Browse content similar to Geri's 1990s: My Drive To Freedom. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
Line | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|
This programme contains some strong language. | 0:00:02 | 0:00:05 | |
For me, the '90s was the decade of Britpop and Cool Britannia... | 0:00:05 | 0:00:08 | |
Music was the focus of youth culture and youth culture was culture. | 0:00:08 | 0:00:11 | |
..of grunge and girl power... | 0:00:11 | 0:00:13 | |
If you don't like Wannabe, you've got a dead soul. | 0:00:13 | 0:00:16 | |
..of rave and reconciliation. | 0:00:16 | 0:00:19 | |
It was a decade of opportunity, of hope, | 0:00:19 | 0:00:22 | |
of change in all areas of life. | 0:00:22 | 0:00:24 | |
A time when young people gate-crashed the mainstream | 0:00:24 | 0:00:27 | |
and took over art and television. | 0:00:27 | 0:00:29 | |
I think it was one of the few decades in British history | 0:00:29 | 0:00:32 | |
where it doesn't pay to be posh. | 0:00:32 | 0:00:35 | |
It felt like we had won, and it was completely brilliant. | 0:00:35 | 0:00:38 | |
SHE LAUGHS | 0:00:38 | 0:00:40 | |
-CROWD: -Girl power! | 0:00:40 | 0:00:42 | |
And there were some wild moments along the way. | 0:00:42 | 0:00:45 | |
When she reached 18, nothing stopped her. | 0:00:45 | 0:00:48 | |
She actually went like a volcano. | 0:00:48 | 0:00:51 | |
-Those were the days, Ange. -They certainly were, darling. | 0:00:51 | 0:00:54 | |
During the '90s, I went from teenage raver to Ginger Spice to solo star. | 0:00:54 | 0:00:59 | |
And I look back on it as a time of real opportunity, | 0:00:59 | 0:01:02 | |
when Britain was at its very best. | 0:01:02 | 0:01:05 | |
Just looking back, I've realised the '90s really was a snapshot | 0:01:05 | 0:01:08 | |
of a time when, yes, it's OK to be you, it's OK to be yourself. | 0:01:08 | 0:01:12 | |
We will celebrate that. | 0:01:12 | 0:01:14 | |
# See our friends | 0:01:15 | 0:01:16 | |
# See the sights | 0:01:16 | 0:01:18 | |
# Feel all right. # | 0:01:18 | 0:01:20 | |
So this is me in 1990, | 0:01:31 | 0:01:34 | |
a year of massive changes all over the world. | 0:01:34 | 0:01:37 | |
The great Nelson Mandela walked to freedom. | 0:01:38 | 0:01:42 | |
Europe celebrated the fall of the Berlin Wall. | 0:01:42 | 0:01:45 | |
And Britain's Iron Lady, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, | 0:01:45 | 0:01:49 | |
resigned following the poll tax riots. | 0:01:49 | 0:01:51 | |
We are leaving Downing Street for the last time, | 0:01:53 | 0:01:56 | |
after 11 and a half wonderful years. | 0:01:56 | 0:01:59 | |
Yes, I was one of Thatcher's children, | 0:02:02 | 0:02:05 | |
a teenager during the '80s. | 0:02:05 | 0:02:07 | |
And I was brought up in Watford, North London. | 0:02:07 | 0:02:10 | |
And even as a kid, I was dreaming of fame and fortune. | 0:02:10 | 0:02:14 | |
And that's me with my lovely dad. | 0:02:14 | 0:02:17 | |
We weren't a typical working-class family. | 0:02:17 | 0:02:19 | |
Dad was British, my mum was Spanish, and much younger than him. | 0:02:19 | 0:02:24 | |
She's lived here longer than most, | 0:02:24 | 0:02:26 | |
yet she's still got a really strong accent. | 0:02:26 | 0:02:29 | |
She's never lost it. | 0:02:29 | 0:02:30 | |
She's always been a very happy child | 0:02:30 | 0:02:32 | |
and very happy girl, | 0:02:32 | 0:02:34 | |
and she was very kind with people too. | 0:02:34 | 0:02:36 | |
But I never thought, honestly, truthfully, | 0:02:36 | 0:02:38 | |
I never thought she would be so famous like that. | 0:02:38 | 0:02:41 | |
-You always tried to show off. -Really? | 0:02:41 | 0:02:43 | |
Look at several people, "Ah, look at me, look at me, look at me." | 0:02:43 | 0:02:46 | |
Singing all the time. | 0:02:46 | 0:02:48 | |
You loved performing. | 0:02:48 | 0:02:50 | |
It must be a bit annoying. | 0:02:50 | 0:02:52 | |
Yes, you get on people's nerves. | 0:02:52 | 0:02:55 | |
-But it was all right. You know? -I understand. | 0:02:55 | 0:02:57 | |
-But you're a lovely girl. -Mwah! | 0:02:57 | 0:02:59 | |
Dammit! | 0:02:59 | 0:03:00 | |
It's really funny being here. Really brings back so many memories. | 0:03:07 | 0:03:11 | |
My dad used to run his second-hand car dealer business from here. | 0:03:13 | 0:03:18 | |
And so he would always have lots of different cars outside, | 0:03:18 | 0:03:21 | |
like, Hillman Imps, about three of them, | 0:03:21 | 0:03:24 | |
and he'd be tinkering along, and all his fingers were all greasy. | 0:03:24 | 0:03:27 | |
And the phone would always be going. | 0:03:27 | 0:03:30 | |
Thanks to my dad, | 0:03:32 | 0:03:34 | |
one of my favourite toys was a little red sports car. | 0:03:34 | 0:03:37 | |
I dreamed of owning a real one just like it. | 0:03:37 | 0:03:39 | |
I remember, actually, when I was a little girl, I was probably about, | 0:03:41 | 0:03:45 | |
I would say about seven or eight, and we had a loo in the back garden. | 0:03:45 | 0:03:51 | |
OK, an outside loo. And there was a little step. | 0:03:51 | 0:03:54 | |
And I remember sitting on that step | 0:03:54 | 0:03:57 | |
writing my first kind of song-poem thing. | 0:03:57 | 0:04:01 | |
So living here, I had this big master plan, like, yeah, | 0:04:01 | 0:04:04 | |
somehow I'm going to, you know, get rich and famous. | 0:04:04 | 0:04:08 | |
That was the dream. Ha-ha. | 0:04:08 | 0:04:10 | |
# Every day I hear a different story | 0:04:12 | 0:04:15 | |
# People saying that you're no good for me... # | 0:04:15 | 0:04:19 | |
For two local North London boys, | 0:04:19 | 0:04:21 | |
that pop dream had already become a reality. | 0:04:21 | 0:04:24 | |
I loved Wham for so many reasons. | 0:04:25 | 0:04:27 | |
They were great fun, and the music was just brilliant. | 0:04:27 | 0:04:31 | |
I remember, like, all these girls would go and stand outside | 0:04:31 | 0:04:34 | |
Andrew Ridgeley's house, you know, because he was the good-looking one. | 0:04:34 | 0:04:37 | |
But I liked George. | 0:04:37 | 0:04:39 | |
I had no idea what side of the fence he was on. | 0:04:39 | 0:04:43 | |
In latter years, I tried to flirt with him and it didn't work. | 0:04:43 | 0:04:46 | |
# I don't want your freedom... # | 0:04:46 | 0:04:50 | |
To begin with, I didn't really fit in at school. | 0:04:50 | 0:04:52 | |
I felt like an outsider - | 0:04:52 | 0:04:54 | |
a girl from the other side of town. | 0:04:54 | 0:04:57 | |
But getting into grammar school was one of the best things | 0:04:57 | 0:04:59 | |
that ever happened to me. | 0:04:59 | 0:05:00 | |
This was a life-changing experience. | 0:05:00 | 0:05:03 | |
The education that it gave me was fantastic. | 0:05:03 | 0:05:06 | |
But it also had a lot of tradition. | 0:05:06 | 0:05:08 | |
You know, I had to wear a boater, you know, | 0:05:08 | 0:05:10 | |
one of those straw boaters. | 0:05:10 | 0:05:11 | |
So it's quite funny, you know, | 0:05:11 | 0:05:13 | |
little scrappy kid from the other side of Watford | 0:05:13 | 0:05:15 | |
coming here, wearing a boater. | 0:05:15 | 0:05:17 | |
And really having to fit in with these girls that were from | 0:05:17 | 0:05:21 | |
probably much more privileged backgrounds, actually. | 0:05:21 | 0:05:24 | |
I have such great memories of my schooldays. | 0:05:25 | 0:05:28 | |
But there were times when problems at home were difficult to deal with. | 0:05:28 | 0:05:32 | |
Like a lot of people, and more so these days, my parents divorced. | 0:05:32 | 0:05:36 | |
And I think I was at that age | 0:05:36 | 0:05:38 | |
where I was old enough to understand what was going on, | 0:05:38 | 0:05:42 | |
but not really old enough to have the sort of tools to process it | 0:05:42 | 0:05:48 | |
and cope with it properly. | 0:05:48 | 0:05:49 | |
It was a tough time. But whenever I struggled with anything, | 0:05:51 | 0:05:55 | |
I'd turn to my music. | 0:05:55 | 0:05:58 | |
So this song, looking back, is, you know, quite meaningful | 0:05:58 | 0:06:02 | |
because I think ABBA were going through their own break-up. | 0:06:02 | 0:06:05 | |
# One of us is lonely | 0:06:05 | 0:06:08 | |
# One of us is only | 0:06:08 | 0:06:11 | |
# Waiting for a call | 0:06:11 | 0:06:15 | |
# Sorry for herself | 0:06:16 | 0:06:19 | |
# Feeling stupid, feeling small | 0:06:19 | 0:06:22 | |
# Wishing she had never left at all... # | 0:06:22 | 0:06:26 | |
You know, songs that have always been | 0:06:26 | 0:06:28 | |
like the soundtrack of our lives. | 0:06:28 | 0:06:30 | |
You know, so you hear that again, you are transported back. | 0:06:30 | 0:06:34 | |
So that song means something to me. | 0:06:34 | 0:06:37 | |
As a teenager, I was very insecure and really lacked confidence, | 0:06:43 | 0:06:47 | |
especially with boys. | 0:06:47 | 0:06:49 | |
So when Madonna became a star in the mid-'80s, | 0:06:49 | 0:06:53 | |
it made me and millions of other girls | 0:06:53 | 0:06:55 | |
feel so much better about ourselves. | 0:06:55 | 0:06:57 | |
I think teenagers can connect to feeling trapped. | 0:06:59 | 0:07:03 | |
You're too old for the teacup ride, | 0:07:03 | 0:07:04 | |
but you're not big enough for the big wheel. | 0:07:04 | 0:07:06 | |
You're somewhere in between. | 0:07:06 | 0:07:07 | |
I think great pop records, | 0:07:07 | 0:07:09 | |
when they wrote about that kind of thing, you really connected to it. | 0:07:09 | 0:07:12 | |
And I think that's why I connected to Madonna. | 0:07:12 | 0:07:14 | |
# And you can dance for inspiration... # | 0:07:17 | 0:07:22 | |
I remember going to see Desperately Seeking Susan... | 0:07:22 | 0:07:25 | |
# Come on... # | 0:07:25 | 0:07:26 | |
I knew you had to be 15. | 0:07:26 | 0:07:28 | |
# I'm waiting! # | 0:07:28 | 0:07:31 | |
And I think I may have been 12, | 0:07:31 | 0:07:33 | |
and I remember putting socks in a bra, I didn't even wear a bra. | 0:07:33 | 0:07:36 | |
I got in, I was like, "Yes!" | 0:07:38 | 0:07:40 | |
# Get up on your feet, yeah... # | 0:07:40 | 0:07:42 | |
It was very, very un-airbrushed. | 0:07:42 | 0:07:45 | |
It was, like, "Yeah, this is me, with all my little rubber bangles. | 0:07:45 | 0:07:48 | |
"And this is me with my three bras on at the same time." | 0:07:48 | 0:07:50 | |
You know, the music was great, the story was great, | 0:07:50 | 0:07:54 | |
I was just blown away by it. | 0:07:54 | 0:07:56 | |
So that is me at 17, in 1989. | 0:07:56 | 0:07:59 | |
A wannabe Madonna who decided to quit school. | 0:07:59 | 0:08:03 | |
And even though Mum didn't agree with me, she always supported me. | 0:08:03 | 0:08:07 | |
She stood up for me and has been by my side. | 0:08:07 | 0:08:10 | |
She's got this very strong character. | 0:08:10 | 0:08:12 | |
You look like Marilyn Monroe there. It's nice. | 0:08:12 | 0:08:15 | |
No matter who you are, whoever I have introduced her to, | 0:08:15 | 0:08:18 | |
she is like, "Well, what do you want? | 0:08:18 | 0:08:20 | |
"What do you want with my daughter?" | 0:08:20 | 0:08:22 | |
Here's my home-made silver rave outfit. | 0:08:22 | 0:08:25 | |
When I turned 18, August, 1990, the new music scene | 0:08:25 | 0:08:29 | |
gave me the opportunity to be even more rebellious. | 0:08:29 | 0:08:33 | |
I loved being part of the rave scene and the way it united young people | 0:08:33 | 0:08:36 | |
in clubs, warehouses, and fields across the nation. | 0:08:36 | 0:08:40 | |
The '80s, if you were doing well out of it, | 0:08:40 | 0:08:42 | |
was an individualistic decade. | 0:08:42 | 0:08:44 | |
It was the decade of the yuppie, of the bond trader, | 0:08:44 | 0:08:46 | |
the big bang in the city. | 0:08:46 | 0:08:48 | |
About me, me, me. | 0:08:48 | 0:08:49 | |
And the culture that arrives at the tail end of it | 0:08:49 | 0:08:52 | |
isn't about that at all. | 0:08:52 | 0:08:53 | |
It's a revolt against it. | 0:08:53 | 0:08:54 | |
It's about loving each other. | 0:08:54 | 0:08:56 | |
The ethos of rave and of club culture at that time | 0:09:00 | 0:09:04 | |
was this real thing of togetherness, of shared experience, | 0:09:04 | 0:09:06 | |
that we were all in it together. | 0:09:06 | 0:09:09 | |
The music I think of at this time was early Chicago House, | 0:09:09 | 0:09:12 | |
Frankie Knuckles, Ten City, Joe Smooth. | 0:09:12 | 0:09:15 | |
Tracks like Promised Land which have this almost reverential kind | 0:09:15 | 0:09:18 | |
of slightly biblical, gospel-like air to them. | 0:09:18 | 0:09:22 | |
# Sometimes I feel like putting my hands up in the air... # | 0:09:22 | 0:09:26 | |
God bless my mother. | 0:09:26 | 0:09:28 | |
I'd been such a good girl up until I was 17, | 0:09:28 | 0:09:31 | |
and then suddenly, I'd met these people who would say, | 0:09:31 | 0:09:34 | |
"Come raving," and I remember coming back to my mother, going, | 0:09:34 | 0:09:37 | |
"Mother, I've found my people." | 0:09:37 | 0:09:39 | |
And she was, like, horrified. | 0:09:39 | 0:09:42 | |
When she reached 18, nothing stopped her. | 0:09:42 | 0:09:45 | |
She actually went like a volcano. | 0:09:45 | 0:09:48 | |
-So was I a nightmare, a bit? -Ah, well, you was a nightmare | 0:09:48 | 0:09:51 | |
but it's better you be a nightmare when you are a teenager. | 0:09:51 | 0:09:54 | |
Yeah. | 0:09:54 | 0:09:56 | |
The cross-section of music that I was loving was such a wide range. | 0:10:02 | 0:10:06 | |
There was like Frankie Knuckles, there was Candi Staton, | 0:10:06 | 0:10:10 | |
Little Louie, Alison Limerick... | 0:10:10 | 0:10:12 | |
# Don't reach out to me with an apology... # | 0:10:14 | 0:10:18 | |
# Don't reach out for me with an apology | 0:10:18 | 0:10:22 | |
# I'll never suffer your desire... # | 0:10:22 | 0:10:25 | |
I loved it when it was like a really heavy bass, | 0:10:25 | 0:10:27 | |
but then something really melodic that touches you, | 0:10:27 | 0:10:30 | |
and you are like, "Yeah, I feel it." | 0:10:30 | 0:10:32 | |
# So why don't you take my hand? | 0:10:32 | 0:10:34 | |
# Come away, come out of your blues... # | 0:10:34 | 0:10:37 | |
I knew that something was special about this song, | 0:10:40 | 0:10:44 | |
and I was gobsmacked... | 0:10:44 | 0:10:46 | |
..at how, that so many people | 0:10:47 | 0:10:50 | |
in a room could react to one song. | 0:10:50 | 0:10:52 | |
-That was nice. -SHE LAUGHS | 0:10:55 | 0:10:57 | |
It was really cool. | 0:10:57 | 0:10:58 | |
The mix that it got in America | 0:11:00 | 0:11:02 | |
with Frankie Knuckles and David Morales | 0:11:02 | 0:11:05 | |
just took it to another level, | 0:11:05 | 0:11:07 | |
and it's that mix that went on to be loved | 0:11:07 | 0:11:11 | |
by lovely, lovely, lovely audiences around the country and in America. | 0:11:11 | 0:11:17 | |
I've had people who have said that they wouldn't have been born | 0:11:20 | 0:11:23 | |
if it hadn't been for my song, | 0:11:23 | 0:11:25 | |
which is SLIGHTLY worrying. | 0:11:25 | 0:11:27 | |
Along with my old friend Angela, I started hanging out | 0:11:30 | 0:11:33 | |
in The Game Bird pub in Watford. | 0:11:33 | 0:11:36 | |
It was a great meeting place for hundreds of young ravers. | 0:11:36 | 0:11:39 | |
-It used to be packed, didn't it? -Yeah. | 0:11:39 | 0:11:41 | |
And there was a DJ as well, wasn't there? | 0:11:41 | 0:11:43 | |
-Those were the days, Ange. -They certainly were, darling. | 0:11:43 | 0:11:47 | |
I can picture you in platform boots and a big furry, | 0:11:51 | 0:11:54 | |
fluffy coat that came up to about here, | 0:11:54 | 0:11:57 | |
and you walked in and everyone was like, "There she comes." | 0:11:57 | 0:11:59 | |
But it included everybody, didn't it? | 0:11:59 | 0:12:01 | |
I just remember all these cars just lining up | 0:12:01 | 0:12:05 | |
and all going off to the venue and it was like OUR club, OUR secret. | 0:12:05 | 0:12:09 | |
Back before the internet and mobile phones, | 0:12:11 | 0:12:13 | |
we'd have to wait in the pub | 0:12:13 | 0:12:15 | |
for news of secret raves, like Sunrise and Biology. | 0:12:15 | 0:12:19 | |
When Biology was on down the road, I mean, | 0:12:22 | 0:12:25 | |
everybody turned up here and it was like, | 0:12:25 | 0:12:27 | |
you couldn't get a car in the car park, | 0:12:27 | 0:12:29 | |
there was cars parked all the way down that road. | 0:12:29 | 0:12:31 | |
And you came in, and the place was buzzing and then, | 0:12:31 | 0:12:34 | |
all of a sudden, it's like, "This is where it's going to be." | 0:12:34 | 0:12:36 | |
And the whole pub just emptied. | 0:12:36 | 0:12:38 | |
Listen to this. | 0:12:41 | 0:12:43 | |
MUSIC: Where Love Lives By Alison Limerick | 0:12:43 | 0:12:45 | |
-Takes you back, doesn't it? -Yeah. | 0:12:47 | 0:12:49 | |
Did you have that sort of dance, really crap dancing? | 0:12:49 | 0:12:52 | |
-People would do that sort of big box, little box. -I know, yeah. | 0:12:52 | 0:12:56 | |
THEY LAUGH | 0:13:03 | 0:13:07 | |
It was brilliant while the party lasted. | 0:13:21 | 0:13:25 | |
-Go, go, go! -Go, lads, go, go, go! | 0:13:25 | 0:13:28 | |
But soon the government and the police took action to clamp down | 0:13:28 | 0:13:31 | |
on the rave scene. | 0:13:31 | 0:13:33 | |
It is time to get back to basics, | 0:13:34 | 0:13:37 | |
to self-discipline and respect for the law. | 0:13:37 | 0:13:40 | |
Soon, new laws were passed to control the scene | 0:13:42 | 0:13:45 | |
and make outdoor raves illegal. | 0:13:45 | 0:13:47 | |
You've got this government legislation, | 0:13:47 | 0:13:49 | |
the Criminal Justice Act, which is insane, looking back, | 0:13:49 | 0:13:52 | |
makes reference to music with repetitive beats. | 0:13:52 | 0:13:54 | |
That's in legislation, right? | 0:13:54 | 0:13:57 | |
The government legislated against dance music. | 0:13:57 | 0:14:00 | |
That's how much they didn't like it. | 0:14:00 | 0:14:03 | |
I never understood why people couldn't go out and party. | 0:14:03 | 0:14:07 | |
It seemed to be ridiculous | 0:14:07 | 0:14:09 | |
to stop people wanting to enjoy themselves. | 0:14:09 | 0:14:12 | |
They were thinking it was like the '70s, I suppose. | 0:14:14 | 0:14:16 | |
They were thinking it was like a political uprising. | 0:14:16 | 0:14:18 | |
When, actually, it was just a whole load of people who were dancing | 0:14:18 | 0:14:21 | |
and taking drugs. | 0:14:21 | 0:14:23 | |
I was a London raver, | 0:14:25 | 0:14:26 | |
but the scene had a real impact throughout Britain, | 0:14:26 | 0:14:29 | |
especially Manchester. | 0:14:29 | 0:14:32 | |
# Son, I'm 30 | 0:14:32 | 0:14:35 | |
# I only went with your mother cos she's dirty... # | 0:14:35 | 0:14:38 | |
I cannot emphasise enough what a great place | 0:14:38 | 0:14:40 | |
The Hacienda in Manchester was. | 0:14:40 | 0:14:42 | |
I mean, it's arguably the most famous club that's ever been. | 0:14:42 | 0:14:46 | |
# What you get is just what you see, yeah... # | 0:14:46 | 0:14:48 | |
# I see it so I take it freely... # | 0:14:48 | 0:14:51 | |
Everything was sort of vivid, Day-Glo primary colours. | 0:14:53 | 0:14:56 | |
And everyone wore great big, wide-flared trousers. | 0:14:56 | 0:14:59 | |
And long-sleeved T-shirts. | 0:14:59 | 0:15:01 | |
My mum told me I looked triangular around that time, | 0:15:01 | 0:15:03 | |
which was the desired effect. | 0:15:03 | 0:15:05 | |
And my hair was centre-parted and grown down here | 0:15:05 | 0:15:08 | |
in what was elegantly known in Manchester as a bumhead. | 0:15:08 | 0:15:11 | |
Manchester lads, Happy Mondays and Stone Roses | 0:15:13 | 0:15:16 | |
were two of the biggest bands to come out of the scene. | 0:15:16 | 0:15:19 | |
When both made it on to Top Of The Pops, | 0:15:19 | 0:15:21 | |
it seemed like a real breakthrough. | 0:15:21 | 0:15:24 | |
Things like that would happen and you'd feel like | 0:15:24 | 0:15:27 | |
something that you knew about had somehow got to sneak in. | 0:15:27 | 0:15:32 | |
# The pack on my back is aching... # | 0:15:32 | 0:15:35 | |
It felt like we had won, and it was completely brilliant. | 0:15:35 | 0:15:38 | |
SHE LAUGHS | 0:15:38 | 0:15:41 | |
Things were changing, and not only in politics and music. | 0:15:41 | 0:15:44 | |
New youth shows suddenly made it seem like | 0:15:44 | 0:15:47 | |
we were also taking over TV. | 0:15:47 | 0:15:50 | |
The television that was going on, it felt like it was for us. | 0:15:50 | 0:15:52 | |
That people that were making it were from our generation. | 0:15:52 | 0:15:56 | |
It wasn't some stuffy adults. | 0:15:56 | 0:15:59 | |
All of those kinds of programmes that were under the umbrella | 0:15:59 | 0:16:02 | |
of Planet 24, Charlie Parsons. | 0:16:02 | 0:16:05 | |
I was, like, "Yeah, that was just really impressive." | 0:16:05 | 0:16:08 | |
I felt, and Channel 4 agreed, | 0:16:13 | 0:16:15 | |
that there was an appetite | 0:16:15 | 0:16:17 | |
for an entertainment show | 0:16:17 | 0:16:20 | |
which would be very different, aimed at 16 to 34-year-olds. | 0:16:20 | 0:16:22 | |
And that, essentially, was what The Word was. | 0:16:22 | 0:16:25 | |
I think you've got to be really drunk to watch this show. | 0:16:28 | 0:16:31 | |
If I had a body like you, | 0:16:31 | 0:16:33 | |
I probably wouldn't want to take my top off either. | 0:16:33 | 0:16:36 | |
It was a reaction, if you like, | 0:16:36 | 0:16:38 | |
to the rather staid world of TV that had been before | 0:16:38 | 0:16:41 | |
and, in some ways, a reaction to some of the youth programmes | 0:16:41 | 0:16:44 | |
of before which were a little bit sort of pompous and pretentious. | 0:16:44 | 0:16:48 | |
And it's the end of this part of the show | 0:16:48 | 0:16:50 | |
and it's also probably the end of my career, | 0:16:50 | 0:16:51 | |
but thank you so much for giving me the chance. | 0:16:51 | 0:16:54 | |
Goodnight. | 0:16:54 | 0:16:55 | |
The Word was for my generation. | 0:16:55 | 0:16:57 | |
It had energy and attitude. | 0:16:57 | 0:16:59 | |
It was great to see the spirit on morning television too. | 0:16:59 | 0:17:02 | |
-Hello. -Hello. -It's me. How are you? | 0:17:02 | 0:17:06 | |
The ethos of the production company was | 0:17:06 | 0:17:08 | |
that we put so much work into it, | 0:17:08 | 0:17:10 | |
every individual show was so carefully crafted | 0:17:10 | 0:17:14 | |
and had so much in it, | 0:17:14 | 0:17:15 | |
and, I think in TV terms, | 0:17:15 | 0:17:17 | |
it actually changed the way TV was made. | 0:17:17 | 0:17:20 | |
Let's see the carpet! | 0:17:20 | 0:17:23 | |
Like most teenagers, I wanted to be famous. | 0:17:23 | 0:17:26 | |
Ideally, a pop star like Madonna. | 0:17:26 | 0:17:29 | |
Or even a cool TV presenter. | 0:17:29 | 0:17:31 | |
So when I saw an ad to present The Big Breakfast, | 0:17:31 | 0:17:34 | |
I grabbed the opportunity. | 0:17:34 | 0:17:36 | |
-Here's Chris and Paul. -No, I'm Gaby! | 0:17:36 | 0:17:39 | |
Peter! | 0:17:39 | 0:17:41 | |
I had all these motivational things, like, | 0:17:41 | 0:17:43 | |
there was a picture of Charlie Persons, | 0:17:43 | 0:17:45 | |
look what he's done. | 0:17:45 | 0:17:47 | |
I had, you know, things like, "persistence beats resistance." | 0:17:47 | 0:17:50 | |
My first encounter with Geri was when she sent an audition tape | 0:17:50 | 0:17:54 | |
to a strand we had on The Big Breakfast | 0:17:54 | 0:17:56 | |
called Trash Store, | 0:17:56 | 0:17:57 | |
which kind of encouraged people to be wannabe presenters. | 0:17:57 | 0:18:01 | |
OK, coming up, we've got news, reviews and... | 0:18:01 | 0:18:03 | |
Girls, you're in for a treat. | 0:18:05 | 0:18:06 | |
I don't think it got very far and I've got a feeling | 0:18:06 | 0:18:08 | |
Gaby was a little bit rude about it. | 0:18:08 | 0:18:10 | |
It was in a whole series of things and we just had a bit of fun. | 0:18:10 | 0:18:13 | |
We've got that quarterback, Dan Marino, coming over. | 0:18:13 | 0:18:16 | |
OK, 100%... | 0:18:16 | 0:18:18 | |
OK, I'll see you right after the break. | 0:18:18 | 0:18:21 | |
Gaby Roslin, she took the mickey out of me and she went, | 0:18:21 | 0:18:23 | |
"Blah-blah-blah-blah-blah." And I was like, "Oh, my God." | 0:18:23 | 0:18:26 | |
And I really liked her. I was so gutted. | 0:18:26 | 0:18:29 | |
It was like, "Oh, that's my first go." | 0:18:30 | 0:18:33 | |
Never mind. | 0:18:33 | 0:18:34 | |
It was a bit of a setback. | 0:18:36 | 0:18:38 | |
But I didn't give up. | 0:18:38 | 0:18:39 | |
I soon got work on Live TV's Fashion Police. | 0:18:41 | 0:18:44 | |
Maria, what are you wearing? | 0:18:44 | 0:18:46 | |
You're in serious need of a makeover. | 0:18:46 | 0:18:48 | |
And had a Madonna cameo appearance on Dance Energy. | 0:18:48 | 0:18:51 | |
Strike a pose! | 0:18:51 | 0:18:53 | |
But my first proper TV success came | 0:18:53 | 0:18:55 | |
when I appeared in front of millions in Turkey. | 0:18:55 | 0:18:57 | |
Hard to believe now, but I recorded many shows over there. | 0:18:57 | 0:19:01 | |
And became one of the glamour girls of Turkish television. | 0:19:01 | 0:19:05 | |
Hug that pillow, Geri. | 0:19:05 | 0:19:06 | |
It's a bit like The Price Is Right. | 0:19:06 | 0:19:08 | |
But this was called Let's Make A Deal. | 0:19:08 | 0:19:10 | |
In Turkish it's Sec Bakalim. | 0:19:10 | 0:19:12 | |
And so I had to wear a gown and love that television and, like, | 0:19:12 | 0:19:16 | |
I signed my first autograph. | 0:19:16 | 0:19:18 | |
It was a great job at the time. | 0:19:19 | 0:19:21 | |
But I wanted to focus on my music and go back home. | 0:19:21 | 0:19:24 | |
Since my parents divorced, | 0:19:25 | 0:19:27 | |
Dad had lived on a high-rise council estate in Watford. | 0:19:27 | 0:19:31 | |
I'd always remained close to him, | 0:19:31 | 0:19:33 | |
and I'd visit him whenever I could. | 0:19:33 | 0:19:35 | |
My dad, he had, like, this massive collection of books | 0:19:35 | 0:19:41 | |
that he would share with me, and also a big record collection. | 0:19:41 | 0:19:45 | |
He was just like a real character, a real character. | 0:19:45 | 0:19:48 | |
And he was also one of these people that, you know | 0:19:48 | 0:19:51 | |
when someone doesn't quite fulfil their potential | 0:19:51 | 0:19:54 | |
but had so much of it? | 0:19:54 | 0:19:55 | |
For various reasons, we all get dealt stuff in life, | 0:19:55 | 0:19:58 | |
and you just think, "Aw, I feel for him." | 0:19:58 | 0:20:01 | |
You know? Cos, you know, deep down, he was a good man. | 0:20:01 | 0:20:05 | |
But in late 1993, while I was writing songs | 0:20:11 | 0:20:15 | |
and determined to have a career in music, everything changed. | 0:20:15 | 0:20:18 | |
I was just in my little zone and then what really threw me, | 0:20:20 | 0:20:22 | |
I think... | 0:20:22 | 0:20:24 | |
It was in the November period, my father died. | 0:20:24 | 0:20:27 | |
I was so... I was almost paralysed by grief. | 0:20:31 | 0:20:35 | |
I didn't have the tools to process it. | 0:20:35 | 0:20:37 | |
I have this theory, and I don't know if it's true, | 0:20:40 | 0:20:42 | |
but I think success comes from three places. One is preparation. | 0:20:42 | 0:20:47 | |
One is opportunity. And one is need. | 0:20:47 | 0:20:50 | |
And I think my father's death gave me that need, | 0:20:50 | 0:20:53 | |
it's like a death energy. | 0:20:53 | 0:20:55 | |
It drove me into sort of really militant work. | 0:20:59 | 0:21:02 | |
OK, I'm going to do this. | 0:21:02 | 0:21:04 | |
And that went on to, you know, suddenly, | 0:21:04 | 0:21:06 | |
I met, you know, the girls in the band. | 0:21:06 | 0:21:09 | |
And suddenly I found something that I could belong to | 0:21:09 | 0:21:12 | |
and sort of distract myself from what, you know, | 0:21:12 | 0:21:15 | |
all that sort of pain and grief that I just didn't understand. | 0:21:15 | 0:21:19 | |
In March, 1994, I answered a small ad in The Stage newspaper. | 0:21:20 | 0:21:25 | |
They wanted five streetwise girls to join a new band. | 0:21:25 | 0:21:28 | |
No prizes for guessing the ringleader. | 0:21:28 | 0:21:32 | |
This would be the beginning of my greatest adventure. | 0:21:32 | 0:21:35 | |
The launch pad for an all-conquering girl gang. | 0:21:35 | 0:21:38 | |
We are so lucky. | 0:21:38 | 0:21:40 | |
We are doing exactly what we want to do. We are pursuing a dream. | 0:21:40 | 0:21:43 | |
I tell you what, | 0:21:43 | 0:21:45 | |
there's millions of kids out there that want to be pop stars. | 0:21:45 | 0:21:47 | |
THEY SCREAM | 0:21:47 | 0:21:50 | |
I love you, Jason, I love you! | 0:21:50 | 0:21:53 | |
# Help me escape this feeling | 0:21:55 | 0:21:57 | |
# Of insecurity... # | 0:21:57 | 0:21:59 | |
But success was still two years away. | 0:21:59 | 0:22:02 | |
# I need you so much... # | 0:22:02 | 0:22:03 | |
In the meantime, five Northern lads began to drive teenage girls wild. | 0:22:03 | 0:22:09 | |
# But if we all stand up in the name of love... # | 0:22:09 | 0:22:12 | |
I mean, the thing I always liked about Take That | 0:22:12 | 0:22:14 | |
was that they were Northern | 0:22:14 | 0:22:16 | |
and there is a charm to their Northernness, I think. | 0:22:16 | 0:22:19 | |
The great appeal of Take That? | 0:22:19 | 0:22:21 | |
Teenage girls, hot boys, good songs, | 0:22:21 | 0:22:25 | |
and it had been a while since anybody came along | 0:22:25 | 0:22:28 | |
and tickled their fancy. | 0:22:28 | 0:22:30 | |
# Relight my fire | 0:22:30 | 0:22:33 | |
# Your love is my only desire | 0:22:34 | 0:22:37 | |
# Relight my... # | 0:22:37 | 0:22:39 | |
They were approachable and they were funny, you know? | 0:22:39 | 0:22:42 | |
I think especially after something like, say, | 0:22:42 | 0:22:44 | |
New Kids On The Block, they just seemed miles away, you know? | 0:22:44 | 0:22:46 | |
Whereas Take That looked a bit more like somebody you might know. | 0:22:46 | 0:22:52 | |
# With the lights out, it's less dangerous | 0:22:52 | 0:22:55 | |
# Here we are now... # | 0:22:55 | 0:22:57 | |
So while Take That were wowing teenage girls, | 0:22:57 | 0:22:59 | |
the Teen Spirit of Nirvana and American grunge | 0:22:59 | 0:23:02 | |
was dominating rock music. | 0:23:02 | 0:23:04 | |
I wasn't into the grunge scene. Too dark for me. | 0:23:05 | 0:23:09 | |
But I liked the way young British guitar bands responded. | 0:23:09 | 0:23:12 | |
Britpop was genuinely a bit of reaction to grunge, really. | 0:23:13 | 0:23:16 | |
And it was also a kind of magazine conceit. | 0:23:16 | 0:23:21 | |
They put them all together and said, "Hurray, here we are. | 0:23:21 | 0:23:23 | |
"It's a new British invasion. We are just as good as grunge." | 0:23:23 | 0:23:27 | |
To me, Britpop was fresh, vibrant with cool and clever bands | 0:23:29 | 0:23:33 | |
like Pulp, Suede and particularly Blur. | 0:23:33 | 0:23:37 | |
They drew on the sound and spirit | 0:23:37 | 0:23:38 | |
of British music from the swinging '60s. | 0:23:38 | 0:23:41 | |
Well, when I think of Blur's early music, | 0:23:41 | 0:23:43 | |
I kind of think of me and Graham and Damon staying up all night | 0:23:43 | 0:23:48 | |
and going insane just making, like, sonic terrorism. | 0:23:48 | 0:23:52 | |
# There's no other way | 0:23:52 | 0:23:55 | |
# There's no other way... # | 0:23:55 | 0:23:57 | |
I remember the record company coming down and absolutely freaking out... | 0:23:57 | 0:24:02 | |
Spitting nails, just going... | 0:24:02 | 0:24:03 | |
"British... British pop? You're mad." | 0:24:05 | 0:24:09 | |
"British pop, it's never going to work." | 0:24:09 | 0:24:12 | |
# All the people | 0:24:12 | 0:24:15 | |
# So many people... # | 0:24:15 | 0:24:19 | |
We were young, what? 20? 21? | 0:24:19 | 0:24:22 | |
And being in the thick of it as it happened | 0:24:22 | 0:24:25 | |
just made us feel quite proud to be British, | 0:24:25 | 0:24:28 | |
and I think we kind of knew we were onto something. | 0:24:28 | 0:24:33 | |
# Parklife... # | 0:24:33 | 0:24:35 | |
Blur had their own way at the start, | 0:24:35 | 0:24:37 | |
so things got really interesting | 0:24:37 | 0:24:39 | |
when Oasis crashed the Britpop party. | 0:24:39 | 0:24:42 | |
Sparks flew, and there was laddish rivalries in the pop playground. | 0:24:42 | 0:24:46 | |
Take pictures. Don't ask questions. | 0:24:46 | 0:24:48 | |
# Is it my imagination | 0:24:48 | 0:24:52 | |
# Or have I finally found something worth living for?... # | 0:24:52 | 0:24:58 | |
They themselves said, | 0:24:58 | 0:24:59 | |
"There's nothing that complicated about our group. | 0:24:59 | 0:25:02 | |
"It's about cigarettes and alcohol | 0:25:02 | 0:25:03 | |
"and having a good time with your mates." | 0:25:03 | 0:25:05 | |
I think that's pretty much the verbatim Noel quote from that time. | 0:25:05 | 0:25:08 | |
But they were just very different. They weren't art school. | 0:25:08 | 0:25:11 | |
# Cigarettes and alcohol.... # | 0:25:11 | 0:25:14 | |
The extraordinary ordinary person was very much to the fore | 0:25:14 | 0:25:17 | |
in that time and it really, really made a difference | 0:25:17 | 0:25:19 | |
because it just generally makes people think, "I could do that. | 0:25:19 | 0:25:23 | |
"I don't have to have any privileges." | 0:25:23 | 0:25:25 | |
Boys being boys, it was bound to happen. | 0:25:28 | 0:25:31 | |
I remember how, in 1995, the two heavyweights of Britpop | 0:25:31 | 0:25:34 | |
squared up in the battle for number one. | 0:25:34 | 0:25:37 | |
# Don't let anybody get in your way... # | 0:25:37 | 0:25:40 | |
'The Manchester band Oasis and their archrivals, Blur, | 0:25:40 | 0:25:43 | |
'have released new singles today, | 0:25:43 | 0:25:45 | |
'each hoping to reach the number one spot next week. | 0:25:45 | 0:25:48 | |
'The music industry hasn't seen anything like it | 0:25:48 | 0:25:49 | |
'since the Beatles fought it out | 0:25:49 | 0:25:51 | |
'with The Rolling Stones in the '60s.' | 0:25:51 | 0:25:53 | |
But despite their swagger, those northern upstarts, Oasis, | 0:25:53 | 0:25:57 | |
came off second best. | 0:25:57 | 0:25:59 | |
But tonight, there's no denying, Blur are Top Of The Pops. | 0:25:59 | 0:26:03 | |
I think it's easy to overlook | 0:26:05 | 0:26:07 | |
what a tribal thing music was. | 0:26:07 | 0:26:11 | |
# City dweller | 0:26:11 | 0:26:13 | |
# Successful fella | 0:26:13 | 0:26:14 | |
# He thought to himself | 0:26:14 | 0:26:16 | |
# Oops, got a lot of money... # | 0:26:16 | 0:26:17 | |
I don't know where it went wrong, really. | 0:26:17 | 0:26:20 | |
But, boy, it did, didn't it? | 0:26:20 | 0:26:22 | |
# He lives in a house | 0:26:22 | 0:26:23 | |
# A very big house in the country | 0:26:23 | 0:26:26 | |
# He's got a fog in his chest so he needs a lot of rest... # | 0:26:26 | 0:26:29 | |
Pop culture was still about the boys. | 0:26:29 | 0:26:31 | |
Britpop became the soundtrack to the new lad culture. | 0:26:31 | 0:26:35 | |
And now all-day drinking was legal, | 0:26:35 | 0:26:37 | |
the party seemed to never end. | 0:26:37 | 0:26:40 | |
Being in the band in the '90s was basically | 0:26:40 | 0:26:43 | |
a licence to misbehave, get drunk, tell everyone to fuck off | 0:26:43 | 0:26:48 | |
and shag their girlfriend. | 0:26:48 | 0:26:50 | |
Happy days. | 0:26:52 | 0:26:53 | |
For me, you know, Blur were cheeky chappies, Oasis, | 0:26:55 | 0:26:58 | |
great songs, really good songs, | 0:26:58 | 0:27:00 | |
but what they were emanating was a little bit too aggressive for me. | 0:27:00 | 0:27:05 | |
You know, and that was sort of that whole ladette culture. | 0:27:05 | 0:27:08 | |
I couldn't connect with that. | 0:27:08 | 0:27:10 | |
# I need to be myself... # | 0:27:10 | 0:27:12 | |
Lots of girls got in on the action too. | 0:27:12 | 0:27:15 | |
On one hand, lads and ladettes got bad press in the tabloids. | 0:27:15 | 0:27:18 | |
But on the other, | 0:27:18 | 0:27:19 | |
there were celebrated by new magazines like Loaded. | 0:27:19 | 0:27:22 | |
Loaded became like a rock star. | 0:27:22 | 0:27:25 | |
And actually, I think that the way women were portrayed | 0:27:25 | 0:27:28 | |
in the women's magazines which were all about hair and beauty | 0:27:28 | 0:27:32 | |
and relationships, like that's all that women care about, | 0:27:32 | 0:27:34 | |
didn't represent a lot of the women I knew. | 0:27:34 | 0:27:38 | |
# Drive boy dog boy | 0:27:38 | 0:27:39 | |
# Dirty numb angel boy... # | 0:27:39 | 0:27:41 | |
Lads was the first cover line used on Loaded magazine. | 0:27:41 | 0:27:44 | |
So if you were involved at all in that scene, | 0:27:44 | 0:27:46 | |
and you expected to be taken as seriously as any of those men, | 0:27:46 | 0:27:50 | |
then somehow you became a ladette. | 0:27:50 | 0:27:52 | |
# You had hands girl boy and steel boy... # | 0:27:52 | 0:27:54 | |
Loaded gets historically misrepresented. | 0:27:54 | 0:27:57 | |
You know, "It's full of naked women." And it genuinely wasn't. | 0:27:57 | 0:28:01 | |
We were just honest about the fact that we fancied women. | 0:28:01 | 0:28:04 | |
And I think then somebody came up with the phrase ladette, | 0:28:04 | 0:28:06 | |
and it was just like, you mean, lasses? | 0:28:06 | 0:28:09 | |
To be honest, lads mags or the ladettes, it was just a tag. | 0:28:09 | 0:28:15 | |
A media tag, as far as I was concerned. | 0:28:15 | 0:28:17 | |
And actually, I thought these women were great. | 0:28:17 | 0:28:19 | |
The likes of Zoe Ball and Sara Cox that went out there and they did, | 0:28:19 | 0:28:22 | |
they stayed out late, but they were still at work on time the next day. | 0:28:22 | 0:28:25 | |
So what? And they were hot. And? | 0:28:25 | 0:28:28 | |
The lads had ruled the charts for too long. | 0:28:30 | 0:28:33 | |
In the summer of 1996, everything was about to change. | 0:28:33 | 0:28:38 | |
The time was right for the world to be conquered by girl power. | 0:28:38 | 0:28:42 | |
# Yo I'll tell you what I want What I really, really want | 0:28:42 | 0:28:44 | |
# So tell me what you want What you really, really want | 0:28:44 | 0:28:46 | |
# I'll tell you what I want, What I really, really want | 0:28:46 | 0:28:48 | |
# So tell me what you want, What you really, really want... # | 0:28:48 | 0:28:51 | |
Whenever Wannabe comes on the radio, | 0:28:51 | 0:28:52 | |
you just want to hear it over and over again. It's just great. | 0:28:52 | 0:28:55 | |
That is a great pop single. | 0:28:55 | 0:28:58 | |
You know, you can't really pull it apart and say, | 0:28:58 | 0:29:00 | |
"Hey, if I want to make a great pop single | 0:29:00 | 0:29:02 | |
"I'm going to make this song called Wannabe." | 0:29:02 | 0:29:04 | |
But it's a brilliant pop single and the video is hilarious. | 0:29:04 | 0:29:06 | |
If you don't like Wannabe, you've got a dead soul. | 0:29:06 | 0:29:10 | |
# Get your act together, | 0:29:10 | 0:29:11 | |
# We could be just fine... # | 0:29:11 | 0:29:12 | |
They were ideal kind of pop fodder, I suppose, really. | 0:29:12 | 0:29:15 | |
And, you know, they had all the things | 0:29:15 | 0:29:17 | |
that you have with a great band. | 0:29:17 | 0:29:18 | |
They had really good tunes, they had one for somebody to fancy, | 0:29:18 | 0:29:22 | |
that's, you know, which one do you like the best? | 0:29:22 | 0:29:24 | |
# You've got to get with my friends... # | 0:29:24 | 0:29:26 | |
And everybody was saying, "Well, what's a zigazig ah? | 0:29:26 | 0:29:28 | |
"What does that mean?" Well, who cares? | 0:29:28 | 0:29:30 | |
Who knows what a-wop-bop-a-loo-bop a-wop-bam-boom means? Nobody. | 0:29:30 | 0:29:34 | |
Top Of The Pops magazine gave them all their little Ginger Spice, | 0:29:36 | 0:29:40 | |
Scary Spice, Baby Spice, Sporty Spice and Posh Spice monikers | 0:29:40 | 0:29:43 | |
and that's all kind of stuck. | 0:29:43 | 0:29:45 | |
It's a very British record, so you've got this diverse group and | 0:29:45 | 0:29:50 | |
then halfway through, it's got this patois bit. | 0:29:50 | 0:29:53 | |
# Slam your body down and wind it all around... # | 0:29:53 | 0:29:55 | |
Slam your body down and wind it all around. | 0:29:55 | 0:29:57 | |
That's from a reggae record, what's that doing there, right? | 0:29:57 | 0:30:00 | |
Well, the answer is, it's got the full multicultural glory of Britain | 0:30:00 | 0:30:03 | |
is kind of in there somewhere. It's clever. | 0:30:03 | 0:30:05 | |
# Friendships never ends | 0:30:05 | 0:30:06 | |
# If you want to be my lover. # | 0:30:06 | 0:30:08 | |
Wannabe was number one all over the world but it hadn't been an | 0:30:13 | 0:30:17 | |
overnight success. | 0:30:17 | 0:30:18 | |
We'd worked two hard years to write the music and gain control. | 0:30:18 | 0:30:22 | |
The spirit of the '90s had empowered us to become international stars. | 0:30:22 | 0:30:27 | |
I think the word "girl power" existed before, you know, | 0:30:27 | 0:30:30 | |
it was ever said by the Spice Girls | 0:30:30 | 0:30:33 | |
and what I think was good about it was it felt... | 0:30:33 | 0:30:36 | |
It felt less harsh than the word feminism. | 0:30:36 | 0:30:39 | |
At that time feminism was, | 0:30:40 | 0:30:42 | |
for me, felt like a very harsh bra-burning word. | 0:30:42 | 0:30:48 | |
Sometimes in life you have to hide vegetables in chocolate. | 0:30:48 | 0:30:52 | |
You have to wrap it up so it's much easier to digest. | 0:30:52 | 0:30:55 | |
I think it is first base feminism and any form of feminism | 0:30:55 | 0:30:58 | |
is fine by me, so if you've got young women saying to other young | 0:30:58 | 0:31:02 | |
women, "You can do what you want, wear what you want, go out, | 0:31:02 | 0:31:05 | |
"enjoy your friends, they're just as important, if not more | 0:31:05 | 0:31:08 | |
"important than blokes," that is fine by me. | 0:31:08 | 0:31:10 | |
And they did that all the time. | 0:31:10 | 0:31:12 | |
Then came the 1997 Brit Awards which I was really proud to be part of. | 0:31:14 | 0:31:19 | |
It was a great moment to celebrate our country and girl power | 0:31:19 | 0:31:23 | |
had made the front pages. | 0:31:23 | 0:31:25 | |
I remember I got given a black Gucci dress by this stylist and I | 0:31:25 | 0:31:31 | |
said, "I'm going to stitch a flag onto it." | 0:31:31 | 0:31:34 | |
And she went to me, "No, that's National Front." | 0:31:34 | 0:31:37 | |
And I just thought, "No, that's not how I feel." | 0:31:37 | 0:31:39 | |
I love all different kinds of races and I think most of us do. | 0:31:39 | 0:31:42 | |
That's what's brilliant about Britain. | 0:31:42 | 0:31:44 | |
And so just because of what she said, | 0:31:44 | 0:31:46 | |
I stitched on the back a peace sign, just to say... | 0:31:46 | 0:31:49 | |
To rebalance it. Just to make sure. And that's all that was about. | 0:31:49 | 0:31:53 | |
It was just saying, "Britain is great and it includes everybody | 0:31:53 | 0:31:58 | |
"and I want to celebrate it." | 0:31:58 | 0:31:59 | |
And I think it was how everyone else was feeling. | 0:31:59 | 0:32:02 | |
Something patriotic was happening in Britain and it wasn't just | 0:32:05 | 0:32:08 | |
me in my Union Jack dress. | 0:32:08 | 0:32:11 | |
There was Noel Gallagher with his Union Jack guitar, | 0:32:11 | 0:32:16 | |
David Bowie with his Alexander McQueen coat. | 0:32:16 | 0:32:18 | |
Without a doubt, the Jack was back. | 0:32:19 | 0:32:21 | |
It was interesting because we used the Union Jack and the Union Jack, | 0:32:23 | 0:32:28 | |
for a long time, had had really odd connotations. | 0:32:28 | 0:32:32 | |
Only a few years before that, the British flag is still | 0:32:32 | 0:32:35 | |
associated with the right wing, with National Front, with skinheads. | 0:32:35 | 0:32:41 | |
For me, this is finally a time when it's your ability to | 0:32:41 | 0:32:45 | |
reinterpret what Britain is that suddenly starts to count. | 0:32:45 | 0:32:50 | |
I think mid '90s really made its mark as Cool Britannia. | 0:32:55 | 0:33:02 | |
Music, fashion, culture. It was just a fantastic place to be. | 0:33:02 | 0:33:07 | |
Cool Britannia spread throughout, capturing the public imagination. | 0:33:09 | 0:33:15 | |
Everyone was just about doing stuff, getting stuff done, | 0:33:15 | 0:33:18 | |
getting stuff made and it made for this tremendous flowering of creativity. | 0:33:18 | 0:33:23 | |
On that basis, it's an important concept because it gave | 0:33:24 | 0:33:28 | |
legitimacy and status to all these young creative people who otherwise | 0:33:28 | 0:33:33 | |
might just have remained on the margins of society or culture. | 0:33:33 | 0:33:37 | |
The really key thing that happened | 0:33:38 | 0:33:40 | |
in the '90s was there was a massive art revolution. | 0:33:40 | 0:33:45 | |
Art was still something totally new. | 0:33:45 | 0:33:47 | |
Nobody knew what the boundaries were, how rich you could get, | 0:33:47 | 0:33:50 | |
how stupid you could be. I mean, it was brilliant. | 0:33:50 | 0:33:53 | |
# I could've stayed at home and gone to bed... # | 0:33:53 | 0:33:58 | |
There is Tracey Emin's bed which is | 0:33:58 | 0:34:02 | |
fantastically controversial because it's an unmade bed. | 0:34:02 | 0:34:06 | |
That's what it looks like, anyway. | 0:34:06 | 0:34:08 | |
It's actually a comment on all the ways that women have been | 0:34:08 | 0:34:11 | |
portrayed in art. | 0:34:11 | 0:34:13 | |
I don't think there's any point in me making | 0:34:13 | 0:34:15 | |
a painting that was already painted 50 years ago by someone else. | 0:34:15 | 0:34:20 | |
There's no point in making art which has already been made. | 0:34:20 | 0:34:23 | |
For example, you won't have a scientist reinventing penicillin. | 0:34:23 | 0:34:27 | |
It just won't happen. | 0:34:27 | 0:34:29 | |
The young British artist movement made stars out of working class | 0:34:31 | 0:34:34 | |
talent who captured the public's attention with their | 0:34:34 | 0:34:37 | |
upfront attitude and provocative images | 0:34:37 | 0:34:42 | |
Obviously, you have Damien Hirst and his shark which becomes the | 0:34:42 | 0:34:45 | |
iconic work of the '90s. | 0:34:45 | 0:34:48 | |
It's a beautiful, powerful, problematic and puzzling piece | 0:34:48 | 0:34:53 | |
of work so these figures, Damien especially, Tracey Emin, | 0:34:53 | 0:34:56 | |
become household names. | 0:34:56 | 0:34:58 | |
They go from being young, at some point impoverished art students, | 0:34:58 | 0:35:02 | |
to becoming fabulously famous. | 0:35:02 | 0:35:04 | |
At the beginning of the '90s, modern art was a complete joke. | 0:35:06 | 0:35:09 | |
It was written in italics or inverted commas whenever it | 0:35:09 | 0:35:11 | |
was referred to in the newspapers. | 0:35:11 | 0:35:14 | |
By the end of the '90s, Tate Modern was the most visited tourist | 0:35:14 | 0:35:19 | |
attraction in Britain. | 0:35:19 | 0:35:20 | |
Greater opportunities for everyone allowed Kate Moss to emerge | 0:35:22 | 0:35:26 | |
as one of the most successful supermodels. | 0:35:26 | 0:35:29 | |
Kate Moss is a prime example. | 0:35:29 | 0:35:31 | |
She's an absolutely brilliant model but she's not | 0:35:31 | 0:35:34 | |
a conventional model by any means. | 0:35:34 | 0:35:35 | |
Kate Moss is pretty much the icon of the '90s. | 0:35:35 | 0:35:38 | |
I think it's one of the few decades where it doesn't pay to be posh. | 0:35:38 | 0:35:41 | |
A fantastic journey for a working-class girl from Croydon. | 0:35:44 | 0:35:48 | |
Even from the day you start, it just takes a long time to realise that | 0:35:48 | 0:35:51 | |
you've got the option to say yes or no, to choose what you want to do. | 0:35:51 | 0:35:55 | |
And like me, she'd worked really hard to get there. | 0:35:55 | 0:35:58 | |
I just remember being a Watford girl, | 0:36:01 | 0:36:03 | |
just coming into London as a treat, | 0:36:03 | 0:36:07 | |
and driving in and thinking, wow, this is an amazing place. | 0:36:07 | 0:36:11 | |
And so I feel pretty, looking back, | 0:36:11 | 0:36:14 | |
pretty proud to have experienced being part of that. | 0:36:14 | 0:36:18 | |
# It's coming home It's coming home | 0:36:18 | 0:36:21 | |
# It's coming Football's coming home. | 0:36:21 | 0:36:24 | |
# We'll go on getting bad results Getting bad results... # | 0:36:24 | 0:36:27 | |
But Cool Britannia didn't just influence art and fashion and music, | 0:36:27 | 0:36:31 | |
it even found its way onto the football field. | 0:36:31 | 0:36:34 | |
# It's coming home It's coming | 0:36:34 | 0:36:37 | |
# Football's coming home. # | 0:36:37 | 0:36:40 | |
By some tremendous stroke of luck, | 0:36:40 | 0:36:42 | |
the European Championships arrived in England. | 0:36:42 | 0:36:45 | |
Everybody liked it, didn't they? | 0:36:47 | 0:36:49 | |
"Three Lions on a shirt, Jules Rimet still gleaming." | 0:36:49 | 0:36:51 | |
I mean, the lyrics were quite well turned. | 0:36:51 | 0:36:54 | |
And it was, by association, it was kind of a Britpop record. | 0:36:54 | 0:36:56 | |
MUSIC: Three Lions by The Lightning Seeds | 0:36:56 | 0:36:59 | |
'Tony Blair that autumn, I guess, | 0:36:59 | 0:37:01 | |
'when he makes his conference speech, just shamelessly takes it.' | 0:37:01 | 0:37:06 | |
Labour's coming home! | 0:37:07 | 0:37:09 | |
LOUD APPLAUSE | 0:37:09 | 0:37:10 | |
17 years of hurt never stopped us dreaming Labour's coming home! | 0:37:12 | 0:37:18 | |
By that point, it's like he was in power. | 0:37:21 | 0:37:24 | |
People look back and they forget that John Major lingered on. | 0:37:24 | 0:37:28 | |
In May 1997, with New Labour's landslide victory, | 0:37:31 | 0:37:36 | |
Tony Blair found himself in Number Ten. | 0:37:36 | 0:37:38 | |
We were away on tour at the time | 0:37:38 | 0:37:40 | |
but there was a real feel-good factor back home. | 0:37:40 | 0:37:43 | |
'I remember there were all those people, | 0:37:43 | 0:37:46 | |
'lots of Labour Party supporters waving little mini Union Jacks.' | 0:37:46 | 0:37:50 | |
And it just had this sense of something different, | 0:37:50 | 0:37:54 | |
something fresh, something new. | 0:37:54 | 0:37:55 | |
-CHANTING: -Labour, Labour! | 0:37:55 | 0:37:59 | |
And this new Labour government will govern in the interests | 0:37:59 | 0:38:03 | |
of all our people, the whole of this nation, that I can promise you. | 0:38:03 | 0:38:08 | |
CHEERING AND APPLAUSE | 0:38:08 | 0:38:10 | |
'I mean, it was absolutely amazing when Tony Blair was elected, | 0:38:10 | 0:38:13 | |
'it really was.' | 0:38:13 | 0:38:15 | |
We suddenly got someone who was young, whose family was young, | 0:38:15 | 0:38:18 | |
who seemed quite young. | 0:38:18 | 0:38:19 | |
'It felt like an old generation had gone.' | 0:38:21 | 0:38:24 | |
Regardless of your politics, | 0:38:27 | 0:38:29 | |
one great thing about the new government was the number of women. | 0:38:29 | 0:38:32 | |
Girl power had arrived in Parliament. | 0:38:32 | 0:38:35 | |
'Suddenly, you know, 101 Labour women MPs, | 0:38:35 | 0:38:38 | |
'it was such a large number.' | 0:38:38 | 0:38:42 | |
And I suppose it was going to happen that they'd try and find | 0:38:42 | 0:38:45 | |
some way to give a badge to this. | 0:38:45 | 0:38:47 | |
And so the badge was Blair's Babes. | 0:38:47 | 0:38:50 | |
I have to say, at the time, I wasn't that fussed about it. | 0:38:52 | 0:38:55 | |
I was so over the moon about us winning a general election, | 0:38:55 | 0:38:59 | |
and it really spoke to women outside of politics as well. | 0:38:59 | 0:39:04 | |
And it was part of that sense that anything could happen. | 0:39:04 | 0:39:08 | |
I mean, obviously, going down to Parliament was so exciting. | 0:39:09 | 0:39:12 | |
It was like starting some sort of school | 0:39:12 | 0:39:14 | |
but it was like no school I'd ever been to. | 0:39:14 | 0:39:16 | |
It was like Hogwarts-plus sort of thing like this, that building. | 0:39:16 | 0:39:20 | |
And, at that time, | 0:39:20 | 0:39:23 | |
my favourite was the Texas song Say What You Want. | 0:39:23 | 0:39:26 | |
So, every time when my husband and I were driving into Westminster | 0:39:26 | 0:39:29 | |
in those first few weeks, we had the tape set up just for that track. | 0:39:29 | 0:39:32 | |
And, as we got round the corner of Parliament Square, we'd put it in | 0:39:32 | 0:39:36 | |
and that would be our theme tune as we went into Parliament. | 0:39:36 | 0:39:39 | |
# Well, you can say what you want But it won't change my mind | 0:39:39 | 0:39:43 | |
# I'll feel the same about you. # | 0:39:43 | 0:39:46 | |
-TV: -'The man who likes to hang around at number one | 0:39:46 | 0:39:48 | |
'reached Number Ten today.' | 0:39:48 | 0:39:50 | |
-REPORTER: -Is Government going in the right direction, Noel? | 0:39:50 | 0:39:53 | |
'In the summer of 1997, | 0:39:56 | 0:39:58 | |
'their Britpop party reached Downing Street.' | 0:39:58 | 0:40:02 | |
Having Alistair Campbell who came from a newspaper background | 0:40:02 | 0:40:06 | |
to manage his spin, if you like, as it was called later, | 0:40:06 | 0:40:09 | |
was very, very important in both his victory and the way he performed. | 0:40:09 | 0:40:13 | |
I think one of the differences between the '90s | 0:40:13 | 0:40:15 | |
and maybe the '70s and '80s was the machinations of government | 0:40:15 | 0:40:20 | |
became more apparent. | 0:40:20 | 0:40:21 | |
There was a lot more visibility, there was much more transparency | 0:40:21 | 0:40:25 | |
in the way that politics was spun. | 0:40:25 | 0:40:28 | |
'Part of the spin thing is that we had had | 0:40:28 | 0:40:33 | |
'pretty much of a battering from sections of the media.' | 0:40:33 | 0:40:35 | |
So there was, if you like, message discipline | 0:40:35 | 0:40:38 | |
but it was from trying to make sure we did everything we could | 0:40:38 | 0:40:43 | |
to enable Labour to be seen as credible | 0:40:43 | 0:40:46 | |
and confident in what we were doing in government. | 0:40:46 | 0:40:49 | |
# I need some love like I've needed love before | 0:40:49 | 0:40:52 | |
# Wanna make love to ya, baby. # | 0:40:52 | 0:40:55 | |
'It was a time when everyone began to recognise | 0:40:55 | 0:40:58 | |
'the power of positive publicity. | 0:40:58 | 0:41:00 | |
'And it didn't do us any harm.' | 0:41:00 | 0:41:02 | |
'It was an amazing adventure for the Spice Girls | 0:41:03 | 0:41:06 | |
'who were travelling the world, constantly touring and promoting, | 0:41:06 | 0:41:09 | |
'rubbing shoulders with royalty | 0:41:09 | 0:41:12 | |
'and becoming the biggest selling girl group of all time.' | 0:41:12 | 0:41:15 | |
I'd joined Smash Hits as an editor. | 0:41:15 | 0:41:19 | |
And we'd get the charts faxed over, because it was the '90s, | 0:41:19 | 0:41:22 | |
and it would be, they were number one in 39 territories. | 0:41:22 | 0:41:26 | |
And you just go, what?! | 0:41:26 | 0:41:28 | |
They were having hits in countries they'd probably never heard of. | 0:41:28 | 0:41:32 | |
It was phenomenal. | 0:41:32 | 0:41:33 | |
For me, when I got my first fat cheque, | 0:41:36 | 0:41:41 | |
there was one thing that really epitomised, you know, | 0:41:41 | 0:41:45 | |
OK, freedom, optimism, and that was the little red car | 0:41:45 | 0:41:51 | |
that I'd envisioned when I was a child, | 0:41:51 | 0:41:54 | |
if you had that open-top car, | 0:41:54 | 0:41:56 | |
and that was one of the first things I went and bought. | 0:41:56 | 0:41:58 | |
The first thing I did was go and buy this very car | 0:42:05 | 0:42:09 | |
and I was like, wow, I've arrived! | 0:42:09 | 0:42:12 | |
And, for me, money represented freedom as well. | 0:42:12 | 0:42:15 | |
This car was like, yeah, you know, | 0:42:15 | 0:42:17 | |
I can have a say in my own destiny, this is it. | 0:42:17 | 0:42:20 | |
Whoo! SHE LAUGHS | 0:42:20 | 0:42:23 | |
MUSIC: Fastlove by George Michael | 0:42:24 | 0:42:30 | |
With Britain at the centre of the world | 0:42:35 | 0:42:38 | |
at the height of Cool Britannia, | 0:42:38 | 0:42:40 | |
tragic events in Paris reminded us of our own mortality. | 0:42:40 | 0:42:43 | |
-TV: -'Diana, Princess of Wales, has died after a car crash in Paris. | 0:42:43 | 0:42:47 | |
'She was taken to hospital in the early hours of this morning. | 0:42:47 | 0:42:51 | |
'Surgeons tried to save her life for two hours | 0:42:51 | 0:42:54 | |
'but she died at four o'clock.' | 0:42:54 | 0:42:56 | |
One of the things that really struck me when Princess Diana died | 0:42:56 | 0:43:01 | |
was the outpour of grief. | 0:43:01 | 0:43:04 | |
And, you know, there was a huge amount of grief | 0:43:04 | 0:43:07 | |
that sort of flooded the nation. | 0:43:07 | 0:43:10 | |
Obviously, she embodied so many qualities that we all admired. | 0:43:14 | 0:43:19 | |
And the only thing I think that came positive out of it is that, | 0:43:19 | 0:43:24 | |
as a nation, everyone came together and was incredibly supportive | 0:43:24 | 0:43:27 | |
and very affectionate with each other in grieving. | 0:43:27 | 0:43:31 | |
'I mean, it was just, just so inexplicable, really.' | 0:43:37 | 0:43:41 | |
And, of course, a lot has been said since, but I think Tony, | 0:43:42 | 0:43:48 | |
the words he found on that day just seemed to speak to the country | 0:43:48 | 0:43:54 | |
and very much reflect people's sorrow | 0:43:54 | 0:43:57 | |
at what happened to this young mum. | 0:43:57 | 0:43:59 | |
And I was a young mum, and I could identify with that as well. | 0:43:59 | 0:44:04 | |
She was a wonderful and a warm human being. | 0:44:07 | 0:44:12 | |
Though her own life was often sadly touched by tragedy, | 0:44:13 | 0:44:19 | |
she touched the lives of so many others | 0:44:19 | 0:44:24 | |
in Britain, throughout the world, with joy and with comfort. | 0:44:24 | 0:44:29 | |
She was the People's Princess. And that's how she will remain, | 0:44:30 | 0:44:36 | |
in our hearts and in our memories forever. | 0:44:36 | 0:44:41 | |
'Princess Diana's death had a huge impact on everyone, including me. | 0:44:49 | 0:44:54 | |
'It was this, followed by a visit to South Africa | 0:44:54 | 0:44:58 | |
'for an inspiring meeting with Nelson Mandela | 0:44:58 | 0:45:00 | |
'that made me reflect on my own path in life.' | 0:45:00 | 0:45:03 | |
'I think meeting Mandela, it was one of those, | 0:45:03 | 0:45:05 | |
'an absolute privileged moment.' | 0:45:05 | 0:45:08 | |
He was charming and gracious and humble and welcoming. | 0:45:08 | 0:45:13 | |
So, to be able to have met that man of that stature was just amazing. | 0:45:13 | 0:45:18 | |
You're as young as the girl you feel, and I'm 25! | 0:45:18 | 0:45:21 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:45:21 | 0:45:23 | |
'So, when I got back to the UK, | 0:45:23 | 0:45:25 | |
'I made the biggest decision of my young life.' | 0:45:25 | 0:45:28 | |
After days of speculation, Geri Halliwell, | 0:45:28 | 0:45:30 | |
otherwise known as Ginger Spice, has confirmed | 0:45:30 | 0:45:33 | |
that she has left the Spice Girls. | 0:45:33 | 0:45:35 | |
'At the age of 25, it was hard leaving the band. | 0:45:37 | 0:45:40 | |
'It had been an incredible experience for a Watford girl. | 0:45:40 | 0:45:43 | |
'But my Spice Girl journey had come to an end.' | 0:45:43 | 0:45:46 | |
I've found in life, | 0:45:48 | 0:45:49 | |
when you're going through a series of challenges, | 0:45:49 | 0:45:52 | |
you find out two things. | 0:45:52 | 0:45:54 | |
One is what you're made of, | 0:45:54 | 0:45:56 | |
and who really are your good, true friends. | 0:45:56 | 0:46:00 | |
And I think, you know, | 0:46:00 | 0:46:01 | |
there was a period of time after I'd left the Spice Girls, | 0:46:01 | 0:46:04 | |
and I was really needing a little support and direction, | 0:46:04 | 0:46:08 | |
and I found a really good friend, and that was George Michael. | 0:46:08 | 0:46:13 | |
'He said to me, "Do you want to come to my house for the weekend?"' | 0:46:15 | 0:46:19 | |
And I'd met him a few times and, by then, | 0:46:19 | 0:46:21 | |
I'd realised I'm not his kind of girl, | 0:46:21 | 0:46:23 | |
I'm not for him, it wasn't going to happen. | 0:46:23 | 0:46:25 | |
But instead he became a really good friend. | 0:46:25 | 0:46:27 | |
And he said, "Come and stay with me." | 0:46:27 | 0:46:28 | |
So I did, and I stayed quite a while. | 0:46:28 | 0:46:31 | |
I don't know if I overstayed my welcome but I did stay. | 0:46:31 | 0:46:34 | |
# Oh, but I need some time off from that emotion | 0:46:34 | 0:46:40 | |
# Time to pick my heart up off the floor. # | 0:46:40 | 0:46:44 | |
They always say, be careful about meeting your idols | 0:46:44 | 0:46:47 | |
because they never can live up to what you think. | 0:46:47 | 0:46:50 | |
But actually he became something better. | 0:46:50 | 0:46:52 | |
'For me, there's one track that really captures George at his best. | 0:46:55 | 0:46:58 | |
'It has to be Freedom. I really love this song.' | 0:46:58 | 0:47:02 | |
# I will not give you up | 0:47:02 | 0:47:05 | |
# Gotta have some faith in the sound | 0:47:05 | 0:47:08 | |
# It's the one good thing that I've got | 0:47:08 | 0:47:10 | |
# I won't let you down So please don't give me up. # | 0:47:10 | 0:47:14 | |
'During the making of this documentary, | 0:47:14 | 0:47:16 | |
'I heard the sad news that George had passed away. | 0:47:16 | 0:47:20 | |
'As well as a great artist, | 0:47:21 | 0:47:24 | |
'he was kind and generous, | 0:47:24 | 0:47:27 | |
'he loved his family, and was a good friend. | 0:47:27 | 0:47:30 | |
'I'll never forget him.' | 0:47:30 | 0:47:32 | |
MUSIC: Freedom by George Michael | 0:47:34 | 0:47:37 | |
'In the summer of 1998, | 0:47:45 | 0:47:47 | |
'I started to take decisions about life after the Spice Girls | 0:47:47 | 0:47:51 | |
'and sell off some of my most treasured possessions to charity.' | 0:47:51 | 0:47:55 | |
I was moving on from the band, | 0:47:59 | 0:48:01 | |
and I wanted to say, "This is a fresh start." | 0:48:01 | 0:48:04 | |
And I thought maybe we could do some good | 0:48:04 | 0:48:06 | |
about all the things I'd accumulated, | 0:48:06 | 0:48:07 | |
so I sold off some of my clothes for charity, and that car. | 0:48:07 | 0:48:11 | |
And it was one of those things, you know, it felt, yes, very cleansing. | 0:48:11 | 0:48:15 | |
But, I think, I was always a little bit nostalgic | 0:48:15 | 0:48:19 | |
and a little bit regretful, if I'm honest. | 0:48:19 | 0:48:22 | |
And I would always harp on about it and think, | 0:48:22 | 0:48:25 | |
"Oh, that was such a cute car." | 0:48:25 | 0:48:27 | |
'I accepted the invitation to become a goodwill ambassador | 0:48:30 | 0:48:32 | |
'for the United Nations, | 0:48:32 | 0:48:35 | |
'educating young women around the world on sexual health.' | 0:48:35 | 0:48:39 | |
I believe that everybody deserves to have control of their life, | 0:48:39 | 0:48:42 | |
and that means having control over your fertility. | 0:48:42 | 0:48:46 | |
'What I learnt was that most people want to be heard, | 0:48:46 | 0:48:51 | |
'and we all deserve education. | 0:48:51 | 0:48:52 | |
'And when you give people education, it gives them choices.' | 0:48:52 | 0:48:56 | |
And you can bring the world's press with you and go, | 0:48:56 | 0:48:58 | |
"Look, I don't know the answers but look at this." | 0:48:58 | 0:49:01 | |
And suddenly I saw the government might change a policy | 0:49:01 | 0:49:04 | |
for some school kids that wanted education on reproduction. | 0:49:04 | 0:49:08 | |
So I was very proud to be able to do something positive. | 0:49:08 | 0:49:11 | |
-TV: -'The issues raised by Geri Halliwell today | 0:49:11 | 0:49:14 | |
'will be discussed at a special UN conference later in the year.' | 0:49:14 | 0:49:17 | |
'And I was incredibly honoured and extremely nervous | 0:49:19 | 0:49:22 | |
'when asked to sing at Prince Charles' 50th birthday.' | 0:49:22 | 0:49:25 | |
# Happy birthday to you | 0:49:25 | 0:49:30 | |
# Happy birthday to you | 0:49:30 | 0:49:35 | |
# Happy birthday, your Royal Highness | 0:49:35 | 0:49:41 | |
# Happy birthday to you! # | 0:49:41 | 0:49:46 | |
APPLAUSE | 0:49:46 | 0:49:48 | |
'When you're a young age, it's very enchanting to meet royalty.' | 0:49:48 | 0:49:51 | |
So, singing to him, I just felt privileged and delighted to do it. | 0:49:51 | 0:49:56 | |
Of course, you know, it makes your mother proud! | 0:49:56 | 0:49:59 | |
He was fantastic. | 0:50:01 | 0:50:04 | |
First, because I have always loved the Royal Family, | 0:50:04 | 0:50:07 | |
because it's stability in the country. | 0:50:07 | 0:50:09 | |
So, when she did that and she saw in her mind it was Marilyn Monroe, | 0:50:09 | 0:50:14 | |
I thought, I don't know about Prince Charles, what he thought he was, | 0:50:14 | 0:50:18 | |
it's Kennedy, I suppose. | 0:50:18 | 0:50:20 | |
But, in the fantasy world, it was fantastic. | 0:50:20 | 0:50:24 | |
I'll never ever forget about that, it was very good. | 0:50:24 | 0:50:28 | |
MUSIC: Jumpin' Jumpin' by Destiny's Child | 0:50:28 | 0:50:32 | |
'The '90s might be best remembered for the Spice Girls, | 0:50:32 | 0:50:36 | |
'rave, boybands, Britpop and Cool Britannia, | 0:50:36 | 0:50:40 | |
'but it also saw the emergence of many strong female artists. | 0:50:40 | 0:50:45 | |
'Independent women in charge of their own destinies.' | 0:50:45 | 0:50:48 | |
I think society goes through waves. It's like a pendulum that swings. | 0:50:48 | 0:50:53 | |
And suddenly we had a real flush of great female artists. | 0:50:53 | 0:50:58 | |
And normally when it comes out, it comes out very proud. | 0:51:01 | 0:51:04 | |
The Spice Girls opened the barn door for other women to come through. | 0:51:04 | 0:51:09 | |
And you really can't underestimate what they've done in terms of | 0:51:09 | 0:51:12 | |
just allowing other women to find a voice, have a voice. | 0:51:12 | 0:51:16 | |
'Deep down, I was scared to go solo. | 0:51:19 | 0:51:22 | |
'With a clutch of new songs I'd written, | 0:51:22 | 0:51:24 | |
'in 1998, I joined up again with producers Paul and Andy | 0:51:24 | 0:51:28 | |
'from Absolute who'd worked with me in the Spice Girls. | 0:51:28 | 0:51:31 | |
'I wrote and recorded my debut solo album | 0:51:31 | 0:51:34 | |
'back at the old studio on the Thames. | 0:51:34 | 0:51:36 | |
'It's now a windows factory.' | 0:51:36 | 0:51:38 | |
Oh, my God! | 0:51:38 | 0:51:40 | |
-Do you remember any of it? -Yeah, I do, but obviously it's changed. | 0:51:40 | 0:51:43 | |
-There used to be a pool table there. -Pool table, yes. | 0:51:45 | 0:51:48 | |
It's like the chill-out bit with everyone hanging out. | 0:51:48 | 0:51:50 | |
We used to have all our discs on the wall there. | 0:51:50 | 0:51:52 | |
-That sounds pretentious, but, yeah! -THEY LAUGH | 0:51:52 | 0:51:54 | |
Didn't we used to have all our platinum discs there! | 0:51:54 | 0:51:56 | |
'We had a blind optimism that | 0:51:56 | 0:51:58 | |
'she would be accepted because of who she was.' | 0:51:58 | 0:52:01 | |
And that people would accept what she did musically. | 0:52:01 | 0:52:04 | |
And it turned out we were right in that respect. | 0:52:04 | 0:52:06 | |
-This is where we used to do all the writing. -Yep. -Oh, my God. | 0:52:06 | 0:52:09 | |
We had a computer down there, a mixing desk there, | 0:52:09 | 0:52:11 | |
speakers at the back. Sofa. | 0:52:11 | 0:52:13 | |
-OK, I'm being transported back. -Are you? -Yeah, oh, my God. | 0:52:13 | 0:52:17 | |
Every day, we'd just go to the studio, write, | 0:52:19 | 0:52:23 | |
and it was just a really liberating, freeing thing to do. | 0:52:23 | 0:52:28 | |
She would come in and go, I want a bit of this, a bit of this, | 0:52:28 | 0:52:30 | |
listen to this, listen to this, listen to this! | 0:52:30 | 0:52:32 | |
-You'd usually want it all in one song, about 35 different ideas. -Yes. | 0:52:32 | 0:52:35 | |
The reality is, we'd be going, how the hell are we going to do this? | 0:52:35 | 0:52:38 | |
Hence the title of the album became Schizophonic because it changes, | 0:52:38 | 0:52:40 | |
-it was all over the place. -It was so all over the place. | 0:52:40 | 0:52:43 | |
The album was called Schizophonic. | 0:52:43 | 0:52:45 | |
And it kind of meant, it means split sound. | 0:52:45 | 0:52:48 | |
But actually it was saying, there's two sides of me. | 0:52:48 | 0:52:52 | |
And Look At Me, the first song, was very much about saying, | 0:52:52 | 0:52:57 | |
look at me, but actually can we really see? | 0:52:57 | 0:53:00 | |
Really look at me. Not just on face value. | 0:53:00 | 0:53:03 | |
# Look at me | 0:53:03 | 0:53:06 | |
# You can take it all because this face is free | 0:53:06 | 0:53:12 | |
# Maybe next time use your eyes and look at me. # | 0:53:12 | 0:53:16 | |
'I think my most creative memory of that whole album | 0:53:16 | 0:53:19 | |
'was just the production of Look At Me.' | 0:53:19 | 0:53:22 | |
It was like a revolving door of musicians and ideas. | 0:53:22 | 0:53:25 | |
# I can even do reality. # | 0:53:25 | 0:53:30 | |
It was just the track we all fell in love with off the album, | 0:53:30 | 0:53:33 | |
and got the most excited about writing. | 0:53:33 | 0:53:35 | |
'Then we got to the middle eight and thought, | 0:53:35 | 0:53:37 | |
'I don't know what we're going to do. | 0:53:37 | 0:53:38 | |
'Geri was like, I do know what I'm doing in the video. | 0:53:38 | 0:53:41 | |
'I'm going to kill Ginger Spice. | 0:53:41 | 0:53:44 | |
'I want the middle eight to be all about the death of Ginger Spice.' | 0:53:44 | 0:53:47 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:53:47 | 0:53:50 | |
-Wow! -That's the vocal booth. | 0:53:50 | 0:53:52 | |
This is where I would have my emotional moment, "I'm scared." | 0:53:52 | 0:53:55 | |
I'm sure I made you cry a few times. | 0:53:55 | 0:53:57 | |
Yeah, I'm sure I cried a couple of times. | 0:53:57 | 0:53:59 | |
Because you feel vulnerable when you're singing | 0:53:59 | 0:54:02 | |
and putting yourself out there. | 0:54:02 | 0:54:05 | |
You know, I was scared. There was always a little bit of scepticism. | 0:54:07 | 0:54:11 | |
And so when it did well, it was just so validating | 0:54:11 | 0:54:15 | |
and brilliant to feel that connection with people. | 0:54:15 | 0:54:20 | |
This next lady took a huge risk going solo, but what a result. | 0:54:20 | 0:54:24 | |
She's just done the treble, she's back on top, it's Geri! See ya. | 0:54:24 | 0:54:30 | |
# Take me back to my sweet lavida | 0:54:30 | 0:54:34 | |
# Find my love, my dolce vita. # | 0:54:34 | 0:54:39 | |
'I was thrilled by the success of the album. | 0:54:39 | 0:54:42 | |
'Mi Chico Latino was inspired by my Spanish roots. | 0:54:42 | 0:54:45 | |
'Thank God I followed my heart. It got me four number one records.' | 0:54:45 | 0:54:50 | |
Geri burned really brightly really quickly | 0:54:50 | 0:54:53 | |
and she did some really smart videos, | 0:54:53 | 0:54:55 | |
in a time when video really mattered. | 0:54:55 | 0:54:58 | |
'She was really good at making herself relevant the whole time.' | 0:54:58 | 0:55:02 | |
And she Geri'd it up. | 0:55:02 | 0:55:03 | |
FIREWORKS EXPLODE | 0:55:05 | 0:55:08 | |
When a new millennium arrived, Britain celebrated in style. | 0:55:09 | 0:55:14 | |
Looking back on the '90s, the world had changed so much | 0:55:18 | 0:55:20 | |
in so many different ways, it had been a magical decade for me. | 0:55:20 | 0:55:25 | |
One of real opportunities, and I still feel that, in many ways, | 0:55:25 | 0:55:28 | |
it was such a positive time to be young and British. | 0:55:28 | 0:55:32 | |
The '90s for me were incredibly exciting | 0:55:32 | 0:55:35 | |
because a lot of alternative, interesting, artistic people | 0:55:35 | 0:55:38 | |
came through and made their mark, | 0:55:38 | 0:55:40 | |
and they changed things, they really did change things. | 0:55:40 | 0:55:42 | |
The values involved at that time were all about possibility, | 0:55:42 | 0:55:46 | |
were all about openness. | 0:55:46 | 0:55:48 | |
I think, for those reasons, it's important to celebrate the '90s. | 0:55:48 | 0:55:54 | |
It was probably the last great opportunity to be ridiculous | 0:55:54 | 0:55:57 | |
and get away with it. | 0:55:57 | 0:55:59 | |
'What better way to end my decade, | 0:56:06 | 0:56:09 | |
'celebrating femininity, and with humour, at the 2000 Brit Awards.' | 0:56:09 | 0:56:15 | |
'I don't think we knew much about the actual Brit performance. | 0:56:16 | 0:56:18 | |
-'We were invited. -She did tell us a bit about it.' | 0:56:18 | 0:56:20 | |
She said, "You're going to be quite surprised what I'm going to do." | 0:56:20 | 0:56:23 | |
I think she kept it from us, yes, so it was like... | 0:56:23 | 0:56:25 | |
I don't remember, but kind of going, look, a big pair of legs, | 0:56:25 | 0:56:28 | |
and Geri's going to come flying out of a vagina! | 0:56:28 | 0:56:30 | |
On top of that, she's pole dancing. | 0:56:32 | 0:56:34 | |
So, it's like... It wasn't subtle, that's for sure. | 0:56:34 | 0:56:37 | |
# Cos men are from Venus And girls are from Mars. # | 0:56:37 | 0:56:40 | |
# Bag it up, don't drop the baby Boot it up, no buts or maybe | 0:56:40 | 0:56:44 | |
# Wind him up, and make him crazy Whoa! # | 0:56:44 | 0:56:48 | |
I think it's important to be able to have humour. | 0:56:48 | 0:56:51 | |
I think it's a very British way to sort of get through | 0:56:51 | 0:56:55 | |
some of the painful stuff, to laugh at yourself. | 0:56:55 | 0:56:57 | |
You think, "Oh, God, you're taking yourself way too seriously, love, | 0:56:57 | 0:57:00 | |
"get over it." | 0:57:00 | 0:57:01 | |
So, I think, that album, for me, was a really good reminder that, | 0:57:01 | 0:57:07 | |
just be honest, be yourself, get on with it. | 0:57:07 | 0:57:10 | |
It was a good end to that decade. | 0:57:10 | 0:57:14 | |
'We've come a long way. | 0:57:16 | 0:57:18 | |
'That little kid with a red car. | 0:57:18 | 0:57:20 | |
'The little girl who became Ginger Spice.' | 0:57:20 | 0:57:22 | |
It is absolutely, it is nothing like anyone imagined. | 0:57:24 | 0:57:26 | |
It's not glamorous at all. | 0:57:26 | 0:57:29 | |
'But I've realised, however much we've changed over the years, | 0:57:29 | 0:57:33 | |
'we're still the same people at heart. | 0:57:33 | 0:57:36 | |
'I guess this journey back in time has helped me look forwards too, | 0:57:36 | 0:57:40 | |
'towards the road ahead, and the next stage of my life, | 0:57:40 | 0:57:42 | |
'and making more music. | 0:57:42 | 0:57:45 | |
'And, if there's one thing that will always remind me of the '90s, | 0:57:45 | 0:57:48 | |
'it's this, the little red car I dreamed of as a child.' | 0:57:48 | 0:57:53 | |
On my birthday, | 0:57:53 | 0:57:54 | |
my lovely husband found the very car. | 0:57:54 | 0:58:00 | |
I think it was 17 years later since I sold it. | 0:58:00 | 0:58:04 | |
The guy that had bought it in Yorkshire had still got it. | 0:58:05 | 0:58:09 | |
I swear to you, I started crying when I saw it. | 0:58:10 | 0:58:14 | |
I couldn't believe it. | 0:58:14 | 0:58:15 | |
'This car represents a '90s dream, the freedom.' | 0:58:19 | 0:58:23 | |
And this little MGB Roadster is me. I just love it. | 0:58:23 | 0:58:28 |