AIBU to think that the Spice Girls were absolute rubbish?

[ImJustMadAboutSaffron]

Just that really. I think some of them could sing, one better than all of them, but their songs and persona, just no. I was about 16 when they appeared on the scene, so I was too old to be their target audience, I suppose. But I've always thought they were very Emperor's New Clothes.

They didn't really stand for anything , but at least they didn't feel the need to flash their knickers every five minutes and mostly covered up ( I know Geri's dresses could be a bit short , but not all the time)
I loved how they played up to their characters too, Emma could wear a baby spice t shirt and jeans and still look great.

I saw them in concert once. They were dreadful. Their voices weren't powerful enough to project to the audience, and they had no stage presence whatsoever. I forgot what I was doing there after a while!!

I hated the fact they pretended they'd invented girlpower in pop. Did no-one remember Banarama? But then every generation thinks they've invented the wheel.

What a lot of people miss when criticising artists or bands is that popularity is so much more than an ability to sing or dance. It's a mix of charisma, appeal, being right for the times, capturing the mood of a nation.

I actually think that it's the nation missing the fact that artists should be able to sing. It's the basics of their model.

@Ifailed

What did they stand for?

Doing as they were told.

.

Haha, yes.

I was too old to be in the demographic that was targeted as in my late twenties. At that time I was partying in London and having a whale of a time. I knew quite a few people, that worked in glam professions. They were very sneery about The Spice girls. It was of it’s time and when I hear them on the radio now as a very late middle aged woman it reminds me of a more carefree fun time when my bones didn’t ache.

YANBU. They were shite. But then, I was over 20 when they came out, so not the target market. I remember little 6 year olds would show you their choreography and sing along. Pretty harmless really. I preferred All Saints.😎

They were of their time and I don't think there has been a group like them before or since. They were of kind of cartoon group with the individual personalities (which were arguably stereotypical male fantasies but also appealed to young girls) They were loud and in your face, brash and colorful. I wouldn't choose to listen to their music now but I do think of them with fond nostalgia.

I think their management tried to replicate the success with a group called Girl Talk (if i'm remembering correctly) they were heavily marketed, given a Smash Hits cover (which was a big deal at the time and unheard of for a new band) and they were a complete flop, so there was more to it than marketing with the Spice Girls.

*Not Girl Talk but Girl Thing

YABU!

I was 14 when they appeared, it was something for teen girls to idolise, as was always this. Not great singers, but look at most of the manufactured pop bands, there are always crap singers. It is the 'x' factor and marketability that makes their success. Only Gary in TT could sing properly, and he was always ridiculed as the ugly one. He's grown into himself now.

Take a 'proper' band, eg Foo Fighters, they're musicians first but also marketable. There are bands all over the place and singers who are brilliant but they don't have it.

I think they were fun and all appeared to be having a fantastic time, knew who they were, were just being themselves, all best friends and were really living their best lives, I think that's what appealed about them - even if it was all completely fake. It's like the show 'Friends', I think its popularity is a lot down to people wishing they were like the characters and wishing they had friends that were like the other characters.

Lots of rubbish things are a success though - just look at Boris, the tool.

They made millions out of it , at least Mel C admits it was fun and more about the exposure than the actual singing!
They were huge in the states too , more so than Robbie Williams who flopped badly over there

@daimbarsatemydogsbone

Lots of rubbish things are a success though - just look at Boris, the tool.

Yep, life is strange !

Managed and marketed pop is always the same. Banal, anodine and formulaic. There are so many ‘bands’ over the decades who fall into this bracket. It isn’t good music but it fills a need in pre teens/teens who like safe idols.
i can’t be that upset by it. Ffs I liked Donny Osmand back in the day. 🤣

YANBU, they were crap but hypnotic, like most girl and boy bands.

I remember watching ‘wannabe’ when it came out on The Box like a zombie, knowing it was crap but couldn’t look away.

I think they came out at the right time and got Lucky but they had a Great Manager and they were actually put together and basically moulded into something that over time became very successful and made a lot of people very wealthy including themselves.

I have great memories of my nieces, nephews and various friends children, singing along, doing the dance moves , having fun.
They helped change the way young women were perceived , with their focus on fun and friendship. ( yes I seriously believe that)
They were of the moment. They were not All Saints however…

They had a freshness, energy and personality that was very of the moment, but actually stands up in a retro, nostalgia way. I was 15 when they came out and not deeply impressed but I remember them fondly and think their music holds its place compared to more recent but similar acts.

Was "Girl Power" a revolution in feminism, not really, but as a teenage girl that being "equal to boys" message was empowering in its own way-better than the messages my mother was getting 20 years earlier. You could choose to be sexy or sporty. Sporty Spice was my least favourite of the time, but was actually the most positive charicature presented.

Musically they do have a distinctive sound across different styles. They are recognisable where many girl groups merge together and they've had enough talent to hold successful solo careers. They weren't one-hit wonders or faded into obscurity.

10 years or so earlier and the charts were very male-led. I've got Now2 from 83-84 and 24 of the 30 acts were male/ male dominated, I've not counted the mixed bands with female lead vocalist like the Eurythmics. Many of the female artists on there weren't British either with an American bias.

They still play well as fun pop records, were part of the zeitgeist and are part of a positive legacy in female pop music.

Ultimate “zeitgeist” band. The production value of the songs wasn’t great and I think that shows up now - something like “Pure Shores” by All Saints still sounds good but the SG songs sound like they are tied together with string.

I was a teenage girl when they appeared but was more interested in Oasis and Blur.

I was about 18 when they appeared and very into indie/rock so not their demographic. I remember thinking they were shit but in a funny way and quite liking them for it.

I never understood why they were seen as such empowered women though as they were very clearly managed and marketed to the last second of their time. Yes, they all supposedly had different styles and personalities, but these were massively played upon as a marketing strategy too to the point where it was difficult for any of them to change if they wanted to.

Utter rubbish and the girl power stuff was just embarrassing. I always cringed when Geri or Mel B spoke, they both came across as utter idiots. Rest of them less offensive.

Very much the era of the time in the 90s pop music many of those girl bands and boy bands were rubbish..the only decent music of that time was the clubland. If spice girls came out now I don't think they would be any where near successful.