The Spice Girls reunion has been flagged up for nearly as long as the Blair/Brown handover. It's going to be announced later today, apparently. Not a moment too soon for the members of the group, who have to face the hard fact that they must either do it now or not at all. Cream can get back together forty years after they formed and nobody cares that they're a bunch of craggy old scrotes. Nobody needs to fancy them.But the same rules don't apply to women in show business. Just as the male newsreader can get older while his female colleague is always traded in for a younger model and actresses disappear at the age of 38 and aren't allowed back until they can play eccentric grandmothers, the market for classic pop'n'rock will continue to be dominated by older white males.
How vereh true. The exception appears to be Joni Mitchell, and even she went off in a huff for a while.
ReplyDeleteMadonna would be the obvious exception here. She also increasingly fits the description of "craggy old scrote" and shows no sign of disappearing. As for the Spice Girls, surely it's all about the music...?
ReplyDeleteBonnie Raitt, Patti Smith? unlike Madge they are real musicians
ReplyDeletecase in point would be Banarama who have several stalled attempts at relaunch, other than on various 80's xmas packages.That said until recently Girl groups in the vein of Spice girls where rare in UK.
ReplyDeleteAlso compared to Takethat haven't all the post group nonsense the Spice girls have got into queered their pitch a little.
Where's the proof that Patti Smith is any more a musician than Madonna?
ReplyDeleteKate Bush? Seems to be moved out of twenties and beyond with most of her audience and credibility intact.
ReplyDeleteBut when did Kate Bush last tour?
ReplyDeleteWhat about the contrasting cases of Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton, one ages beautifully the other's strategy is the knife!
ReplyDeleteSurely Dolly is two parallel projects, there's dolly singer/songwriter and DOLLY the evolving pop art project?
ReplyDeleteSpice Girls v Cream comebacks?
ReplyDeletesurely this is the definition of apples and oranges.
The Spice Girls were never in the business of music, the music was just an excuse for spunky attitude and platform trainers.
And there's nothing wrong with that, if you like that kind of thing.
It's fruitless comparing two such divergent traditions; it's basically music hall vs morris dancing.
The Spice Girls/Celine Dion/Pop Idol/Robbie Williams/etc are light entertainment, a turn;
Cream/Bruce Springsteen/Ryan Adams/The Killers/U2/etc are folk music. Superannuated folk music, admittedly.
Amy Winehouse? A foot in both camps.
Also: Emmylou had better not mess about with that boatrace... those cheekbones should be in the Smithsonian.
The unanswered question in all this is: How many of the public are interested enough to cough up the no doubt astronomical ticket prices to see them or buy their 'product'? Their teenage audience has grown up, hard to see them excited by a media-fuelled and rather pointless reunion. And current teens, could they care less? They would have to come up with some killer tracks, and does anybody think they are really capable of that? I predict a medial onslaught and a rather indifferent public. It's about as potent as a Bay City Rollers comeback ten years after they finished. Ladies, we just don't care.
ReplyDeleteI just find it odd that 1997 is having its revenge. A new Labour Prime Minister, the Spice Girls coming back, The Verve. God. Next thing we know Diana will rise from the grave.
ReplyDeletejesus, i've just seen Geri describe it as 'like a G8 summit', if any more evidence was needed that woman is barking!
ReplyDeleteIan writes 'Their teenage audience has grown up, hard to see them excited by a media-fuelled and rather pointless reunion.' But that's exactly what will happen. Lok at how the former Spices are still of interest to 'celebrity' magazines and so on, without sinking to the level of eating insects in the Australian putback for our viewing pleasure, and didn't exactly the same thing happen with Take That?
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ReplyDeleteyou post a blog about the spice girls - i write a comment offering your audience (who are probably going to be interested in the spice girls) free tickets to go see the spice girls... you delete comment about the free spice girls tickets... why oh why? the purpose of the blogosphere is to share knowledge / information... is it not?
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