gave birth in early: 1998

tional activities in December: 2000

seconds. In: 2010

iccadilly Theatre in December: 2012

th anniversary in: 2021

There was a rumor they were looking for writers for a potential animated sequel, but it's unlikely Posh AKA Victoria Adams, then Victoria Beckham, now Victoria Lady Beckham would be involved because she's Lady Beckham and also arguably has had the most success post Spice Girls in her career as a high end fashion designer. But Spice World is a movie that wouldn't be made today.

It is a time capsule of 90s film and music meshed together in a movie that's more a sequence of vignettes than an actual story. As a movie, a piece of narrative, it's not really the Godfather, let's be honest, but as a piece of history.

A look into the complexities of 90s nostalgia, feminism, pop music, Cool Britannia and women in male dominated industries. It's a really fascinating and important piece of pop culture. For one, it aces the Bechdel test.

The test created by Alison Bechdel about female presence on screen and whether they only talk about men. The Spice Girls reference men and speak to men on occasion, but it's mostly all about female centric conversation. There are no love interests.

The love on screen is between the Spice Girls themselves. The male characters are mostly just cliched.

The highly strung manager, the spitting evil newspaper boss, the man of few words, pulling all the strings and speaking in metaphors.

Now, the Spice Girls themselves were a manufactured band, unlike how the movie itself frames their history as being lifelong friends who met in a coffee shop to sing their songs. They were created by men to sell records. They would ultimately become bigger than either Bob and Chris Herbert or even Simon Fuller could control.

Indeed, they sacked Fuller just before the movie came out. They were an uncontrollable force of nature. That's why young girls specifically were drawn to them.

They were rebellious, anarchic and completely unique. Every young girl could relate to one member. Every friend group had that sporty friend or that slightly posh friend who had Sky TV at home.

That was probably me. The fact they weren't polished, that they were fairly ordinary, made it easy to see ourselves in them.

And while it's easy to criticise the movie as them not being able to act. Listen. Victoria's one liners may not be intentional, but she is the silent assassin of comedy in this movie.

None of the Spice Girls had the talents of Adele or Ariana Grande in the singing departments. Except maybe Mel C. Whose debut solo album Northern Star is in my CD collection and it is genuinely good.

But what they lacked in talent they made up for in genuine heartfelt self belief and the confidence to just do it anyway. Which is something many young women lack, myself included.

So maybe we should all be a bit more Spice Girls Whether Girl power was a manufactured phrase simply to sell records and merch, or third wave feminism being made palatable for young Girls in the 90s, it's hard to deny the cultural shift the Spice Girls had. They were unlike any other group regardless of music genre.

They talked about bodily autonomy, femininity, identity and opposed rigid gender narratives in a consumer friendly and accessible way. You were never just one Spice Girl throughout your life. You could start as Baby and become Ginger.

They talked about sexuality and sex positivity through their music, but they were never overtly sexual.

The long standing rumor that Mel B and Geri were in a relationship during the heyday of the Spice Girls was all but confirmed by Mel B in an interview. Mel B herself has been instrumental to the visibility of natural black hairstyles in representation in media.

She challenged the 90s beauty standards by having her hair natural by literally being proud of her roots and defying suggestions to straighten her hair. The fact she was nicknamed Scary Spice feels icky looking back, but Mel B had a voice.

All the Spice Girls had a voice, but she used it louder than most and wasn't afraid to clap back. And good for her.

I'm glad we live in a world where little black girls can see her in all her natural beauty being one fifth of the biggest girl group of all time.

And this movie is not only the culmination of their incredible rise, it's also the start of the inevitable backlash and the Spice Girls descending from the throne of pop. But hey, what a journey it was. And girl power still means something if anything.

Despite their issues with Geri leaving the band that they have reunited several times. And if social media is anything to go by, the five remain friends. So maybe despite their manufactured origins, friendship really does never end.

Thank you for listening and as always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on Spice World. And thank you for your continued support of this podcast.

If you like this episode on Spice World, I mentioned a couple of other episodes at the beginning of this one and I'm going to recommend them to you now. Episode 87, Josie and the Pussycats because it is a fantastic and a wholly underrated movie that also has Alan Cumming in it.

And episode 124 Romy and Michele's high School Reunion, which is another kind of underappreciated comedy that has Alan Cumming in it. So there's definitely an Alan Cumming based theme. As always, give me feedback. Let me know what you think of my recommendations.

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