THE BIG STORY
Viva four-ever: Spice Girls management team targets ‘future generations’
Simon Fuller and Modest combine forces for reunion, as SJM’s Simon Moran reveals “big expectations” for stadium tour
BY JAMES HANLEY, ANDRE PAINE & MARK SUTHERLAND Your
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T
he Spice Girls’ 2019 reunion tour of stadiums is set to “ignite many exciting things to come”, Simon Fuller has told Music Week.
Fuller’s XIX Entertainment has partnered with Modest Management on
the comeback, which received widespread media coverage. The reunited line-up – minus Victoria Beckham – made a TV appearance on ITV’s The Jonathan Ross Show on Saturday (November 10), following radio interviews with BBC Radio 2’s Chris Evans and the Heart London Breakfast Show, which is co-hosted by group member Emma Bunton. Spice Girls last toured a decade ago and Fuller is confident that they can reach a new audience this time. “I’m focused on future Spice Girls generations,” he told Music Week. “The Spice Girls have had huge cultural impact over two decades, it seems that never before has their spirit and message been more relevant.”
Fuller has a longstanding relationship with Modest’s co-founders, Richard Griffiths and Harry Magee, who have experience of global acts including One Direction. “I’ve been friends with Richard and Harry for many years and so announcing the tour together is a wonderful beginning to this new journey and the spark that will ignite many other exciting things to come,” said Fuller. “The girls can accomplish anything when their minds are set.” “It took some planning in terms of getting the creative aspect ready and updating all of the digital and social platforms,” said Magee of the launch. “I have to say that everybody, including the girls themselves, was blown away by the impact that the announcement had. Dawbell PR said they’ve never had such a reaction and certainly never had so many international enquiries, it just came flooding in.” Magee confirmed global touring plans were taking shape. “We’re looking at Australia and North America and Europe,” he told Music Week. “Nothing else is planned but if these [UK dates] go well, then we’ll obviously open up these conversations in the second bit of the last quarter of next year and probably going into 2020.
“If it works, if the girls enjoy it, we would look at it as a two- or three-year plan, and in conjunction with that there is the opportunity to elevate the Spice Girls brand even further through other mediums.”
Tickets for the UK tour went live on Saturday without any pre-sale. Booked by UTA, it is being promoted by SJM Concerts, Live Nation and John Giddings’ Solo Agency. Six
stadium dates were initially announced, in Manchester, Coventry, Sunderland, Edinburgh, Bristol and London, with more expected to be added. “We’ve got big expectations,” said SJM Concerts MD Simon Moran, speaking to Music Week prior to Saturday’s on-sale. “It’s just really exciting. It seems to have captured the imagination and hopefully people will be buying a lot of tickets.”
The Spice Girls have played three previous concert tours: the Spiceworld Tour (1998), Christmas In Spiceworld (1999) and, most notably, The Return Of The Spice Girls reunion tour of 2007-08. The latter sold out 17 nights at The O2 in London, the highest-grossing run of the year, generating $33.8 million (£25.8m) and pulling in 256,647 fans. The tour reportedly grossed $107.2m (£81.7m) in ticket sales and merchandise. The 2019 shows add to an already packed summer for the UK live music market, with other stadium concerts announced by Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Bon Jovi, Pink, Billy Joel, Muse and Take That. While the girl group can expect to do decent live business, their recorded music plans with Universal Music are still to be confirmed. Their peerless run of huge hits came to a halt with 2007’s one-off single Headlines (Friendship Never Ends), which missed the Top 10. The 2007 Greatest Hits peaked at No.2 and has sales to date of 535,390, according to the Official Charts Company. Encouragingly for the girl group, the collection has sold 23,690 copies this year, of which 62.2% is from streaming. Despite a decade of inactivity, apart from a 2012 Olympics Closing Ceremony performance, Spice Girls have a respectable 6.3 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Following the tour announcement, Spotify said streams increased by 199% on the previous week.
Gary Barlow, who reunited Take That in 2006, advised the Spice Girls to “enjoy” their comeback. “It’s actually taken me a few years to enjoy it,” he told Music Week. “It’s great. Get out there. They’ve got a great catalogue, the fans will love it, so enjoy it.”
Magee added: “They’ve got kids and have other jobs but watching them together, there is something very special about it. In terms of the music, there might be something in the future if it all goes well. If the interest is maintained, then I think the girls will be inspired to do other things.”
04 | Music Week 12.11.18
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