It is tricky to keep track of just how many times the Spice Girls have reformed – either as a quartet or (increasingly rare given Victoria Beckham’s antipathy towards getting the gang back together again… again) as a quintet.
The whispers never really go away, with the members tactically stoking up the rumour mill themselves. The last big example was Melanie Chisholm implying back in September that they would love to play the Sunday afternoon “Legends Slot” at Glastonbury next year, with Emma Bunton adding more fuel to the speculation fire by hinting that Victoria might actually be “up for” this particular reunion.
Shows or not, the group are keen to keep the legacy (and the brand) active, with their second album, Spiceworld, getting an anniversary reissue on 4th November. Their D2C store is very much open for business, with a vast array of bundles on offer – ranging from a Spiceworld double CD in a hardback book plus a double cassette for £37.99 all the way up to a multi-format blockbuster bundle (coloured vinyl, picture disc, double CD, double LP and double cassette) for £107.99.
The reissues have a variety of B-sides, remixes and live recordings, with the release of ‘Spice Up Your Life’ (the lead single from Spiceworld) live in Arnhem, Netherlands, in 1998 released to DSPs as a teaser.
This archive digging was preceded by “lost” track ‘Step To Me’ arriving on streaming services. (It was previously only available on a four-track Pepsi-branded CD from 1997 that required fans to send in 20 ring pulls from promotional cans of the drink.)
They also re-cut the video for ‘Spice Up Your Life’ that carried on the archive-clearing theme by being created from unseen footage taken during the original video shoot in 1997.
Never ones to miss a branding trick or retail opportunity, there is also a whole new range of Spice-centric merchandise on their official store, including new sweatshirts (£45), tracksuits (£100) and a stressball (£12).
The re-re-re-re-union shows may (or may not) happen, but the Spice Girls retail juggernaut keeps powering on through the years.
