WANNABE: A Spice Girls Podcast

WANNABE 25!!! Excitement is brewing in the Spice Girls camp with the official announcement of #WANNABE25. What do we have so far? A new vinyl, cassette and an unreleased song from the vault 'Feed Your Love'. So James and John get together to discuss their thoughts on the breaking news and speculate what else might be coming! Are these vinyls enough for the die hard fans? Also, Victoria Beckham and her Pride tee creates a little heat, they need answers - why isn't she posting about the anniversary? Hmm. Thankfully, Emma, Mel B and Mel C are all active with projects - Baby has her new book 'Mama You Got This', Mel B released her short film to support domestic violence and Mel C appears on celebrity gogglebox! So lots to catch up on. Oh and the boys share some details on James' epic Spice Girl themed 40th birthday! #IAmASpiceGirl.

If 2020 was a Spice Girl, she would be called Awful Spice'. James and John decided life needed spicing up so they are back with a Spice Girls 2020 round-up. They catch up on all things Scary, Baby, Ginger, Posh and Sporty. Geri Horner's 'Rainbow Woman' was a hot topic, the new music, well that caused some confusion. Did Melanie C put out more music than Taylor Swift? It seems like it, Sporty never sleeps. They discuss 'Into You' and all the other hits from the album. Mel B seemed to have disappeared but thankfully we got some comeback news. The lovely Emma Bunton has ben keeping us all entertained during lockdown with throwbacks and IG vids, what a shame we couldn't do another Baby Christmas. Then they wrap things up with the other, what's her name? Oh Victoria (Malcolm). What on earth has she been doing? Enjoy and here's to a better 2021

John still hasn't got his second set of COVID results back, James just finished his second dinner so buckle up, you are in for a TV journey. After a quick catch up about sausages the boys pick apart the Real Housewives of Atlanta zoom reunion. Porsha dissing Eva's boobs, Cynthia being half asleep, NeNe being Nay Nay - but did the format work? Switching to the Tinsdale vs Dorita drama in New York, they try to figure out what on earth Dorinda's problem is, where Leah lives in her tiny apartment, if LuAnn deserves all the praise for the minivan and why Sonja is being so annoying and, more importantly, is she alive after burning down the kitchen on Worst Cooks in America? Relocating to The Valley housewives, sorry, they mean Beverly Hills ... Queen Sutton needs Dorit to stop playing with her mouse. Switching gears to RuPaul's Drag Race, John finally gets onboard with Crystal Methyd and they both chat about how much they loved the Rusical and speculate what on earth is going to happen with the finale. Will they bring Jackie Cox back? Will they pull a Katy Perry and have a huge production out of their garage? It's all so uncertain.

James and John virtually catch up during week 8 of quarantine, they need to vent some frustrations with people breaking social distancing rules before swiftly moving onto the hubbub around Adele's recent birthday photo on IG. What was all fuss about? It wasn't like we got a new album. The boys get opinionated about Sutton, Dorit, Kyle and Erika on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and James exposes his 3 year long feud with Lisa Rinna! Moving onto the New York housewives, John sympathizes with Luann as they discuss her drinking issues and James can't help but get mad about Dorinda's hypocrisy. John shares his intimate moment with Whoopi Goldberg as they analyze the mediocre one woman shows on this week's RuPaul's Drag Race episode and John tries to convince James to watch Hollywood on Netflix because it's as close to gay porn as we can get on streaming, but is it all too farfetched?!

Lots to discuss this week - John tested positive for COVID-19 so we get to find all about that. They are both fully invested in RPDR and chat about the online controversy surrounding the recent episode with the female superfans and they chat about their fav queens, Crystal Methyd and Jaida Essence Hall. Somehow they wind up talking about the Desperate Housewives Zoom reunion and get nostalgic for the show. Of course, no episode would be complete without updates on all the Real Housewives show. Are they fans of Sutton Stracke? What on earth is Denise Richards' husband going on about? Why is Teddi still there? Did Sonja Morgan's fashion show result in any purchases from Century 21? And should James move to Potomac?

Another lockdown episode - when will it end? Will this go on longer than the length of John's bush? To help you through this lonely and tough time, James and John bring you all the latest Spice Girls info. Victoria Beckham was dragged in the Uk press about receiving business funds from the COVID-19 relief, wrong or right? James has opinions that may end up getting him in trouble. Eeek. Mel C performed on The James Corden Show and oh how they wish she didn't. This week saw the finale of Making The Cut with Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn and Naomi Campbell, the boys discuss the winner, the format, the million dollars and whether Amazon is even the right platform for clothing - where is the supply?! The new episode of RuPaul's Drag Race gave us Daddy Jeff Goldblum and stellar performances from Jaida Essence Hall and Crystal Methyd plus James discusses his journey about being a drag queen on the show... wait.. what? An episode wouldn't be complete without some housewives chatter, so they get to discussing RHOBH, RHONY and PHOP. Long Live Ramona. Enjoy!

Well, there's whole bunch of Spice Girls activity this week - Victoria Beckham's birthday, Emma Bunton's live tweeting and Geri's useless kitchen skills! James and John will always be bringing you the Spice updates and news but they've started branching out into other pop culture topics. This week gave us the premiere of episode of new season of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and, whilst other seasons have been a complete snoozefest, this episode rocked their worlds. There was a new fresh energy to the franchise but more importantly the drama that appears to be unfolding with Denise Richards seems mindblowing and the boys can't wait to see how it all pans out. Somehow, John started on the topic of Disney and it got them thinking about the best movie and their favorite villain, and then there was even a revelation about Ariel The Little Mermaid and how she may be more of an LGBTQ+ figure than we first expected. Of course, they wanted to chat about RPDR and the amazing Madonna musical episode which saw some tension between Gigi Goode and (Just) Jan. Sit back and listen to the two of them disagree and forget about the madness of the world...

James and John are transitioning. No, not in that way, yet they fully support their Trans brothers and sisters - what they mean to say is the Spiceworld is getting bigger. The Spice Boys are broadening the topics to all things pop culture. To help ease into it they still have some Mel C news to discuss as she is still the most active Spice Girl at the moment. Things soon turn to their love of reality tv and they discuss all of the Real Housewives - New York, Beverly Hills, Atlanta, New Jersey, Potomac. RuPaul's Drag Race gets a feature because what is a world without drag queens? They don't want to know it. Somehow the discussion of mullets gets them talking about Tiger King - the Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin feud. Wrapping up with Naomi Campbell in Making The Cut, Money Heist and Ozark. It's a journey and nobody set a destination.

Every boy and every girl, just stay inside, people of the world, please stay inside, ahhhhh. Yes, James and John are going slightly mad during the Coronavirus lockdown/quarantine. Thankfully, they aren't locked down together so are dialing into a conference call to discuss all things Spice Girls - the positivity factory. Mel C, Mel B, Geri, Emma and even Victoria have been active recently, so what better time for a special!? The boys decide which album they'd pick to help them through self isolation plus they discuss Melanie C's new single 'Who I Am'. There's chat about Geri's recent Vogue interview, her white dresses and stiff body. It's a special so they are all over the place, yet really they can't go further than the bathroom or the kitchen.

Just like the Spice Girls, James and John never went away, they were just taking care of their families, wearing white, running businesses and prepping for Christmas concerts. Wait? That's not right. Anyway, the boys are back for the first since their SpiceWorld Tour episode for a good old catch up about all things Baby, Sporty, Scary, Ginger and Posh. It's been 4 months and most of the girls have been busy, Melanie B did her speaking tour, Emma Bunton announced her Royal Albert special, Mel C did another tour, Victoria Beckham has been busy with VB Beauty and Geri, well, Geri has been riding horses and judging drag queens. James and John revisit some Spice moments - Viva Forever The Musical and the Power of 5 for Channel 5 launch. Enjoy this special episode!

The SPICEWORLD 2019 Tour review is finally here!!! Emma, Mel C, Mel B and Geri totally spiced up James' and John's lives on Sat 15th June at Wembley Stadium and now you can listen to their entire experience from leaving LA to their post show blues in London. Baby, Scary, Sporty and Ginger put on an epic show and the hosts have plenty to say. Did the Spice Circle live up to hype? What was their favorite moment? Who was Jess Glynne? Where was Victoria? Did they get to go backstage? Everything you've been wondering has been answered. The episode is broken down into numerous stages of their journey. Before the concert, what spicey behavior did they get up to in London? Getting ready for the concert and meeting their friends proved to be more stressful than anticipated. They may have forgotten to discuss being very dehydrated so they didn't have to pee and miss any of the show but it was all worth it in the end. The concert that changed their lives! Thank you Spice Girls for this amazing night!

The 2019 Spice Girls reunion is upon us all but before this stadium tour, we had the 2007/08 global arena tour - "Return of the Spice Girls" - the iconic tour that saw all five Spice Girls come back together. Yep, Emma, Mel C, Mel B, Geri and Victoria performed all the classics and danced their little hearts out. John reminisces about all his favorite parts of the tour but, unfortunately, James lived in the middle of nowhere during this time and never got to see it. Thankfully, some amazing Spice fan compiled all the concert footage together and created a reunion tour spectacular that was posted on youtube. Of course, with the timing of the new SpiceWorld2019 tour this means the hosts can't help but talk about all the highlights so far! Geri's dress, Emma being iconic, Mel B giving it her all and Mel C continuing to be the powerhouse of vocals. While James and John haven't quite made it to the Wembley finale yet, there is a lot to be said about SPICEWORLD and the comparisons between this and the previous reunion tour! Solo numbers, all male dancers and unusual setlist choices. WHO KEEPS REQUESTING DISCO MUSIC ON THESE TOURS?!!! The opinions are flying all over the place in this fun-filled episode!

It's all about BABY LOVE as we wrap up our solo Spice episodes with the incredible career of Emma Bunton. Baby Spice is the only Spice Girl to release recent music with "My Happy Place" so they spend some time talking about those gorgeous covers. Bunton can do no wrong so it was hard the for the hosts to pick their favorite Emma moments within the Spice Girls but "2 Become 1" is a stand out for both of them. They dial it all the way back to when "What I Am" was the theme song to her own show on VH1 and then chat about her first album, "A Girl Like". With breakout hits like "What Took You So Long" and "Take My Breath Away" how can you not love this 'freckle-faced' era?! James and John can't contain their excitement as they talk about the second album, "Free Me", by far their favorite - Motown inspired with Bossa Nova undertones is perfect for sunny days and beach heaven. They talk about how hot Emma looked in the videos, how fun the "Maybe" and "I'll Be There" videos are and then have a few things to say about the random release "Crickets Sing For Anamaria". When it comes time to the third album, "Life In Mono" they certainly have some opinions that you'll either love or hate. Aside from music, Emma has done so much in entertainment, from presenting TV, to hosting on radio, so of course, they talk about Absolutely Fabulous, Hear Radio, Eastenders and the random appearances in Bollywood movies!! Emma Bunton can literally do it all. That sweet voice, that kick ass attitude, James and John celebrate everything Baby Spice has given us!

Oh Geri Halliwell, you creative genius, thank you for the music! James and John talk all things Ginger Spice, starting with her pre Spice Girl departure and giving their opinions on where she shined best within the group. Touching on her younger years as presenter and topless model on Page 3, they then have to wonder if "Look At Me" was a reference to those early days, they certainly know it's about putting Ginger to rest, as per the iconic music video where Geri holds her own funeral. More hits came out of Schizophonic, like "Lift Me Up" (with that whackadoodle music video) and "Bag It UP" an absolute pop stunner, especially with that Brit Awards live performance. Ginger certainly knows how to entertain. James and John have varied opinions about the second album era with songs like "Scream If You Wanna Go Faster" and "Calling". They do notice a lot of other artists seem to have stolen some of Geri's creative genius though, picking things from her music videos as signatures, we are look at you Ariana Grande. Then comes the "Ride It" and the third album "Passion", but was Geri losing her passion at this point? From books to Tv shows and Christian music, wait what?! Yes, James think that 4th unreleased album has some Jesus undertones. Geri Halliwell becomes Geri Horner and they have to wonder if we'll ever see her with red hair ever again? Maybe she did bury Ginger after all. BRING HER BACK.

Oh yeh, Feels So Good, you'll love this one, like you should. An entire episode dedicated Scary Spice, Mel B, Melanie B, Melanie Brown. It turns out to be James and John's longest episode so far because she has such a vibrant career and personal life! They bring on super Spice Girl fan, James Clarke, to help them along on their scary journey and what a wild ride it is. From every hosting every possible talent show like America's Got Talent and X Factor, to starring in movies with Tom Hardy - Mel B really has done it all. John and the two James's argue their way through her short, yet diverse, discography - covering off tracks like "I Want U Back" ft Missy Elliott, "Tell Me", "Feels So Good and "Lullaby". Then there's the whole second album which unifies the host's opinions, all the time weaving in some interesting and shocking facts about Mel B's personal life. They might go on record to say Scary's blindness is more shocking than the whole Eddie Murphy saga. Whatever your opinion of this iconic spice girl, you can't deny her work ethic and hustle and James and John are just grateful she's given them so much, John specifically will cherish his selfie with her after seeing "Rent". Enjoy!

Easy V doesn't come for free and apparently we can't pay her enough to perform at the Spice World 2019 Tour - DEVASTATION. Instead, James and John spend some time looking at Victoria Beckham's entire career spanning the music, the tv, books and the fashion, dahling. Starting with her role in the Spice Girls and what Posh brought to the table and what lead to her first breakout hit 'Out Of your Mind' and there are some tensions between the hosts on if this was a hit or not. Then of course, the only OFFICIAL album that she released and, boy, does this create some conflict between James and John. Victoria only released one album yet there is so much music to discuss; 'Let Your Head Go', 'The Groove' and 'That Dude' - oooof. Plus all the other unofficial unreleased tracks from the two albums that somehow ran simultaneously but were inevitably canned. Thankfully for the fans, she had a lustrous TV career that involved FIVE documentaries/reality TV shows but really the only one James and John want to discuss is 'Coming to America', I think we can all agree the DMV scene is iconic. This journey down memory lane with the pointing queen has been an enjoyable ride! Whether she's your favorite (former) Spice Girl or not, she's a LEGEND.

Sporty, Mel C, Melanie C, she's the Spice Girl with biggest back catalogue and all the awards. James and John invite Jake Giles on to chat about Mel C's entire career. Jake is a fellow Spice fan and Mel C is his favorite, so he decided to join them and, quite frankly, school James and John about Sporty's plethora of albums. They start from the beginning and talk a little about Melanie C's pivotal role within the Spice Girls and their favorite and least favorite Mel C moments on some of those hits. Then comes Northern Star form the northern star, her first solo album. Jake is thankful James and John actually know this one inside and out but is taken aback by some of John's feelings on Mel C's vibe during this era. With his like 'I Turn To You' and 'Never Be The Same again' you can't deny this really put her on the map as a solo spice. They work through the rest of Mel C's discography; Reason, Beautiful Intentions, This Time, The Sea, Stages and finally Version of Me. This woman really does have some skills. Beautifully written songs and some bops that didn't get justice. James, John and Jake plan to start a hashtag #JusticeForThinkAboutIt - with such an extensive music career they barely get a chance to hat about her personal life and TV career, alas, this is a jam packed episode of facts, lies and opinions!

Forever turned out to be not very long at all. The third Spice Girl featuring Posh, Baby, Scary and Sporty was a whole different sound to what Spice fans were used to and James and John waste no time in dissecting the tracks. Actually, they do waste some time at the beginning as they haven't seen each other for a while and get everyone up-to-speed on what's been happening plus all the current Spice Girls' news: Emma Bunton's new album release, Victoria Beckham's birthday and the reunion tour rehearsals but where is Mel B?!?! Whilst they run through the album track-by-track they begin to realize there are a lot of songs that reference Geri no longer being in the band and, wow, some of the lyrics are quite aggressive. James and john can't really see eye-to-eye on which tracks they like and which they dislike, though as they get towards the end of the album they begin to agree that perhaps Forever wasn't what they wanted, what they really really wanted.

James and John discuss the Spice Girls' dual release singles; Holler and Let Love Lead The Way. Before they dig deep into both singles they discuss some Spice news - the photo circling Twitter of Victoria having an alleged anxiety ahead of the Olympics show, Emma Bunton's new album release in a few days and Youtube's 'The Honest Vocal Coach' mesmerized by the Spice Girls' vocals on a live performance of 'Too Much'. Switching focus they move on to Holler, the RnB number 1 from the new Spice Girl line-up (Baby, Scary, Posh and Sporty.) There's a lot to unpack here! James and John agree this is a much more adult Spice era and they bond over Mel C's unfortunate hair choice for this music video. Was it a choice? Or was some gay hair stylist angry with her? James only just realizes the earth, air, wind and water theme in the music video that links to Let Love Lead The Way too! Genius. Victoria Beckham becomes Windy Spice in that wind tunnel and looks fabulous doing it. James and John can't seem to agree on Let Love Lead The Way (there's a surprise), it's not a favorite of John's but James just loves it, though John is quick to point out that Emma is all over the song so that explains James' love for it. Does John not like it because it's not a backing track for a night of passion? Hmmm.

Geri Halliwell left the Spice Girls and things will 'Never Be The Same Again'. A slightly somber vibe on this episode because there is no way James and John can talk about the moment that changed music forever. Both of them remember where they were when the heard the shocking news that Ginger had left the band. This, of course, lead to the release of 'Goodbye' - an epic ballad with a cinematic music video. TEARS. TEARS. TEARS. But somehow, through the sadness there is still time for them to assess the hairstyles in this music video and single cover, Mel C's fringe / ratty extensions?! What?! And come on, surely someone else out the gets Return To Oz vibes with the frozen people! James reveals how close he was to Mel B this week and they close out with a Mother's Day moment.

THEY DON'T JUST SING - the tagline on the Spice Girls movie debut, Spice World! James and John dedicate an entire episode to the acting skills of Baby, Scary, Ginger, Sporty and Posh. Quickly deciding that Victoria Beckham was the breakout star of the movie with her one-liners and iconic scene stealing acting, Posh Spice should've received and Oscar for this. In amongst the discussions of cameos and dance numbers, James reveals the crime he committed whilst working on Spice World - shocker. By far their longest episode yet because there are too many insanely good moments in the cult classic and they all need to be spoken about - the Spice Bus, the bomb, the dress-up montage, dancing boot camp, THE ALIENS?!?!?!! And all of this while good old Nicola is trying to have a baby. James and John will be forever grateful to Emma Bunton, Melanie C, Geri Halliwell, Mel B and Victoria Beckham for this cinematic masterpiece! Of course, they had to discuss the newly unveiled 'secret' between Geri and Mel B, who cares if they did the dirty? Let them. Their love child would certainly be John though.

Spiceworld: The Album is ICONIC. 10 amazing tracks, not a skippable song in sight. The perfect follow up to the first Spice girls album. James & John go track by track and dissect the lyrics and the music. There are discussions about 'Never Give Up On The Good Times' being the follow up to 'Who Do You Think You Are', 'Do It' being a total motivation power anthem AND speaking of motivation, melavation, baby nation, CRAZY NATION - they gush over 'Move Over' from the epic Pepsi commercial. We all acted that one out with a can of Pepsi, right? They also catch us up on everything happening, John's been to Brazil, James has been bullied on social media, which gets them wondering if the Emma, Geri, Victoria, Mel C and Mel B are as active as they should be online. It's a jam-packed episode.

James and John have spicey guest, Anna Moghaddam, on this episode all about Viva Forever, the Spice Girl's fourth single release from their second album 'Spiceworld'. The last song released featuring Geri before she left Emma, Mel B, Mel C and Victoria in the lurch! So, because it's Anna's favorite song they decided to have her on to talk through the deep and meaningful lyrics, the whacky music video featuring the cute (and sometimes evil) looking fairies. They can agree the song itself is iconic, that sultry flamenco ballad but is the video iconic? Did Pavarotti direct it? Where did the little boy go? Why is there a robot chicken? SO MANY QUESTIONS. They also put Anna's Spice Girl knowledge to the test in a lyric battle. She won't be coming back on the show. Hasta Mañana!

Stop right now because James and John have a lot to talk about on this episode! The big news this week was Emma Bunton's new song 'Baby please Don't Stop' so they share their thoughts on the song and the music video and their anticipation for her new album. John goes off topic again so he can talk about the Oscars but don't worry James pulls him back on the Spice Girls track and they talk all things STOP. Where was it filmed? What was Mel B wearing? How many more times can Victoria Beckham point her finger? Did Geri know she was leaving the Spice Girls while filming the Stop music video? So much to unpack. James then makes John do a fun quiz to test his girl power knowledge. It's all on this week.

James and John talk too much on this 'Too Much' themed episode. They talk about the time they met their favorite Spice Girls, Mel B and Emma Bunton - stories you will not want to miss! John can't help but keep his birthday week going so gets us up-to-date with his celebrations, which almost ended badly because of an active shooter at work. The drama! They spend some time chatting about the epic 'Too Much' music video and, as always, the B SIDES!

James and John spice up their lives as they fully immerse themselves in the first single from the Spice Girls second album - Spiceworld. Before they can slam it to the left, John demands they celebrate his birthday, James shakes it to the right and gets things back on track. Between all the singing they chat about flying surfboards, the weird B-side track and complain about the crappy old cameras they were forced to take pictures with at the Spice Girls concerts.

Well, where to start? James and John work their way through the entire first album 'SPICE'. Stopping by each track to share there favorite lyrics, song moments and fun facts. John rants about the pop industry's attitudes towards female singers, James can't figure out what the word is for someone who plays a harmonica is. It's really an epic episode full of laughs, stories, singing and somehow, car sex.

It's been quite a week for James and John. They've both had emotional moments with their mums/moms, perfectly timed for the Mama episode. They argue over whether Mama is a regular ballad or an uptempo ballad. Does it even matter? They discuss Victoria Beckham's latest interview where she reveals she will be at the tour. Also Geri's Instagram account gets analyzed. Finally, they discuss the epic music video for Who Do You Think You are ft. Sugar Lumps, which sparks conversation about questionable fashions, teeth and hair.

James and John talk about the safe sex message behind the Spice Girls first ballad. They also question why the single version was different to the album version, what exactly happened that made them switch Geri out with Victoria? And they talk about the first time they 'put it on, put it on'.

James and John high-kick and back-bend their way through this episode. They talk about who looked the best or worst in the music video, the art of harmonica playing and argue over whether a man appears in the video or not.

James and John take a trip down memory lane to talk about WANNABE! They share where they were when they first heard it, what the Spice Girls meant to them and what on earth zig-a-zig-ah actually means.