Shang Ting and I decided to take a morning out to check out the very popular Spice Girls exhibition at Leeds Museum in all it’s glory. Although Hebe Media was at the press launch, the exhibition wasn’t fully set up so we decided to hit the Leeds Museum during the half term to see how much of a trip down memory lane it actually was.
Back in the 90’s, my friends and I would get up at the end of every English class and pump out the newest Spice Girls single instead of reciting a poem or reading a journal entry for example. I, due to a bad hair dye situation, always performed as Ginger Spice, while my other friends took the roles of Posh, Sporty, Baby and Scary. We loved the Spice Girls, especially with Mel B being from Leeds, they were such a unique idea (which doesn’t exist much in the pop music industry anymore) and they were all about GIRL POWER!
Yeah they weren’t the best singers, yeah they were a bit ‘too’ in your face at times but my friends and I bought every single, every poster and I ‘ehem’ loved Spice World: The Movie.
When we arrived at the exhibition, it was set up as if you were going on tour so there is a life size doorman(not real) and access passes waiting at the entrance then you chose to have an artist pass or a managers pass. Throughout the exhibition there are posters, costumes and an unbelievable amount of magazines including the actual 'Spice' magazine. You can also sit down and catch a bit of Oscar nominated, Spice World: The Movie, which we did... and got sucked in for about 15 minutes; you can't beat a bit of Richard E Grant and Hugh 'House' Laurie at their best! :S
Throughout the exhibition there were lots of things for the kids to do, such as dress up in outfits similar to those of the Spice Girls. There was a stage and a judging panel where kids (or big kids like us) could sing Spice Girls songs using the stage and the Singstar karaoke set up while their friends and family watched and rated the performance using numbered paddles. There were also opportunities to write notes for the Spice Girls and draw pictures of pop stars using templates
Some very good creative efforts on the picture wallLooking at the whole collection that Liz West has provided for the exhibition, I was thinking at one time or another I owned so much of the merchandise that was there: the magazines, the CD’s, the videos, the Easter eggs and yes, the chunky Buffalo trainers!
It was a nostalgic trip down memory lane. I found myself behaving like a child when I saw anything that made me feel 12 again. Gasping at the exact edition of TV Hits I remember having or spotting the 2 Become 1 special edition CD with poster which I still have somewhere at home now.
Liz West introducing the exhibition at the press launchI do think I will visit the exhibition again when the kids are back at school because I didn’t get a chance to sing on the Singstar machine!!! The kids hogged it the whole time. And yes I am an adult but c’mon, they are too young to even know who the Spice Girls are ;-) The exhibition was made for my generation!
Overall: Anything that makes me feel like a kid again is fine by me, so if you loved the Spice Girls at one time or another, go check it out. It was fun and the collection is great. I do think Mel B should have got herself over to open the exhibition though! Actually I would have much rather had Leigh Francis as Mel B! Crab Paste!
Favourite part: Although the draw-a-popstar part was nice, as I love seeing children being creative, I would have to say the Post-It note message wall was my favourite part. Here at the Hebe Office we are big fans of post-Its and we understand the power they hold.