Making stately progress through a pile of old New Yorkers, I have reached an article about the Spice Girls from 2022. Apparently, Danish researchers concluded in 2014 that the Spice Girls’ first single, Wannabe, was, at least at that time, the catchiest song ever written.
There is so much left unexplained in that piece of data - how did the researchers define “ever”; how did they define “catchy”; above all, why did they bother?
Never mind, Wannabe is a very cheerful piece of music and a delight to hear - occasionally.
The thing though that really did amaze me in the article was the news - or information I suppose; it can’t really be news 28 years later, (although it is to me) - that in 1997 the Spice Girls went to South Africa to perform a concert for charity and, during their visit, they met Nelson Mandela and, when some journalist asked him how he felt about meeting them, Mandela replied:
“You know, these are my heroes. And I don’t want to be emotional but this is one of the greatest moments in my life.”
Of course, I wanted to know in what tone Mandela made this statement - I assumed he was being a little jokey.
I found the video, and the whole event is wonderfully good-humoured, except for one thing. It turns out that the future King of England was also present - 15 kilos ago, at least, by the look of him - and could he keep silent? No, he could not.
And as a result he spoiled things, butting in with a look-at-me intervention that serves no purpose other than to make everyone else there look confused and awkward.
What a pity the young prince didn’t have a quick read of Ecclesiastes as he was driven to the occasion.
You can see the exchange here, starting from about 2 minutes in.
When my son was in elementary school, the girls among his classmates were greatly taken with the Spice Girls. One of the boys referred to them as the Sprite Girls, Sprite being an American soft drink.
ReplyDeleteSomebody in the years since has claimed that Wheatus's "Teenage Dirtbag" is the catchiest song. I wouldn't know, but I will say that the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain does an excellent version.
Our daughters loved them and now I love them too because they remind me of younger days. They were light hearted and cheerful and full of energy. There are many worse things and not much good natured cheer in evidence now from where I'm sitting.
ReplyDeleteZMKC