Closing Ceremony

Well I aint a Spice Girls fan. But they are more interesting than the Olympics IMHO.

Watched about 2 hours so far (missed it last night), it's good, there are some random bits but it wouldn't be ours without random! I liked Wonderwall but HATED Liam's terrible nasal whine, Noel would have been much better. Loved Elbow, Annie Lennox and Eric Idle. I love Emeli Sande but blummin heck, she must have been on a 3 for 1 offer! The best bit is watching the athletes enjoy it all. Overall is very good, but so far, not a patch on the opening ceremony. Maybe I'll change my mind after the last hour.

Yeah I know. Most people don't have any memories of when they were 9 years old but for some reason I do.

It's because you have no life.

Ohhhh, the Spice Girl names that we all adopted. Yep, I had one too. Not going to tell though.

I'm not sure 'obsessed' is the right word, though. In our early teens, we all do fads and crazes. Most are incredibly shallow and pass quickly, but Girl Power had a message behind it that mainlined right into our psyche.... and stayed there.

You think as a boy, Townie. When you see the Spice Girls, you see sex objects. We saw a bunch of really cool girls who had attitude and were giving us a message that was new and fresh and we wanted to absorb.

For a lot of girls of my age, social life focused around what boys wanted to do and that was a dominant force. Our older sisters, and girls in school who were a couple of years senior to us were pretty much role models in that regard. The prevailing attitude was that to get anywhere, you had to do what THEY wanted you to. If HE said he wanted you to cut your hair, you cut your hair. Girls, once they got the boyfriend they wanted would do anything to keep him That was how it was.

And boys knew it.

And then along come these lively, exuberant, sassy young women who said to us: "You know what..? You don't have to do what THEY want you to. You don't have to dress to please them. You don't have to do anything except what you want to do."

Stores like 'Claires' were starting to open and they sold girly stuff that we liked because it was pretty and bright and glittery and we felt good when we adorned ourselves in it. My teen generation soaked it up like sponges and loved it. It was the start of an entirely new female youth culture. It was new and it was US.

It wasn't just fashion though, it was a means by which we learned to assert ourselves. We didn't have to do what THEY wanted us to do and no, I like my hair just the way it is. Dating was still good and something to be desired, but from now on, it was going to be on OUR terms.

The Spice Girls didn't last long. Young teenage males quickly learned to resent this newfound 'Girl Power'. The last thing young men wanted was a female generation that didn't do as it was told anymore. And so there was negativity. Oh, they liked looking to see if they could get a little upskirt flash of Emma Bunton's knickers, or see if a bit of tit was hanging out. That's ok by them. But spreading a message that girls might actually want to look and dress and think for themselves..?

That's subversive. We can't have that.

And so what young men wanted... what they really, really wanted, was for the Spice Girls to fade and die. As it happened, the band imploded of its own accord in the end which solved that little problem quite neatly.

But the message had made its mark. It was now part of our mindset. I had friends who, adopting the new technology of mobile phones, would dump their boyfriends by text. It was easy, didn't involve any emotional stress and it felt powerful. Actually, it was incredibly cruel and in a way, quite cowardly. I didn't like hearing about it but I wasn't going to say so.

So, what of Girl Power now..? Well, I have a 13 year old niece whose ways are a mystery to her mother (my sister). Not to me, though. There are nine years between me and my sister and she was married by the time Girl Power hit the street. I was the one who rode that wave and I can easily see where my niece's attitude comes from. She is second generation girl power.

I have a nephew who is 18 months older and his behaviour towards girls is nothing like that of the boys who used to hang around our school gates. They were cocky.... full of themselves... treated girls just the same as their fathers and older brothers had. Not any more. Girl Power changed that forever. This generation of teenage boys treats young females more respectfully. More as equals. They have to because we don't take no s*** any more.

The band has gone, but the message has endured.

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Any talk of the actual music they came out with, or does it not matter?

Well, the songs were enjoyed too. We used to play them in our bedrooms... copy the dance steps and sing along using hairbrushes as mics. Heck, our mothers used to do that to Dusty Springfield songs. That's nothing new.

I know... it's all gotten away from the issue of the closing ceremony, but some points that people make simply sit up and beg to be challenged... or at least, qualified.

As usual though.. I've said my bit and having done that, am happy to get back on topic.... provided no further issues on that subject arise that I feel need discussing.

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Well I just found it comical that we have all these pages and pages here about a musical act, yet not one word was said about the actual music they came out with.

Well they did take a break didn't they?

Yes, I agree, and with the benefit of hindsight and the passing of the years, probably the less said about the actual music the better. Oh, I loved it all back then and wouldn't change a single thing about that time, but that was then and this is now. Still loved hearing the songs again though, just for the nostalgia trip.

I wonder how many people bought David Bowie's "The Laughing Gnome" back in the 1970's and now keep a discreet silence about it.


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I thought Wannabe was catchy, and still do, but I didn't hear much else from them, as it wasn't played by the stations I listen to. You mention the threat Girl Power had, but I think another reason people wanted them to go away was because people couldn't stand their music.

The much maligned music, eh..? Well, they weren't the first pop group to be more about presentation than quality and they haven't been the last. But they are best viewed as the whole package, and indicative of their time and the influence they had on a generation.

Tony Blair's "Cool Brittania" shtick was at its height and the Spices fitted that like a glove. As I said.... viewed with hindsight, it can all be seen in a more realistic light, but Leon.... to be there. To be 13 and ride that wave. Priceless.

As soon as those taxis appeared on the ramp at the closing ceremony I knew exactly who was in them and how their spot was going to pan out. It came back vividly. That has to mean something.

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Nothing wrong with any of that for sure. And bottom line, they made millions off of it, nobody can fault them for what they did from an entertainment standpoint.

And of course, before them, there was never a woman who sang about taking control of her own life and "girl power"






Nope... Nobody ever thought to put out an act that showed that women had power and strength before those awesome Brits.. But they're the first and the best at everything, so it's really to be expected.

Why do you have to bring bloody nationality into everything? Just because your having a disagreement about the Spice Girls doesn't mean you have to have another go against Britain in your odd vendetta against the UK.

What the hell made you so bitter about Britain?