Hip-Hop Lives Here
Hip-Hop Lives Here
Emma Bunton has shared an enchanting new version of Spice Girls‘ ‘2 Become 1’ – check it out below.
Bunton – also known as Baby Spice – has shared her new take on the girl group’s 1996 holiday classic, this time singing without her bandmates. Instead, she’s backed by the Budapest Scoring Orchestra, who help elevate the track with even more Christmas magic.
A music video – filmed in Budapest – was shared over the weekend. You can watch it below.
Writing of her new version on social media, Bunton shared on Instagram: “Earlier this year, I had the amazing opportunity to record one of my favourite Spice Girls singles, ‘2 Become 1’, with the incredible @budapestscoring Orchestra! Hearing the song brought to life by such a talented orchestra gave me goosebumps—it was such a magical experience.”
The former girl group were last seen giving a surprise performance of their 1998 single ‘Stop’ at Victoria Beckham’s 50th birthday party in April, and the event led many to speculate that a comeback could be happening.
However, Victoria’s husband David shut down any potential rumours of a reunion, saying: “Unfortunately, that’s not happening. Victoria was so pleased to see the girls, and it was a massive part of her life, but obviously, all the girls have got their own things going on,” he continued. “They will do certain things together at certain times.”
Speculation has been swirling in recent months about a possible Spice Girls reunion, with Mel B fuelling the rumours in March by hinting that the group would “definitely [be] doing something” for their 30th anniversary.
Prior to their one-off reunion in April, fans believed that Spice Girls would perform in the Legends’ slot at Glastonbury 2023 after Mel B alluded to it on The Big Narstie Show. Mel C then shut the rumours down, saying it didn’t work logistically for the group.
However, Mel C did make a surprise appearance with Orbital and Tilda Swinton as a special guest. She performed her track with Orbital ‘Spicy’ which samples tracks from the Spice Girls‘ discography including their hit song ‘Wannabe’.
In July this year, however, Mel C said “there’s nothing I would like more” than a headlining slot at Worthy Farm with the Spice Girls. “I think the absolute ultimate would be to do it with the Spice Girls,” she saod. “There’s nothing I would like more. But you know, while they’re still making their minds up…”
Noting the Spice Girls have never played the legendary festival as “in the 90s, they didn’t have pop music at music festivals”, Mel C responded to Chris Moyle’s sly suggestion for a top slot for next year’s edition: “It would be a belting headliner.”
Spice Girls had a reunion tour in 2019, but Beckham did not join her groupmates for the outing. The last time they all performed together publicly was at the London Olympics closing ceremony in 2012.
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Hull is set to submit its bid to become the UK’s latest recipient of the UNESCO Creative City of Music award.
The designation is awarded by the United Nations agency to a number of cities around the world that have “identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development” and that aim to establish further music-related activities in the city.
Previous UK cities to be awarded the honour are Glasgow in 2008, Liverpool in 2015 and Belfast in 2021, the latter of which saw natives Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol and composer Hannah Peel named as official patrons of the city.
Hull now aims to be the fourth city to claim the title, after its council cabinet signed off on a five-year plan to boost music in the city. They consulted 1200 people as part of their “far-reaching” planning process, with councillor Rob Pritchard arguing that it would offer the city “a real direction in which to move our cultural scene forward” (via BBC).
The council have said that their application will follow the publication of the city’s first music plan, to be published early in 2025. They have stated an intention to “enable all residents to take part in and enjoy cultural activities”, as well as a vision to use their culture and heritage to me the city “more competitive” to generate economic growth.
The official application will be launched on March 14 as part of the Cultural Tides conference at the city’s Truck Theatre.
Hull’s high-profile musical contributions over the years include the ‘80s acts The Housemartins and Everything But The Girl, as well as more recent artists such as shoegazers Bdrmm, whose second album ‘I Don’t Know’ was released in 2023. In a four-star review, NME wrote: “Frontman Ryan Smith has bristled at having his vocals described as “effortless” in the past, but his precision only makes what he says more potent. This is a special record by a band who are not-so-quietly raising the bar for the whole British scene.”
Another great Hull musical native was Mick Ronson, longtime guitarist with David Bowie. Earlier this year, 50 six-feet-tall rat sculptures appeared in the city to honour him.
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