'Can I start again? In your own time,
Ms Halliwell.
In May 1998, a 25-year-old woman walked out of her
job, and it made world news. But then, it was quite
a job. Geri Halliwell was cheerleader,
rabble-rouser, bottom-pincher, pop advocate and
larger-than-life cartoon character Ginger Spice in
the biggest group of the Nineties, the Spice Girls.
Yet when she quit, her future seemed uncertain. Some
even said bleak.
But that, of course, was before her book If Only
became a best-seller. Before her first solo album
Schizophonic went platinum in Canada. Before the
first single from that album made number two in the
UK charts, to be followed by three consecutive
number one singles. Before Geri proved that her
success was no fluke and that she has an unerring
instinct for what the girl on the street (and the
boy on the dance floor) wants to hear. Because, of
course, it’s what she wants to hear herself.
At a time when real pop stars are in short supply,
Geri Halliwell is the genuine article. I’ve always
loved pop music, she declares. “Pop became a dirty
word for a while, but it doesn’t have to be crap.
It doesn’t have to be manufactured, soulless, and
heartless. There is soulful pop out there that is
running on a heartbeat and a lot of fire and energy.
Growing up in Watford, Geraldine Estelle
Halliwell’s early musical education consisted of
miming to Madonna records in front of her bedroom
mirror, listening to Abba, Michael Jackson, Wham and
her dad’s collection of show tunes: Judy Garland,
Marilyn Monroe, Shirley Bassey. And loving it all
with a passion.
“Then I did a degree in pop, she laughs. “I was
in the Spice Girls. And now I feel like I’m doing
my thesis. All of that knowledge is poured into this
album, and I’ve finally got the tools to be able
to use what I’ve learned.
Her first solo album was made quickly, “Just to
prove I could do it. I was running on ‘I’ll show
youmore than anything. We all do that I’ve done
it all my life. But this album’s different. This
was very much a creative drive to explore. Vocally
I’ve become a lot more confident. And I’m
starting to realize that I am a real artist that I
can write pop songs, and do it well.
The album was produced by Rick Nowells (Sonique,
Texas, Dido), Stephen Lipson (Pet Shop Boys, Ronan
Keating) and Absolute (Tina Turner, Spice Girls),
and crafted with a variety of writing partners from
Europe and the USA. But no matter who the
collaborators were, the end result is unmistakably,
consistently Geri: the lyrics, the music, the
production, the videos and even the image on the
sleeve all reflect her creative input and powerful
personality.
In all the column inches written about Geri in the
past three years, it’s easy to forget that this is
what she does: loud, proud, glorious pop. Music with
a heart, soul and great hooks. So forget the weight
loss, the friendships with George Michael and Robbie
Williams, the yoga, the shopping, the gossip and the
pictures. If you really want to know the truth about
Geri Halliwell, then play her records: she’s in
every beat. Playful, romantic, sexual, spiritual,
egotistical, funny, thoughtful, contradictory but
always warm, honest and likeable.
So far, it’s been one hell of a roller-coaster
ride. And now it’s time to go round again. Scream
if you wanna go faster.
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