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Viva Whatever: The Spice Girls Rare Music Page
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  • Last updated: 24/09/05
    (Mild cleanup)

    Wooden it be good . . .
    The Spice Girls 2000 model. Comments about forests and trees too obvious to include.

    Wow, we're all in the same room!
    On Forever, Posh actually gets to sing more than three lines. Nice, that.

    And then there were four
    The Spice Girls live on stage. You won't find live Spice performances here, except when they cover other people's songs.

    Do your eyes hurt yet?

    My arm ain't half stiff!

    Spice Girls in concert. Would I lie to you? Well, yes, actually. If you clicked on the 'Topless' link on this page, you'd now have realised there are no topless shots. This is because this is a music-based page, and topless music is not really a separate category. So there you go.

    Cop a load of that!
    Yeah, I know Geri left the band, but practically everything listed on this page features her, so she's sticking around, visually speaking.

     


     

     

     

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    ? On the very first version of this site, I wrote: "There are already dozens of Spice Girls sites out there, so why do another one?" Fast-forward to the present day and the endless reunion rumours, and most of those sites have either been abandoned or evaporated completely. Being a perverse kind of chap, this seemed like a good reason to maintain this one.

    The original intention of this site was to provide links to all the Spice Girls tracks which didn't feature on their albums. At the time, those links were to pirate sites offering the tracks in RA format. I've removed the links from this version for two reasons. Firstly, most of the sites in question are dead, killed off either by Napster or disinterest; and secondly, I've managed to purchase most of the tracks involved on the official releases, so I figure anyone else who wants them can do the same.

    While the Spice Girls released Forever in October 2000, as yet no out-take tracks have emerged from the recordings, and the band is now officially a thing of the past. Nonetheless, we can live in hope that one day the girls will do the sensible thing, team up with their old writing partner Richard Stannard and churn out some more pop classics.

    As before, I'm not commenting on album tracks, or any of the many remixes available. I've also abandoned attempts to list all the solo recordings, since these are now more numerous than official band releases. This is simply "tracks the Spice Girls have recorded/performed which ain't on either of their albums", briefly reviewed and listed for reference.

    B-Sides
    Studio tracks that didn't make the final cut and wound up on singles. Most Spice singles are also boosted with remixes, which I find far too tedious to enumerate.

  • Bumper To Bumper
    A fairly standard funk/pop offering that could easily have sat on the first album. B-side to 'Wannabe'.
  • Take Me Home
    Promising 80s style string-laden opening that subsequently becomes a bit repetitive. Good atmosphere; needs a better tune. B-side to 'Say You'll Be There'.
  • One Of These Girls
    The lyrics sound like that song they used to play on Sesame Street, but this is probably the pick of the B-side tracks from this era, and a very typical Spice number. B-side to '2 Become 1'.
  • Sleigh Ride
    Yes, it's that cheesy old Christmas chestnut, livened up with a little Spice Girl chat. B-side to '2 Become 1'.
  • Baby Come Round
    A vaguely upbeat ballad with some smoochy sax. OK, but not exceptional. Mel C prominent. B-side to 'Mama/Who Do You Think You Are?'.
  • Spice Invaders
    Less a song than a spoken-word sequence over a fairly basic musical loop -- a pattern the girls appeared to be increasingly embracing for their flip tracks at this time. B-side to 'Spice Up Your Life'.
  • Outer Space Girls
    Totally stupid but actually rather appealing excursion into outer space themes (presumably 'Outer Spice Girls' sounded a bit naff). A tad Janet Jackson in sound. B-side to 'Too Much'.
  • Walk Of Life
    Reggae man! Well, reggae Spice style. Oddly anonymous. B-side to 'Too Much'.
  • Christmas Wrapping
    A funky cover of the Waitresses' seasonal classic. Well effective, probably the best Spice flip ever. B-side to 'Goodbye'.

    Cover Versions
    Although the Spice Girls managed to resist the common teen band urge to release a cover version as a single, they did show a fondness for covers in their live appearances. (See also 'Sleigh Ride' and 'Christmas Wrapping' in the B-Sides section.)

  • Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now
    A duet with Luther Vandross from the An Audience With The Spice Girls special, and in fact the V-ster dominates proceedings. Nice but unadventurous. B-side to 'Stop'.
  • We Are Family
    When in doubt, close your live show with a Sister Sledge disco classic! B-side to 'Goodbye'.
  • Don't Go Breaking My Heart (performed live with Elton John)
    An acceptable if unadventurous cover of the John/Kiki Dee classic, taken from the An Audience With Elton John special.
  • Leader Of The Gang
    As featured in Spiceworld: The Movie, this was scheduled to feature original artist Gary Glitter, but he was cut out in the wake of the whole child porn scandal. Surprisingly effective.
  • Where Did Our Love Go?
    Baby Spice's big live moment (complete with much punning over the song's 'Baby, baby . . .' intro), and a reminder that the Spice Girls still have to catch up with the Supremes in terms of all-female bands. Couldn't they have done something more interesting with the backing?
  • Sisters
    More precisely, the Eurythmics/Aretha Franklin classic 'Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves', reinterpreted by Mel B and Mel C. Falsely rumoured to be a feature of the third album.

    Commercials
    Spice Girl-boosted commercials tend to either feature no music or one of their well-known tracks (cue Pepsi, Impulse and so forth). But there are exceptions . . .

  • Power Of Five
    A bright and poppy theme for the launch of Britain's Channel 5, based on the old theme for 'Ready Steady Go', I believe. They failed to grab an obvious opportunity and re-record it for Channel 4 when Geri left.
  • Step To Me
    OK, not strictly speaking an ad, but the only way to get this song was by buying lots of Pepsi. More guitar-oriented than most Spice work, but kinda ephemeral. Music Week commented that the actual ad theme song, 'Generation Next' (featured on Spiceworld) was the better track; I'd agree.
  • On Top Of The World
    Well, if a football song isn't an ad, then what is? The Spicies join a lineup of other UK stars to sing the praises of the English soccer team. Not much good it did 'em . . .

    Obscurities
    Odd stuff I couldn't dump under the other categories.

  • My Strongest Suit
    Shockingly, I still haven't got myself a copy of this recording, which is part of the concept album for the Elton John/Tim Rice Broadway show Aida. One of these days . . .
  • Sound Off
    The 'marching song' featured in Spiceworld: The Movie.
  • We're Gonna Make It Happen
    Audition song used by the Spice Girls in their pre-Simon Fuller days, given an extensive airing on the documentary Raw Spice. No great loss to their repertoire.