2 Become 1 – Spice Girls

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2 Become 1 – Spice Girls

This was the first of three consecutive Christmas number ones for the Spice Girls, this one was 1996, Too Much 1997 and Goodbye 1998. This is probably my favourite Spice Girls song, love the gentleness of it, it's a long way from Wannabe. Viva Forever was done in a similar soft style and I really like that one as well. I had a strange relationship with this band, I remember taking Wannabe to Australia with me on a Now album, playing it for my brother who was living over there and telling him that they were the next big thing back home. They then exploded the music scene, but I often thought their music wasn't as polished as it could be. There personalities and the media created characters almost over shadowed the songs they put out, it was more about who was your favourite girl than your favourite song. Baby Spice, Emma Bunton just in case you were wondering. There's no denying they were one of the best groups of a generation.

Their management certainly made the most of their publicity, the merchandising was crazy. Taking on the Christmas No.1 for example was a brilliant move, only The Beatles had notched up three Christmas No.1's previously. With none of the six songs between them having a single glimpse of seasonal greetings, thank god for Noddy and Roy Wood to get that on track.

The song itself is about a relationship getting back together, the very simple song title is genius. You aren't going to forget that one, some of the wording is quite sophisticated and the rest is nursery rhyme stuff. Looking up the meaning of the lyrics, I found out they were making a very unsubtle reference to contraception, 'Be a little bit wiser baby. Put it on, put it on'. Can't be many Christmas songs that go there. The softness of the backing just lets the girls vocal sit on top, it's basically a drum machine with a few chords hummed over it. The nice little solos all add to subtle feeling, back in the day it was perfect for those awkward end of the evening slow dances.

Favourite lyric : Once again, if we endeavour / Love will bring us back together

Location: Rayleigh, UK

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