The Spice Girls were the biggest band on the planet in 1997, and it nearly destroyed them. In Part 2 of our POP 101 deep dive, we break down the Spiceworld era from top to bottom: the movie, the album they wrote while filming it, the sponsorship empire, firing Simon Fuller at their absolute peak, the Spiceworld Tour, and the day Geri Halliwell walked out and changed the group forever.
This is a full, honest discussion of how it all came apart. We get into every theory about why Geri really left, the reasons she has given herself, including the breast cancer awareness moment she has called her last straw, how she felt on stage next to four trained performers, the tabloid rumors at the time, the "she wanted to be the Spice Girls' Robbie Williams" theory, and yes, the Mel B and Geri situation that fans have been calling MERI for years and that is still going viral today. We separate what is actually confirmed from what is fan theory, because the honest answer is that nobody outside that group really knows.
Plus: Spice World the movie, the Razzies, "Stop," "Too Much," "Viva Forever," "Goodbye," the Aprilia lawsuit that proved the exact date Geri quit, and the four-piece finishing the tour anyway.
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Timestamps:
- 0:00 - Brand Deals, Endorsements and Merchandise
- 4:45 - ‘Generation Next’ Pepsi Deal and “Step To Me”
- 9:05 - Negative Press and Backlash
- 12:52 - Insane Schedule
- 15:58 - “Spice Up Your Life”
- 18:04 - Istanbul concert in 1997
- 19:55 - Firing Simon Fuller
- 21:25 - “Spiceworld” album and “Too Much”
- 27:43 - Spice World: The Movie
- 32:13 - The Spiceworld Tour 1998
- 34:55 - “Stop”
- 36:23 - Geri’s Departure
- 42:05 - Geri’s Reasoning
- 49:35 - Meri - Mel B and Geri’s Lesbian Relationship?!
- 57:09 - The Tour Continues with 4 Members
- 59:26 - “How Does It Feel To Be) On Top Of The World” and “Viva Forever”
- 1:02:00 - Final Stadium Shows in 1998, Initial Album #3 Sessions and Pregnancies
- 1:04:45 - “Goodbye”
References:
- Spice Girls Commercials Compilation https://youtu.be/zw54uEniaZg?si=8XfGCW_FjBJi3l1N
- Pepsi (Generation Next) Advertisement https://youtu.be/cYN3MdNqUlo?si=OwE1XYGf_r5E4kc0
- “Step To Me” Live in Istanbul 1997 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5mITybMokk
- Spice World Film Advert https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6gdrHYrVN4
- Spice World Movie Behind The Scenes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5MNi1G4TUU
- “If U Can’t Dance” Live in Istanbul 1997 https://youtu.be/V9x2yTH3rE0?si=dzhUpdyhmeObI2Ek
- “Spice Up Your Life” MV https://youtu.be/9wfpXI5PKlw?si=KCeXIhmfixCHPM7Y
- “Spice Up Your Life” Studio Acapella https://youtu.be/dokEqHIuqdk?si=bi1qYpasZQXkeWf_
- “Too Much” MV https://youtu.be/_4VoZ6afztc?si=5jAOP5hqwtYEZjSU
- “Too Much” Live at TOTP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L-MERfq-2A
- “Saturday Night Divas” Live in Istanbul 1997 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35uH7pQkvL0
- “Stop” MV https://youtu.be/5JD6ejmlpa8?si=J4miN9C57_u2XYhN
- Victoria scenes in Spice World https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMLzPJ7r7Wk
- Victoria speech at David Beckham’s Hollywood Star Walk of Fame Ceremony https://youtu.be/TWI6ik6OCWE?si=z3twCvxeRRZYuF3H
- Spiceworld Tour Live in Arnhem 1998 https://youtu.be/Q4L-Z_P7qVA?si=exb6vGFCiViHL9Qd
- Helsinki Press Conference 1998 https://youtu.be/B0wqs8bL464?si=flP_IzsQb3-yE2Oq
- Oslo Interview 1998 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnE6DorY6l0
- Geri Interview 1998 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb1eKYXTW7A
- “Get Well Soon, Geri!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10rR2j9JJ24
- Geri’s Press Statement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEnkpp7XFuA
- “Viva Forever” Live at TOTP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_Qe64YBpWI
- Mel B on Piers Morgan 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPP98mCvs1k
- Meri edit by @Camrentooreal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cnl5aR8UTs
- “Miami Spice” TV Special https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0QRYRrjZLU
- Spice Girls in America: A Tour Story
- “(How Does It Feel To Be) On Top Of The World” MV https://youtu.be/KW-GIPDTtAY?si=i8unAs2zakmTpqN-
- “Viva Forever” MV https://youtu.be/3wkuqRFXNvI?si=HI8uHa9IzQaMninm
- “Something Kinda Funny” Live at Wembley Stadium 1998 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mspqvRYKfI
- “Goodbye” MV https://youtu.be/eegDtyrSUZw?si=EosLTJ-paWB4sf-_
00:00:03 --> 00:00:29 By 1997, the Spice Girls were not just a band, they were an economy. Simon Fuller lined up multi-million dollar sponsorship deals with Pepsi, Walkers, Impulse, Cadbury, Polaroid, and more. And they fronted the launch of Channel 5, Britain's fifth TV network. Their book, Girl Power, sold 200 copies in a single day and was translated into more than 20 languages. And the official Spice Girls dolls went on to sell over 11 million.
00:00:29 --> 00:00:52 And in May 1997, they performed for Prince Charles at a royal gala. And they broke protocol when Mel B. and Jerry kissed him on the cheeks and pinched his butt. At the Ivor Novella Awards, Wannabe won International Hit of the Year and Best-Selling British Single. And later in the year, they flew to South Africa and met Nelson Mandela, who told the press, These are my heroes. That's our dear.
00:00:53 --> 00:01:18 Oh, man. Now, have you watched part one, which I advise you to do right now? Okay. Subscribe for more. And then, you know, catch up. I was pooping my pants around this time. No recollection. But in retrospect, the impact of this girl group is insane. This is truly the power of belief. All you need is one yes, literally. Or maybe several yeses from at least once from someone. Yeah. Yeah.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:44 um to take your life to a whole different kind of uh position and it's so interesting because i'm like this is proper exploitation um when i used to study a bit hear me out when i used to study business law music business law in school my professor was very much like exploit yourself if you're an artist make sure you're exploiting yourself exploit exploit i know it sounds terrible but what do you what else would you call it you're selling yourself that sounds worse and i was like okay um
00:01:44 --> 00:02:14 But that's the whole thing. It's like the word can be so pejorative, but you have to promote yourself. Write the books. Tell your story. Sell the products. It is greedy. But having a piece of the spice pie, even as a fan, must have been major back then. You can hop on the internet right now and just screenshot something and be like, I want this. K-pop, I think, is one of the only mediums that has figured out how to get people to buy things, how to pay for fan club engagements. It's figured out how to galvanize that whole system again. But it's...
00:02:14 --> 00:02:40 But back then, like the Spice Girls were your favorite singer's favorite singer. And even if you didn't like them, they're your fan's favorite singer. You need to follow that model. And they were selling. And it's a lot, though. It is a lot. And I remember not liking Beyonce for a while because I kept seeing her everywhere at McDonald's, Nintendo DS, DirecTV. And I already had DirecTV. And I was getting pissed. Was it the hair dye? I was like, what the heck?
00:02:40 --> 00:03:05 Like if it's like a media like Sailor Moon, I was like, I'm getting it. I'm buying it. Like it's a character. I want it on everything. But with music, I never really did that until I got older. And I think it's because of just like not understanding how the whole system of it works. This is good. Like I literally just praised the whole thing. I'm just saying like as a child, I was like, it'd be too much for me. I'd be like, I got to listen to the music and that. But yeah, I mean, as an adult, take my money. Take it.
00:03:05 --> 00:03:29 Well, yeah, I think that's interesting because I feel like as a kid, you do want to consume. And I think because they have the caricatures and stuff, people did think of them the same way you thought of Sailor Moon. They were a product. Yeah. You know, it makes sense. Looking back, it is kind of brilliant, right? Like they said they want to take over the world. And Simon Fuller was like, OK, I'm getting you every endorsement possible. And we are, you know, quote unquote, selling you out.
00:03:29 --> 00:03:55 We're going to take these opportunities now that they're here. And we're going to literally put you everywhere, like you said. We definitely were part of that consuming kind of group. Like, we bought as much Spice Girl memorabilia as we could. That's amazing. So also, shout out to my parents for letting us actually embrace this obsession, because obviously it was their money. That is so cute. I remember when I visited Hong Kong, when I was like nine...
00:03:55 --> 00:04:24 And we went to HMV. And at that point, you know, I only had the U.S. versions of the singles and stuff and the albums. And then they had the U.K. version of the singles. So I have every single, like, international version of every single physical single. So that's the music. But in terms of the other stuff, we had the lollipops. Like, we had the photo cards. We had the books. The magazine subscription. Like, pretty much anything we could get our hands on, we have. We have a giant box in my sister's house of all this stuff still. Yeah.
00:04:24 --> 00:04:51 That is so cute. See, like I said, I can appreciate it now, but as a child, I think I just, I was very much like, if it's mainstream, I don't like it. But I didn't realize I was actually consuming mainstream media. I was, you know, when you're young, you think you're edgy. But yes, I mean, this is what music business is about. You're supposed to make it a business and they made it their business to succeed. They made it their business to succeed. And we should highlight that Pepsi deal for sure because it was massive. And in 1997,
00:04:51 --> 00:05:10 The Spice Girls became the face of Pepsi's Generation Next campaign, and it was one of the biggest brand tie-ins in pop history. Pepsi already had the jingle, and rather than just singing it as is, the girls co-wrote a full extended version produced by their own guys, Matt and Biff, that then landed as an actual track on the Spice World album.
00:05:15 --> 00:05:44 And separately, there was Step To Me, a track from the first album sessions, which was pressed on an exclusive CD single you cannot buy in stores. And the only way to get it was to collect 20 pink ring pull tabs from Pepsi cans and then mail them in. And around 600 people did exactly that. Pepsi pressed roughly 92 million cans and bottles with the girls' faces on them. And for the girls, their first ever proper live concerts were...
00:05:44 --> 00:05:47 the two Istanbul shows that we'll get into more later.
00:05:47 --> 00:06:15 were a Pepsi-sponsored event, with most of the 40 tickets given away to competition winners across Europe. And Simon Fuller later claimed that Pepsi spent around $100 million on the whole campaign. And Pepsi apparently had a huge increase in global sales because of it. It was also, unfortunately, a big part of why the sellout and overexposed backlash started building. The girls were seen as a brand and were not being recognized for their artistic abilities.
00:06:15 --> 00:06:41 Yeah, so this is kind of going back to what I was saying about the whole, like, it's too much. It's so much. I like to, like, to toe the line of it. I think even now as, like, a K-pop fan, I'm like, okay, I don't need to buy a photocard off of eBay when I can just print the picture out. Right. So, unfortunately, they got wrapped up in that whole, like, what happened with Elvis? You know, all the toys, all the movies. Kind of missing out on the artist. You know, and he had to do his special and come back and everything.
00:06:41 --> 00:07:03 tragic story that man um but it is really cool to have this girl group be this powerful again in hindsight super amazing so many free tickets that y'all can afford oh my god never never with the blue dot fever that is happening right now i do wonder how much all of this would have lost with inflation now like but what were tickets like
00:07:04 --> 00:07:30 $70 if that. Probably less, yeah. Right, you know? But yeah, shout out to them for the, you know, Spice World and Spice Mania in it. Yeah. No, I think they definitely did too much, for sure. Pepsi, I think, was brilliant. Like, I remember that advertisement so well. Even sometimes now when I see Pepsi, I kind of, one of my thoughts is them. Yeah. You know? And also Beyonce and Britney and, you know, that later ad that happened. Yeah. But...
00:07:30 --> 00:07:51 um yeah i think all the stuff like i think even in the u.s we already got a little less like the fact that in the uk they were literally just the face of everything like it is a little bit too much you got to make yeah some strategic decisions here you can't say yes to everything you know um so i think simon maybe did take it a little too far but also get your bag as well
00:07:51 --> 00:08:14 Yeah, both sides, you know, both can be true. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I will say, though, and unfortunately for the Pepsi campaign, the U.S. did not get to take part in that Step to Me single situation. Because, you know, I would have definitely taken part. But thank you to my sister, who did get me the Step to Me single years later on eBay. That is so cute. Because Step to Me is brilliant. Yes, you know what? And it deserves a moment.
00:08:14 --> 00:08:36 Shout out to eBay. Seriously, bring your Step to Me single back here. We are not sponsored by eBay, but if they do want to, I'm totally open to it because literally I have a light stick from a Japanese performance from Shiny from eBay as well. Shout out to eBay for having all the music memorabilia legitimized as well. So shout out to y'all. That is awesome. Yes. Yes. Just to give a little moment for Step to Me.
00:08:41 --> 00:09:01 It's rocky. Yes. The vocals are perfect. Mel B's rap verse, one of her best in the discography. It is a moment. Every time they included it in the set lists. Yeah. This song, I love that it got this moment. And I remember the first time I actually heard it as well, but we'll get into that when we talk about Istanbul's show.
00:09:01 --> 00:09:18 Istanbul. Yes. Oh my goodness. So as you mentioned earlier, the downside of being so popular is that the British press and the global press, but especially the British press, made tearing them down a national sport. So the paparazzi followed them constantly. The tabloids ran everywhere.
00:09:18 --> 00:09:35 Endless split rumors, infighting rumors, and even a supposed affair between Emma and Simon Fuller. The band that invented girl power spent its imperial phase being body shamed, pitted against each other, and asked constantly when they would break up. Oh, Lord Jesus. You know...
00:09:36 --> 00:10:04 the media back then oh boy yeah they pissed me off um like nothing really grinds my gears more than looking back at what the tables were saying about celebrities like period like it's one thing if they were doing crazy things like um i don't know punching each other at a club or whether that that is you know okay but the whole body attacking face that every attack everything just feels very much just nasty and evil as opposed to actually doing uh
00:10:04 --> 00:10:29 covering something um but i think it's also the consumer is like we we keep them in in business um um i'm saying we because you know i i do my fair share of oh what's going on um but i do it with evidence i like a good little bit of evidence i like essay videos but um i can understand like looking back now even uh now with like britney crying about
00:10:29 --> 00:10:48 paparazzi harassing her and things like that. It just got aggressive. Like, we all are going to talk crap once in a while. Oh, my God. And not like that alpha girl. Like, oh, my God. You know, we do that. But I think it just became very just nasty. And, like, thinking about Britney or, like, other celebrities, even male celebrities, they kind of just got it really badly. Yeah. But, you know, I don't know.
00:10:48 --> 00:11:03 it's a lot. And I can only imagine what that was like trying to navigate all of that and then people in your ears and you're just still trying to develop being a woman. Like they weren't even like past 25 yet. That's what sucks the most about it. Like if you, ladies, if you're listening to this,
00:11:04 --> 00:11:19 You guys know what I'm talking about. Like that weird little spot between like that college age and like 25. Everything sucks. Your body's still doing things. You know, like you might find someone that you actually like and then like you don't and then they're famous. It's a lot. I just can't. It's stressing me out. I know.
00:11:19 --> 00:11:35 I know, thinking back about it, right, I didn't really know much about it at the time. Like, obviously, there were a lot of stories about them. But I don't think, I mean, I wasn't reading the newspaper or anything, you know, like, I was like, eight. So I didn't hear about all the split rumors and stuff. I very much had the kind of...
00:11:35 --> 00:12:01 thought you know they're just best friends and they're like living their best lives or whatever um so now having read all the autobiographies listen to all the interviews yeah um it is insane how horrifically they were treated and we even know now the tabloids took it way too far like they they were tapping the girls phones they were stalking family members and friends and then all the people in their lives as well these ex-boyfriends and stuff they were selling their stories to the press right
00:12:02 --> 00:12:22 You know, and I think the most unfortunate part, though, and this is the downfall of all of our favorite groups, is through all this pressure, they were not fully able to stay fully united at the time. You know, it's a really intense environment. So they have talked about that there was a lot of infighting.
00:12:22 --> 00:12:43 The girls have also spoken about bullying, you know, within the members as well, and just that their relationships were starting to deteriorate a little bit. And as you mentioned, they were also going through personal struggles as well. Now they were starting to develop some, you know, EDs, depression. Yeah. There was a lot going on and a lot of pressure put on them. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
00:12:43 --> 00:12:59 And, you know, we'll get into what that led to now. Yeah. Yeah. All right. So, as we mentioned, the schedule was nonstop. Spice World, the movie, began filming in June 1997, and it wrapped up in August. Yeah.
00:12:59 --> 00:13:21 So they had a really quick schedule. And not only that, it was supposed to be set to songs from the second album, except no songs had been written when filming began. So the group wrote and recorded an entire Spice World album while filming their movie. And one of the songs was stopped. And the lyrics are literally about their frustration at being overworked by their own management.
00:13:21 --> 00:13:39 And the movie itself was a deliberate Hard Day's Night homage directed by Bob Spears, and it's stuffed with cameos and huge stars like Richard E. Grant, Roger Moore, Elton John, Meatloaf, Jennifer Saunders, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Elvis Costello, Bob Hoskins, and Alan Cumming. 1997 sounds like heck for them.
00:13:39 --> 00:14:00 Oh, my gosh. I know. Like I said earlier, we were touring the world. What are you doing? Pooping my pants. And thank God, because literally I would be pooping my pants if I was a grown woman and I saw my schedule. I think about again, when I think about their schedule, because it was different back then. Like, yes, they had veto power and like they had ways to say, no, I don't want to do this. But what they also did not have is full control over their schedule.
00:14:00 --> 00:14:27 image i think in terms of how much is getting pushed out because why in the world are we talking about a movie right now you know yeah so well i think they wanted the movie but it was just everything was happening at once you know what i mean then the movie should have waited but i understand i can two things can exist at the same point i think yes as we're discussing this i'm hoping that the spice fans have a little bit of sense to understand that even though i'm criticizing i do appreciate all the work they did um
00:14:27 --> 00:14:55 But yeah, it's a lot. Because I think about Billie Eilish, when she saw her schedule for a year, she completely shut down mentally. There's five of them with five different problems, five different issues, five different opinions. And they all have to be on the same page. It is a lot. Oh, my gosh. But also, the wave of singers making movies that coincide with albums, I'm kind of sad and glad that that era is over. Like, it throws off the flow of creativity. But it's also just really exhausting to work on set. Like, I've been on...
00:14:55 --> 00:15:09 Some for like days, not days on it, kind of. It was like one day leading into another and you're like barely looking. And it's taxing on the body and they did it in three months. I know. No. It's too much. I mean, the movie, adorable, but like it's... Right. Right.
00:15:10 --> 00:15:34 too much yeah they have since said that they were just kind of running on pure adrenaline it's just completely non-stop as you said and i believe it was elliot kennedy who said he refused to work on the second album because the environment was just too chaotic he was like they're running into the studio to jot down you know a random lyric or you know random melody and then running back out to film another scene he was like this was not as you said
00:15:34 --> 00:15:43 kind of conducive to creativity. So the fact that they were able to create a full second album, and it's pretty good.
00:15:43 --> 00:16:08 is amazing actually yeah yeah oh my god oh but yes life goes on for them and they kept parsing forward so in october 1997 after the movie finally wrapped spice up your life became the fifth consecutive uk number one and simon took the group to istanbul turkey where they played their first major live concert to 40 000 fans that's right
00:16:08 --> 00:16:28 The biggest band on the planet had never done a full proper concert until this point. And they were good, which killed the whole like they can't perform live narrative that had become part of the regular discourse. And it's so interesting that they went to Turkey. Why Turkey? I think they chose that on purpose because they didn't want to do it at home because they felt that there would be a lot more pressure.
00:16:34 --> 00:16:52 Spice Your Life is an amazing song. Like one of the best, one of the best self-referential songs by a group, period, ever. Like Five has a fun one. NSYNC, I love Here We Go. Take That is probably the weakest. I cannot lie. I'm kidding, but also not, because it's not amazing. But...
00:16:52 --> 00:17:08 Spice Up Your Life is an anthem. It's wild and it's fun. And it's so many random, crazy things to say. The Yellow Man and Timbuktu. Kung Fu Fighting Dancing Queens. Random BS in a song. But the beat is...
00:17:08 --> 00:17:29 Yeah, no one's done that since. I mean, like, it's been really fun. You and I even danced at the club right back at you. But yes, right back at you is David and Joel have invited us to many events for the button. But David was, you know, DJing. And, you know, these couple songs came on and we'll talk about it later. But we came up on stage and did a little song song.
00:17:29 --> 00:17:48 Yeah, Spice Up Your Life is pure joy. I love the way they did it, too. Almost the whole thing is sung in unison. But then you get a really beautiful harmony stack in the chorus, which, again, is just so well arranged. I do encourage people to listen to the filtered acapellas that fans have kind of done since then. Because you can really hear where each girl sits.
00:17:48 --> 00:18:04 Slam it to the left If you're having a good time Shake it to the right If you look, you feel fine Shake it to the front And again, it's very intricate. And again, given the whole situation too, the fact that they were, they made sure that the music was still quality. Yeah. You know? Despite all that. Uh-huh.
00:18:10 --> 00:18:37 And yeah, the Istanbul concert is amazing. Like I do also encourage everyone to watch that if you haven't seen it. And honestly, just watch it again, even if you have. Because it is a genuinely great concert. Yeah. And this is the most kind of on. Like even as we later get to the tour and stuff, you could already tell that it's kind of wearing on them a little bit. Yeah. This concert, they are all at 150%. Yeah. And it is just raw music.
00:18:38 --> 00:18:53 talent, you know, that kind of takes them through it. And I remember the first time I watched it very vividly. It was on pay-per-view in the U.S. Oh, so cute. And we did gather at like a family friend's place to watch it. And it was a really impactful film.
00:18:53 --> 00:19:21 moment for me, actually. Because that was kind of one of the first kind of big pop concerts that I watched, kind of just like front end. Yeah. And I would eventually watch it so much that I could basically just recite the whole thing back to you. Like all the blocking, like all the different band arrangements and stuff. And a big shout out to Simon Ellis because he also opened my eyes to how brilliant concert versions of songs can be. Yeah. That version of If You Can Dance that opened the show, it's still one of the best...
00:19:21 --> 00:19:44 versions of how a song can turn into kind of this whole new beast when you perform it live with a live band yeah you know but yeah the energy in that show is just amazing like that is such a perfect pop show it is so funny if you can dance to eat it a little it was a good good opening because the sample we love the sample recipe is humpty but like honey
00:19:45 --> 00:20:13 Honey, give me, give me, give me spectacle. Yeah. All right. So the girls moved right along in their lives. And in early November 1987, at the absolute peak of their fame, the Spice Girls fired Simon Fuller and took over management of the group themselves. It was front page news around the world and commentators lined up to declare that Simon had been the real mastermind and that the group had just signed its own death warrant. Hmm. Yeah. Whatever. Look. Whatever.
00:20:13 --> 00:20:36 good for them like they were being overworked they were being torn apart yeah so again kudos to jerry because i believe she was kind of the main catalyst here and the main leader here to just be like look he is not the one we can do this ourselves you know however i will say they probably should have found someone else instead of taking it on themselves because girls yeah
00:20:36 --> 00:21:06 You have enough going on. Like, how are you doing this? Yeah, no, that was not the wisest. And I think that's a little bit of ego there because there's no way you can do that. Right. Yeah. Because I think they probably were like, well, we left heart management back in the day and we made it work. So they're kind of like, we can do it again. But it's a very different situation. Different animal. Yeah. Different circus. Dangerous monkeys. You know what I'm saying? Like, it's not. You know, shout out to them for taking control and taking that leap of faith.
00:21:06 --> 00:21:23 But yeah, I do wonder if beyond overworking them, if he was like exasperating some of the internal issues or did he just turn a blind eye? I think he was kind of part of the whispering in each one's ear.
00:21:23 --> 00:21:44 Oh, no. If Firing Simon was supposed to sink them, nobody told the chart. Because the Spice World album released November 1997 shipped 7 million copies in two weeks, including the 1.4 million in the UK alone. The largest two-week shipment of an album ever at that point. And it went on to sell more than 14 million worldwide.
00:21:44 --> 00:22:04 And the album release was further supported by the TV special and Audience with the Spice Girls on ITV. And in December, Too Much became their second consecutive Christmas No. 1 and their sixth consecutive UK No. 1, making them the first act in history to have their first six singles top the UK church.
00:22:08 --> 00:22:32 The Spice World album is brilliant. I always go back and forth whether I prefer the first album or the second album more. But again, as I mentioned, just good for them for still managing to put together. Such a high quality project despite all of the chaos. And also shout out to all the collaborators as well. Because the way they were describing the sessions, like I mentioned earlier during the movie shoot. Yeah.
00:22:32 --> 00:22:48 They basically had to just kind of take these little melodic lines and lyrics that these girls were throwing at them and just kind of make them into songs. Oh, my God. And they're all great songs. Yeah. This is a really good album. Considering the context of it all now...
00:22:49 --> 00:23:11 I'm trying to figure out because I think I may have said that I like this album a little bit more during our album review. You know what, guys? Go watch it. Check it out. Clock my stuff. I don't remember what I said. Yeah. But now I have the context of everything. I may, if I said it, I'm standing by my statement. If I didn't say it, I'm saying it now. There is nothing more difficult than trying to create when life is like, ha, ha.
00:23:11 --> 00:23:34 you know and then you owe people money and people want things from you and you owe them you know uh content essentially it's a lot and also when we did the review of the b-sides outer space girls i wish you know in my heart yeah it's just so silly it's so fun and i think it kind of just would have tied into the alien situation a little bit more yes more more
00:23:39 --> 00:23:54 But yeah, I think the single choice of Too Much is amazing. It's one of my favorite, if not the favorite Spice Girls songs. It's one of the songs I've always remembered throughout my life. I do not know why. It's so good. And I never knew the meaning was about like...
00:23:54 --> 00:24:14 their situation of being overworked and feeling like things are too much and finding the balance. I never, I never got that. I just thought it was about like a situationship or like something in the middle. And I think it's something to be said. Like you have steps to just crying in the club, ABBA crying in the club. They did stress on the stage. They can sit there.
00:24:14 --> 00:24:31 I'm losing my mind. Losing my mind. All the time. You know what I'm saying? There's something to be said about being able to take what the heck is happening to you and shading the ever-loving crap out of the person that you work with and then...
00:24:31 --> 00:24:50 Can you imagine? I don't know how I would feel if I had all these songs written about me, but they're all hits. It's like, should I piss them off some more? Let's see what I can get away with. I mean, by the time he was already gone. But yeah, too much, probably my favorite, the sax, the strings, like how in the world did something so good come from all that mess?
00:24:50 --> 00:25:16 You know, but it wasn't that messy. I guess like, you know, if you're really just like a kid watching or, you know, you're just like a casual person in engaging with what's happening. You're not really caring about what the tablets are saying. You know, it's it's it's crazy, man. I don't know what the heck was going on. I was just like, I like the music or whatever. It's crazy. I mean, I think it's crazy, especially being in the U.S. at the time, because.
00:25:16 --> 00:25:46 Because obviously our window was even shorter, right? Like Spice had only come out at the start of 97. And already we were getting the second album at the end of 97. So like it's crazy, the momentum. And I don't remember if I thought anything about how fast everything was happening. I was like, oh, yeah, more music. You know, I don't think I ever really thought about that when I was a kid. Well, like, hmm, this seems like a really rapid pace. I know it's TV. Right, exactly. Oh, man. But yeah, I also love too much, probably my favorite Spice Girls ballad. Mm-hmm.
00:25:46 --> 00:26:08 It's just such a beautiful melody. Melanie C, probably one of her best vocal moments in her entire discography as well. And I'm the same as you. Being so young at the time, these lyrics mean so much more now. Like this whole kind of idea of this kind of just double-edged sword of the situation that they're now in. Like they're famous and they got what they wanted. Yeah. Yeah.
00:26:08 --> 00:26:23 But they still want more success, but they're overworked. So it's like too much is... Yeah. It's too much, but then it's also not enough. Yeah. So it's like kind of a really... It's a beautifully written song, for sure. And the album, yeah, like I said, just every song is brilliant. Yeah.
00:26:23 --> 00:26:50 It all, they all can stand on their own. All the songs. And the B-sides as well. Walk of Life. Yes, yes. Space Girls. Yeah, for sure. Saturday Night Divas is a fun one. Like, you know, you get, when you get older and you experience life, you're just like, you know what? I don't actually want to talk to you anymore. It's like, I can relate to this now. Yes. So yeah, it's a testament to their songwriting abilities, but also...
00:26:51 --> 00:26:57 Jerry. Like, thinking about how much they...
00:26:57 --> 00:27:23 like how much she wrote and like thinking about her personality and doing this deep dive. I'm like, she was a lot of this, this, this, this cheek that was articulated really well. I'm not saying that Mel B wasn't like articulate or another, other girls are articulate, but there was something about Jerry that just said the right thing. And it's the cleverness. Like, you know, when you and I are together and we're sort of saying stuff, I'm like, Ooh, I like that. It's that moment where it's like, put that in.
00:27:23 --> 00:27:41 yes we're working collaboratively but it's just like when we're something happens and the words snap and it's like yeah she's a force for sure yeah yeah it's so cool to kind of just like get the full context of it all now and understand like I'm stressed out I'm gonna write something and mind you she's just talking crap laughing
00:27:41 --> 00:28:05 Love it. Yes. Oh, man. So the Spice World movie opened in December 1997. And of course, it was shredded by critics. And it got nominated for seven Razzies. And it even won the group a shared Worst Actress Award. That's so funny. But it did gross $100 million worldwide. Yeah. And it has since been reappraised as a cult classic. And apparently, according to Melanie C., it is finally coming to streaming very soon.
00:28:05 --> 00:28:24 Oh, wow. You know, shout out to the girls for trying to keep this alive in some kind of way. Remember being 10 years old, asking that same neighbor to borrow her VHS of Spice World. My dad had a VHS because he loved Bruce Lee. I know, strange, but he loved martial arts movie. I love music. He was like, I have a tape thing.
00:28:24 --> 00:28:40 I have these tapes. So we had a BCR. And I sat there, watched it flow through, rewound it, did a little freeze frame of each little thing, you know? I wanted to be that little girl. I fell off the boat. Sorry.
00:28:42 --> 00:29:07 So many iconic moments of that, you know, the men's butt alongside them singing Leader of the Gang. The aliens, the boot camp. It's all so silly. And I think for me, again, this is like my full on, this is who the Spice Girls are. Because I wasn't really watching music videos like that. Like Britney was my first, like, I can remember. And then TLC and like Monica and Brandy because of my older sister. Britney was my first, like, I can remember.
00:29:07 --> 00:29:34 Right. But for me seeing them, I remember seeing Jerry. She looked like Rogue from the X-Men. So instantly I was like, that's my favorite one. I was like, oh, my God. So like moments like that, it's just so silly. And I'm like, who is this movie for? Because I see Boat Cheeks. I say Boat Cheeks. Why do Boat Cheeks on my screen? Right. But then they have these ugly little. It's just such a weird little movie. It's not good. It's not meant to be good. Right. At all.
00:29:34 --> 00:29:57 It's just silly and entertaining. Yeah, but it's not as bad as Showgirls. Showgirls was terrible, but I love that movie now. Yeah. Yeah, it's just so silly. I did watch it for my eighth birthday in the theaters. And yeah, I think... If you think of it more just as, like, sketch comedy, where each scene is kind of its own little world... Vignette. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's just... It's brilliant. Yeah.
00:29:57 --> 00:30:21 And I think last year I went to a screening at a club and it was so fun watching with all these people and like reciting some of the lines together. And big shout out to Victoria as well. So she did recently give a speech at David's Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony. And she made the joke at the beginning where she was like, I thought I was getting the star for my role in Spice World. And honestly, girl...
00:30:21 --> 00:30:42 You should get a star for your role in Spice World because she was the star for me. Malcolm, it's Jerry. I'm Melanie C. And I'm Victoria Malcolm. Shh, stop it. So naturally, I assumed I was coming here today to receive my star for my part in that iconic cult classic, Spice World the movie.
00:30:44 --> 00:31:14 She is so funny. She has so many amazing moments. And I'm really excited for it to come to streaming. And I hope they do it in a way that really gives it the light that it deserves. Okay. Give me a second. I need you to stop with the I hopes with Spice. Any kind of any anniversary. Because you and I have been keeping them alive. We did the holler for the anniversary. We did the. We'll do something. Don't worry about it.
00:31:15 --> 00:31:40 Oh, man. It is interesting, though, because Mel C has said that basically the ownership of this movie got really convoluted. She was like, all these random people owned it. Like, there were weird global licensing things. But now all five of them own it. So come on, girls. Yeah. So just do something. Yeah. Like, you don't have to do anything yourselves. Right. You know what I mean? Like, physically. Yes. But put it out in a really smart way where it can kind of get...
00:31:40 --> 00:32:05 the attention it deserves absolutely yeah so i all jokes aside yes i do agree with you something should happen but if it doesn't happen we got y'all we got y'all we will do something on our patreon maybe we'll do it a little we'll be like a watch part you can watch it and recite it and i can just sit and be like i don't know any of the lines i remember this part like i'll get up and do the choreography because i remember all of that oh yeah i oh my gosh
00:32:05 --> 00:32:31 Yeah, the girls were overworked under Simon, but in an effort to prove that they didn't need him, the girls also did not slow down. The Spice World Tour opened in Dublin in February 1998. Their first world tour was finally off and running. And on its first run, it would play at 97 shows to an estimated 2.1 million, making it the highest-grossing tour ever by a female group at the time.
00:32:36 --> 00:33:04 To say that this was an undertaking of epic proportions would be an understatement. Yeah. It's a little bit too much. And the time that they, the shows that they had and the short amount of time that they did it in. Couldn't be me. If you've ever been hungry, add that with adrenaline, not sleeping well, time zone differences. And then also having to sing perfectly. And maintaining relationships that they apparently were in. It's a lot.
00:33:04 --> 00:33:06 It's a lot. I know.
00:33:07 --> 00:33:36 I will say, watching this tour back, we are very lucky as fans because the screen footage from a few of the tour stops have since leaked. So we have quite a few of the Spice World shows to watch. That's amazing. And the tour was great. Like, honestly, again, you get great music arrangements from Simon. They sing almost the whole Spice World album. They kept a lot of the iconic moments from the Istanbul show, but improved on those. They now have dancers. Yes. And overall, it's just a really entertaining show. Like, it's not the most polished show.
00:33:36 --> 00:33:42 But again, the talent, the chemistry, the star quality, it shines through and it keeps you entertained throughout.
00:33:42 --> 00:34:08 Yeah. Yeah. This is, oh, wow. This is so interesting. When you pop so instantly, instead of working your way up, it's like, it's so interesting to see it took the second album to get the tour and all those other things. As opposed to we're building up a reputation with Girls Aloud. Right. Like, off the record, it's literally them being like, hey, can you guys like us for like a second? Like, it's them almost begging to be like, oh, my gosh. But yeah, this show was really cool. I love the costuming. That intro with the space. Yeah.
00:34:08 --> 00:34:16 Oh, yeah. The UFO is hysterical. This is probably where your alien thing came from, too. Chris likes aliens. That's all I'll say. I do. I do.
00:34:17 --> 00:34:44 But yeah, it's just so funny because I'm like looking at this, the technology that we have now, we're just like, girl, what is this little polygon, polygraph looking thing? Polygraph is a lie detector. She can do better. But the point is, the technology probably was just like out of this world. If we ever need to do an episode where I'm just sitting there talking about outfits, I would love to. And then the roller skating that Jerry was doing. A lot of random things was happening. Yeah. But they love their little jazzy moments. You know, they love their little cabaret vibe or...
00:34:44 --> 00:35:11 So I think it definitely encompasses their personality, their likes or dislikes, etc. So then in March 1998, Stop was released and it peaked at number two, unfortunately blocked from the top by Run DMC versus Jason Evans. It's like that. So unfortunately, the streak was over with the number ones. But the song does remain one of the highest streamed for the group to this day.
00:35:12 --> 00:35:40 Thank you very much. I need somebody. Yes. And deservedly so. Yes. For a whirlwind project, the songs came together really special. To be something really special, excuse me. And the stop is a fun tune. I noticed that there wasn't too much Spanish on this album. It's okay. We get some Spanish guitar. Yeah, we do. Spanish guitar. But yeah, it's still so hilarious how much shade they were throwing.
00:35:41 --> 00:36:01 Like I think it's an impressive hour assignment. I mean, like I already kind of shouted out a couple of songs already. And again, watch the album review. Tell us what your favorite song is as well. Tell us your favorite line of spice world. Cause again, it happened so quickly and it was so saturated and like juicy moments for all you. Oh God. So yeah, it's just, it's interesting for sure. Yeah.
00:36:01 --> 00:36:31 Yes. I love how introspective the whole thing is. And again, as a kid, I had no idea what the song was about, right? Yeah. But it's so funny because it's such a joyful melody. Uh-huh. But it's literally like, Stop. Dude, stop. Yeah, you are overworking us. Slow it down, baby. Gotta have some fun. Yeah. Which, unfortunately, they didn't really take their own advice there. Nope. Hmm. Yeah. So, now. Oh. We're at a very dramatic moment in the Spice Girls history because on March 9th, 1998,
00:36:32 --> 00:36:48 Jerry told the members that she intended to leave the group, though the other girls did not believe her. So we know this date because of a very public lawsuit, actually. So the group signed a sponsorship deal with the scooter company Aprilia, and they sued the girls when Jerry left.
00:36:48 --> 00:37:10 And the Court of Appeal found that the group had misrepresented themselves by not disclosing that Jerry had told them of her plans of leaving. So Jerry has written in her book that she told the girls in early 1998 that she wanted the September Wembley Stadium shows to be the end of the Spice Girls. And when nobody agreed, in her own words, she did a runner.
00:37:10 --> 00:37:36 And Jerry's final performances were in Helsinki at the end of the European leg in late May. She then missed two shows in Oslo and a UK appearance on the National Lottery Draw, where Mel C told the audience that Jerry wasn't feeling very well and to get well soon. And on May 31st, 1998, her solicitor read her statement to the press.
00:37:36 --> 00:37:52 Sadly, I would like to confirm that I have left the Spice Girls. This is because of differences between us. I'm sure the group will continue to be successful, and I wish them all the best. And then the message ended with a P.S. I'll be back.
00:37:53 --> 00:38:18 I'll be back. Oh, Jesus. I was thinking more like the Terminator. I know, it's so funny. So, yes, Jerry leaving, a very vivid memory for me. I remember when I found out. I was in the kitchen dining room. I was literally drawing a picture, I think, of the Spice Girls. I love them so much. Yeah. And my dad was reading the newspaper and told us,
00:38:18 --> 00:38:46 Oh my God. Yeah. Yeah. Sorry. And for many fans, a lot of people mentioned that this was their first heartbreak ever. Aww. And, you know, of course, you would go on to experience many more members leaving groups, but nothing was as impactful as this one for me. Yeah. Because I think, as I mentioned earlier, for me, I had the illusion that they were, you know, best friends and they were living their best lives and they were going to be together forever, you know? And so this was a big kind of reality check where, oh, it's not...
00:38:47 --> 00:39:08 you know, all rainbows happening here, right? Yeah. And what I do find really interesting in the tour, one of the samples that they use, they use the line from Blade Runner, which is the light that burns twice as bright burns half as long. Yeah. And you, my friend, have burned very, very brightly. They used that before Viva Forever. Yeah. And it's so poignant here because I think...
00:39:08 --> 00:39:38 You know, Jerry could probably tell that the flame was starting to burn out. Either for the group or maybe just for her. Right. And, you know, it's time to get a head start and get out. It's not great that she left in the middle of the tour, though, because you really are kind of screwing your bandmates over. Yeah. Golly. You know, I did not know that they broke up because, again, my consumption of them. Sorry. My bad. Oh, whoa. Hang on. Came in hot.
00:39:40 --> 00:39:46 I didn't know that Terry had left, right? I didn't know. Because in my mind, they were a fictional group. I was like...
00:39:46 --> 00:40:15 what didn't know beyond the optics uh and how fans feel i do wonder how the girls dealt with it because like you were told yes but like was it really sad or was it something that you understood like they were holding on for so long and maybe they were afraid of losing the magic and maybe they did um but it is really interesting because obviously we're not gonna know like the full conversations apparently plural that were had but i can't imagine them hearing that and then basically kind of like being like
00:40:15 --> 00:40:45 yeah, we'll talk about this later. Or, yeah, after this. Because after a while, it feels like you're playing in my face now. Yes. Because if you've heard me say, I want to go, and we keep pushing it, and now you're taking a scooter endorsement, we don't even ride scooters because we're freaking millionaires. What are we doing right now? So I can understand. And then, you know, just thinking about who she was friends with and who she was dating and all these other things, I'm pretty sure she probably expressed that to them, her friends and her lovers as well. And they probably were like, girl,
00:40:46 --> 00:41:06 girl like what you gotta do yeah so i'm pretty sure it wasn't an easy decision um i don't think it was the wrong decision um because i can't imagine what that would have been like had she stayed and you know but i do wonder like what was like the full thing the full reason
00:41:06 --> 00:41:27 Which we will get into because there are quite a few theories and narratives there. But I will say, I think from watching the documentary and hearing the girls talk about it, Jerry had threatened to leave quite a few times, I think, already up to that point. So like you said, it's kind of like the, you know, crying wolf kind of thing. Like, are you being for real at this point? You know, like, I don't know.
00:41:27 --> 00:41:43 Okay. And so, yeah, I think they didn't really take it seriously until it actually happened. And then I think Mel B said, you know, at the end of the day, they're all performers. So they were just kind of like, okay, well...
00:41:43 --> 00:42:06 let's let's figure out how to redo the show without her yeah you know and that was kind of their first thing because they had immediate shows to do yeah you know but yes let's get into some of these narratives so we try we're going to try to be as all-encompassing as we can we'd love to know your opinions and if we missed any theories please let us know in the comments as well oh my gosh yeah
00:42:06 --> 00:42:21 So Jerry, of course, had stated reasons like exhaustion, depression, disillusionment, feeling like the odd one out, feeling like she didn't belong anymore. Yeah, but let's let's discuss some deeper thoughts here.
00:42:21 --> 00:42:43 So the last straw moment that Jerry has discussed was regarding an opportunity that she had to discuss breast cancer awareness that she was not allowed to do. So she said in an interview that she got really angry and very emotional about it. She was meant to be the advocate of girl power, and she felt like a hypocrite if she couldn't do something for empowering women. So she had to go and she had no other choice.
00:42:44 --> 00:43:11 Mmm. I mean, it makes sense. I mean, you got me soon to talk about a damn scooter, but not someone's breath health, boob health. Forget y'all. Another reason that Jerry has spoken about since her departure is how she felt out of place during the group's tour. She was the only one of five without formal performance training, and all the other four came out of stage school, dance or theater background. And then they spent months on a tour built entirely around live vocals and tight choreography.
00:43:11 --> 00:43:41 So the gap that had always been there got spotlit every single night. And Jerry has spoken about feeling like she had to work twice as hard just to keep up. And at times feeling useless up there next to four trained performers. And you can literally watch the confidence drain out of her face in real time. If you go back, you can see throughout the tour footage, the bright red hair softened to a star-brandy blonde. The flamboyant costumes turned into a plain black. And I can kind of get that.
00:43:41 --> 00:44:00 Because, you know, it's like, it's rough being in a group like this and all the stress. Yeah. God. I mean, I do appreciate with her leaving, though, just really quickly. She did not do the whole, like, slaving the Bay and members like Robbie and Gaz and like Jesse and Little Mix recently. And even Lisa with TLC. She was like.
00:44:01 --> 00:44:29 Yeah. She was, she was on some. But again, it's coming from a place of, I feel underappreciated, or I feel like I don't fit here. So it's not coming from a place of just like, I'm the best member. It's just like, I feel like I'm not being appreciated. And I think every single group member that has left has said, it's because of this, not because like, I'm trying to strike while the iron's hot. Doesn't mean it's not a goal. Yeah. But again, again, it did not, she did not try to ruin that perfect girl power facade. It wasn't like,
00:44:29 --> 00:44:51 I hate those biatches and they hate me and we hate each other. It's all fake. It was more just like, I ain't with it. And they also were like, she's not with it. She's sick, maybe. Oh, she's gone. We wish her the best. Yeah. Yeah, it is interesting. I think there is an aspect of ego here, right? Because if you look back through their history that we've been speaking about,
00:44:51 --> 00:45:10 She was kind of unofficially their leader. She was the main reason they really got a lot of the opportunities that they got. It was her tenacity that got them to leave their first management deal. They got them those first writing sessions and their record deal. She was also key in writing a lot of their songs, as you had mentioned as well. So she kind of went from being their leader...
00:45:11 --> 00:45:40 and getting a lot of that center attention to now kind of being to her, the quote unquote weak link on stage, because now she was in an environment she was not as comfortable in because in interviews and stuff, she was so confident. She was able to take over those situations and be that leader. But on stage, she couldn't really do that. Right. And so watching the show back, there definitely are some big dance moments. Like if you can't dance, there's that whole breakdown at the end, never give up on the good times is very athletic.
00:45:40 --> 00:46:00 Yeah. And honestly, she did a great job keeping up if you watch the footage, but it is really sad to watch her light fade because I think I mentioned right the Istanbul show. She is so cheeky in that. Yeah, her presence is so good. And yeah, as you watch some of these Spice World shows, you can see she's not there are little moments where she's like fun for sure. Mm hmm.
00:46:00 --> 00:46:19 But you can tell she's pulling back a little bit. And yeah, her kind of dyeing her hair a lighter shade. And that last Viva Forever performance where she's wearing that like boring black dress. Oh my God. Sorry. Like, it's kind of amazing kind of that you can watch it physically happen. Right. Yeah.
00:46:19 --> 00:46:48 And I will say, look, as a dancer, you're a dancer as well. I can understand, too. Like, if I was on stage and I got put in some ballet performance with four formerly trained ballet dancers that I was told to keep up, like, I would also be like, oh, my God, why am I here? Get me out of here. Yeah. So doing a tour of, you know, I mean, she ended up doing the full 97 shows. But, you know, she made it through almost halfway. Right. So, yeah, doing that every night and feeling that that can definitely build up. And I can understand that.
00:46:48 --> 00:47:05 Oh, oh, it's a mess. But there's also a theory that Jerry had actually planned her exit. So going back to what you were saying, maybe a little ego did play a part. And this is demonstrated by Robbie Williams, the member who jumps first, reinvents and outruns the group can end up winning the whole game.
00:47:05 --> 00:47:31 race in the pop music landscape so the theory goes that jerry comfortably the most media savvy spice girl as you mentioned the one who understood a headline better than anyone in that group could see the machine starting to slow and wanted to be the first out of the door with a solo head start and their receipts don't really kill it she told the girl she was leaving back in march she had already floated wimbley in september as the end and then she had a debut album without within a year so
00:47:32 --> 00:47:50 Yeah. The speed in which that happened is a little funky. Yes. I mean, look, I could see it. And like you said, you know, many things can be true at once. But she is extremely smart. And we know she really wanted to be famous. So again, if she saw the light dimming...
00:47:51 --> 00:48:18 And she was kind of on stage and she was kind of like, they don't need me here. It kind of does make sense to me that she'd want to go out in kind of a loud way and be the first to go solo. And it is possible that those visual changes we were mentioning, the dyeing the hair a lighter shade, the wearing black, that that was kind of on purpose, you know? So I could see her as a very strategic person that would actually think this.
00:48:18 --> 00:48:44 Oh, interesting. And we do know that she did end up having a relationship with Robbie Williams around that time as well. Yes. Da-da-da! Yes, the combination could be true. I mean, I think it's interesting also. She had auctioned things off. Like, she auctioned off the Brit's dress. Yeah. Sotheby's. I can't really pronounce it. I'm too broke to pronounce it, apparently. Yeah.
00:48:44 --> 00:49:05 But yeah, I think she started hanging out with other pop artists like, of course, Robbie, but also she was living with George Michael. Right. Like, you know, she was being bought things that just did not look like bright pop. It was more like upscale, classy, broad. I mean, granted, she would love a good Vivian Westwood necklace, the pearl, the bodice, Elizabethan. Give it to us, honey. But now it was...
00:49:05 --> 00:49:35 Here I am. A little sleek, a little cleaner. All that wit and stuff. That was me. I'm coming out. I'm like, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh. But you know what? More power to her. She's like the Aphrodite, I would say, of that group. And she loves the love and the love of changing and becoming the one. And however she needs to do that, I respect it. Again, I'm just glad that she did not slate her former girl group members. That would piss me off. Mm-hmm.
00:49:35 --> 00:49:52 Yes. So finally, we do have to talk about a fan theory that has gained a lot of momentum through the years and actually has been getting a lot of attention right now as if it's recording as well. Oh, yeah. Oh, the relationship between Mel B and Jerry. So...
00:49:52 --> 00:50:19 When Mel B and dancer Jimmy Galtzer would divorce a few years later, he did claim that Mel and Jerry had been more than friends. And skipping ahead a little bit, in 2019, in a Piers Morgan interview ahead of their reunion tour that year, Mel B did say outright that she and Jerry had slept together back in the early days of the group. And then there were some visibly awkward moments in the press rounds that followed. Did you sleep with Jerry like that?
00:50:23 --> 00:50:47 Yes, really. Oh, my goodness. And from there, fans built a theory that Jerry's feelings ran deeper than Mel's, that Viva Forever, which Matt Rowe has credit lyrically to Jerry, could actually be about their relationship, that some of Jerry's soul material carries the same reading, and that Jerry leaving right around Mel B's birthday wasn't a coincidence. Yeah.
00:50:48 --> 00:51:17 And Mel B has started dating Jimmy during the Spice World tour. And it's possible that one of Jerry's reasons for leaving along with everything else already mentioning was heartbreak. And Jerry has never publicly mentioned the details about her relationship with Mel B. But after the Piers Morgan interview, her rep put out a statement saying Jerry is really grateful for the support and loyalty for so many years. She loves the Spice Girls, Emma, Melanie, Melanie and Victoria. She would like you to know that what has been reported recently is simply not true and has been very hurtful to her family.
00:51:17 --> 00:51:32 Moving forward, Jerry can't wait to see the girls and all the fans on tour, have an amazing time with everyone, and make some new memories. It has been confirmed by many people, though, including the other girls, that at the very beginning, at least, they had a very dramatic and fiery friendship that led to a lot.
00:51:34 --> 00:51:51 Yes. Yes. Okay. So I will say it's very interesting because I don't know if it's on your algorithm, but my algorithm is filled with people finding footage of Jerry and Melby's interactions. Like right now. July 2026. People are still analyzing this situationship.
00:51:52 --> 00:52:21 That is so funny. I mean, two years ago, apparently, according to my YouTube history, I was watching a video and the red bar had gone full through. I forgot the name of the woman's video. About them. Yeah. It's so funny. Now, granted, Mel B did say something. Mel B does have a blabbermouth. She does. Now, is it like a thing where I'm like, I don't think they did anything? I don't think it's like a no, an absolute no. Do I think they dated? Like, in and out? Hmm.
00:52:22 --> 00:52:40 I might be dragging it a little bit. I do believe they were comfortable with each other, but I don't think it was like this long-term thing. Right. Because I think you can really like someone and feel like there's chemistry there. I mean, not saying women do a lot, but there are some women that are just like, you know what? We're really close.
00:52:40 --> 00:53:05 Right. I've bitten my best friend's cheek. I literally will sit on her lap and go and just sit there. You know, like, you know, it might look really strange. Right. I'm not attracted to my friend. I just felt like I wanted to do it. And therefore I did. I mean, I've grabbed her butt. I've held it. I've shaken it and been like, this is good stuff. You know, the girls are cheeky people. So I think a lot of that was happening. And if they were.
00:53:05 --> 00:53:32 If something did happen, yeah, sure. I just don't think it was as long as people are thinking it was. Because, like, I don't know. Listen, listen. Girls, we do things. We do things with each other. And at any point in time, it could be seen as something. Now, I think Jerry is denying a lot. You're right. But I also feel like Belle B.,
00:53:33 --> 00:53:50 is dragging it a little bit too. So I feel like the vote could be true because you know what I'm saying? Again, I just think, I don't think it was like fanfic vibes where it's like after the Istanbul show, we did such a good job. We came so far, didn't we love? You know, I don't think it was all of that. Right. Like, like,
00:53:50 --> 00:54:10 You know? But yeah, I think it's just a lot of headcanon. I'm not doubting that people touch it. Again, if you saw me with my friend, you'd probably be like, Shane, are you sure? I'm like, no, I'm very sure. Right. But it happens, you know? You're right. You're right.
00:54:10 --> 00:54:39 I don't want to, like, be too much into it. Yeah. I mean, look, as mentioned at the end of what you were saying, Melby and Jerry both have very big, loud personalities. They're very opinionated, right? So even if it wasn't romantic, I can see how their relationship would just be a lot of ups and downs. Right? Because I could see where if they agree on something, it's them against the world, right? That's how a lot of this stuff happened for the girls. But if they disagree on anything...
00:54:40 --> 00:55:08 They're out there quitting the group. It's like they're done with each other. Yes, yeah. Right. So I could see at the very least, that seems very realistic to me. And the girls have all spoken about that as what the environment was. I will say a lot of this evidence that people have been posting about their chemistry over the years. Mm-hmm. I mean, I could see it. I could see it. Like this theory that maybe it was something more at one point. Mm-hmm.
00:55:08 --> 00:55:29 And maybe for one of them, it was more just kind of a friends with benefits type thing. And for one of them, they felt a bit more seriously. And we know that they did go on vacation quite a lot together. And that's literally what Viva Forever is about. It's about a holiday fling, you know, that had potential for more. I'm crying.
00:55:30 --> 00:55:51 Look, you know, I love my conspiracy theories, so I'm not going to completely shoot it down. Yes. It's possible for sure. And I will say the worst thing that has come out of this is, as we know, Jerry is very uncomfortable with all this coming out. Yeah. And I think it is actually a big part of why their relationship now is still quite strained.
00:55:52 --> 00:56:14 Yeah, I mean, even with the One Direction guys, they're like that because of all the fan fiction. It's like because of your mild obsession, you're causing the group that you want to come back together to stay apart. So pick your battles. You can argue with me about me saying it's not that deep. Yes. And keep this thing from happening. Yes. Or keep it in the shadows, y'all. Right. Like, no, no.
00:56:14 --> 00:56:34 You shouldn't have said anything. You really shouldn't have. Right. Keep it in the shadows. Also, put it on Nebula. We don't use Nebula on our thing, but Nebula's like another platform or whatever. Y'all, put it there. Them old ladies don't be up on... I'm sorry. They're a little bit older. But them older women don't be up on websites like that. Make it low. YouTube? That's accessible.
00:56:34 --> 00:56:59 Right. But look, at the end of the day, they were in a very stressful environment. Yes. So even, like, again, I can see how their relationship could have been a big catalyst for why Jerry left, regardless of whether it was romantic or not. But if it was romantic, again, it's the whole, you know, don't poop where you eat. You know, that is a phrase for a reason. Yeah. You're adding a lot of drama to an already very intense environment. So you're just making it very complicated. Exactly. Exactly.
00:57:00 --> 00:57:29 Alright, so... Knowing ye, knowing you, uh-huh. Moving right along. Sorry. Okay, let's go back to the four remaining Spice Girls, because they are professional. They refuse to cancel anything. The show must go on. The North American Leg opened in West Palm Beach in June 1998, two weeks after Jerry's announcement. And, of course, they sold out their entire run. If you can't dance, if you can't dance to this, you can't do nothing wrong with me, baby.
00:57:30 --> 00:57:47 Jerry's lines were redistributed. Her recorded vocal was kept for the Spanish rap and If You Can't Dance. But otherwise, Victoria took most of it. And she did get to sing in Wannabe now, which was nice. And also some more news. Mid-tour, Mel B and Victoria were both pregnant.
00:57:47 --> 00:58:01 Yeah, I remember their pregnant bellies in the suits. I thought it was so cute. Yeah. It was fun. I mean, it's good they were able to find some peace and love amidst the drama, like honestly. Well, peace is questionable for Mel B, but yeah.
00:58:01 --> 00:58:23 That's the jag of the word. My peace. Yeah. Some love. Yes. Definitely. Jesus Christ. I don't know why I put peace again, y'all. Wrong words. You know you try to put a pair of words together? Yeah. That was my default setting. That was not peaceful, apparently. Yeah. Yes. I was lucky enough to go to the Spice World Tour in Minneapolis. The same show that Prince went to.
00:58:23 --> 00:58:44 it was one of my first concerts ever again just super formative memory for me i do remember it quite vividly um and i will say we were quite lucky we did get stepped to me actually at the u.s shows because they took out some of the more acrobatic dancer teens once melby and victoria were pregnant so they kind of switched up the set list a little bit um
00:58:44 --> 00:59:09 Yes. Again, just such a fun show. And again, just really opened my eyes and was, you know, they were just such a huge part for why I love pop music now. So I'm very lucky that I went to this show. And honestly, the four of them, they did a great job. They made sure to keep the show entertaining. And honestly, it was maybe even more motivation to have Jerry leave, right? To kind of be like, we can still do it without her. Yeah.
00:59:09 --> 00:59:37 And I believe they said that they did allow anyone who wanted to refund because Jerry wasn't there. They were given the opportunity to, but I don't think anyone did. If you did, let us know in the comments. Are you that upset? Are you a schizophrenic fan? So in 1998, the girls were featured in How Does It Feel to Be on Top of the World for England's World Cup song. And it was released in June of 1998, which was recorded before Jerry left.
00:59:38 --> 00:59:55 To be on top of the world. And in July 1998, they released Viva Forever as the fourth and final single from Spice World, and it went straight to number one. It was originally planned to be released as a double A-side with Never Give Up on the Good Times, but this plan was grabbed.
01:00:00 --> 01:00:23 Oh my goodness. I don't remember if you have a fit ever for the claymation sprites. I'm literally wearing a shirt that has like a little claymation girl on it. You guys can't really see it. But I bought this shirt because it has cheetah and it has like the little creepy looking girl on it. Those little sprites scare the crap out of me. They are scary. Yeah. And have you seen like the originals now? Because now they're made of wood or whatever, right? So now they're kind of worn. So they look even scarier.
01:00:24 --> 01:00:53 If you guys have ever seen Tales from the Hood, if you are a black listener, you've seen Tales from the Hood. There is this little plantation vignette where the paintings come to life and then they like nibble and bite and basically, you know, end the life of the guy that was. Yeah, it's a mess. They look like that to me in my brain. So I don't like it. But I listened to the song without watching the video and it's so beautiful. Oh, my God. I love this song. And now with the added context that it could be about Mel B.,
01:00:55 --> 01:01:17 You know what? Listen. Listen, y'all. Shoot. Shoot. Have I had a song written about me? And I've had a movie written about me. A poem and a letter written to me. Like a long missive. But I've never had a song. I would love to be someone's muse. So, you know, Viva Forever, Viva, Meljuri, whatever the situation is with them. Yeah.
01:01:18 --> 01:01:36 But yeah, I feel like Never Give Up was released as, oh my God, that would have been amazing. Just to have two like bye-bye kind of vibes, but on a good note and one's on a sad note, it would have been perfect. That was a waste. I mean, you know I love Never Give Up on the Good Times. Genuinely one of my favorite Spice Girls songs. So yes.
01:01:36 --> 01:02:01 It is criminal. It wasn't released as a single, I think. It was. Yeah. Viva Forever, so beautiful. I was lucky to have gone to Mel C's 50th birthday party. Oh, lucky. And Mel C and Emma did perform Viva Forever together. That's so cute. So yeah, I love this song. It deserves more attention. I think people forget about it with, you know, To Become One and Too Much and everything, which of course are brilliant, but Viva Forever deserves as much light.
01:02:01 --> 01:02:13 Oh man, so the tour was now almost over. They came home to the UK for stadium shows in September 1998, closing at Wembley Stadium, which was broadcast live on pay-per-view.
01:02:19 --> 01:02:42 The work was still going because album three sessions actually started in 1998 as well during the tour with Richard Standard and Matt Rowe returning. And the original concept was actually built around their individuality. The plan was to showcase solo songs, duets and covers from all five members, with the idea being to prove that they were five distinct artists who could still come together as one.
01:02:42 --> 01:02:59 They had also planned to release a live album with The Birmingham Show, professionally recorded and aired on radio. But Jerry's departure, of course, blew both these projects up. Most of the material was scrapped and the live album was cancelled, though a few of the songs did end up on the Viva Forever CD single.
01:02:59 --> 01:03:25 You know what? I'm not going to lie. Thank goodness the cover compilation didn't happen. I am... Oh, my God. No offense. I agree. That sounds like a very final album for sure kind of vibe. It's like, we don't know what else to do. So sing these on. Yeah, I agree. Like, come on. And then the live album, though. That should have happened. Like, Shoddy signed a contract. Release it. No, you know what? It should have been released for the anniversary of Spice World. Oh.
01:03:26 --> 01:03:42 I mean, they could still do that, I guess, for the 30th anniversary of Spice World. But girls, the audio is right there. Again, you don't need to do anything. Just master it. Just master it. You know what I mean? Maybe the MD is like, y'all got to pay me X amount of money. I want to pay him. Who knows? I mean, maybe. Maybe.
01:03:43 --> 01:04:06 I will say, though, those live versions that did come out, I think it's Say You'll Be There and Who Do You Think You Are that ended up on the V of Forever single. Yeah. It's great. Live vocals are on point. Harmony is on point. Simon's arrangements are amazing. Mm-hmm. You know? But yeah, I agree with you about this original third album concept because, huh. I would love to learn more about it, though. Yes. Like, I'm curious what songs...
01:04:06 --> 01:04:29 they would have been like how they would have navigated single releases and stuff like i'm just so curious like what that was supposed to be like maybe it was just to kind of keep them from doing solo stuff mostly or actually set them up for the solo stuff right yeah because it's like oh these are my influences so you can kind of get a preview of kind of what i will be like as a solo artist
01:04:29 --> 01:04:45 True, true. But if you think about it, just consider this, right? Like if you have them have a solo thing end of the cover, it stops Northern Star. It stops Hot from happening because we have you several solo songs. Why would you work on that right now? So I think it's interesting what could have been. Yeah. What could have been. But yes.
01:04:46 --> 01:05:06 Moving right along, in December of 1998, Goodbye, written partly while Jerry was still in the group but received universally as a farewell to her, became the third consecutive Christmas single for the girls I hit number one, and it equaled a record set by the Beatles. Goodbye, my friend. I know you're gonna set your gun.
01:05:07 --> 01:05:22 Mel B then married Jimmy Gulzard and briefly became Mel G. Phoenix was born February 1999. And then Victoria gave birth to Brooklyn Beckham a month later. So the girls were, yeah, they were not. They were busy. They were, yeah.
01:05:22 --> 01:05:49 Goodbye, though. Yes, Goodbye was great. Oh, Goodbye is also up there with my favorite Spice Girls songs. I know I keep saying that for literally about every song, but it is such a beautiful melody and lyric. Yeah, it's so melancholic. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. This is actually, you know what? I know I said that about Viva Forever, but Viva Forever actually has amazing streaming numbers. Goodbye is the one that deserves some light. Oh, I hear you. Yeah.
01:05:51 --> 01:06:18 Yeah, I think it's a good song. I think, what's the word for it? By that time that it came out, yes, it hit number one, but I think it's just a little too final. It just sounds like it's over. So I think maybe it's just like, at least Viva has a little haunting. It feels like summer romance. This one's just like, that's it. You're like, what? Beautifully done. Yes. Beautifully done. It ballads a little too well. So...
01:06:18 --> 01:06:43 And then Jerry, like, I can't imagine how Jerry felt listening to it. Like, it's a song that she had started, you know, in the initial phase. And then now it's a song about her. Yeah. Yeah. Or as she likes to say on the Spice Bowl, now it's about all of you. The way it goes for the reunion, she was like, don't say that. Oh, man. Okay, so now we're at 1999. 1999.
01:06:44 --> 01:07:02 Two members are new mothers. The solo careers are calling. And there's a third album to make. Da-da-dum! Next time on CCTV, the album Forever, The Quiet Breakup, and then 25 years of reunions and almost reunions. See you there. You want love, baby? Here I am.