Following on from last year’s Boybands Forever documentary, produced by Louis Theroux and Nancy Strang, comes the sister companion Girlbands Forever. And it’s equally as fascinating, yet pretty flawed. Suga(babes) and Spice (Girls) is all very nice, but of course, as with the previous three part series, the reality was anything but.
As before, ex-band members talk about the halcyon days of endless interviews; touring, meet and greets, image refining, and very little time off. Then there’s the slut-shaming; body-shaming, trolling and paparazzi intrusion: all part of the Faustian pact of fame.
Melanie Blatt of All Saints bitterly recalls how long it took the band to break through, only to be usurped by the more manufactured Spice Girls. Similarly, Eternal’s Kelle Bryan throws some spicy shade: “When we first heard ‘Wannabe’ on the radio, we thought it was maybe unfinished, or a demo”. Ouch. Firm, but fair.
Atomic Kitten are next up, in all their gobby glory. We see ex-OMD frontman and AK mastermind Andy McCluskey looking like a frustrated supply teacher trying to rein in the girls’ hijinks in the studio, which is hilarious. “Less dancing, more singing”, he implores, impotently.
There’s no Girls Aloud included here, as they’ve reformed and didn’t want to be involved in what is, after all a slice of nostalgia, but Mis-teeq and Sugababes are included. The former bemoan the fact that “there had been no-one like us before” (ummm… Wee Papa Girl Rappers? Neneh Cherry?Mel and Kim? Cookie Crew?) and the latter’s ever-changing line-up is given context (Mutya was fed – up, then Keisha had enough, but were replaced instantly) to the delight of pop music gossip mags and the ubiquitous tabloids.
Then of course, it gets even darker, touching on racism; drug abuse, post-partnum depression and burnout. But yipee, Little Mix saved the day, by trolling the trolls and speaking up for empowerment in a social media-fixated United Kingdom. So that’s that fixed, then. Phew.
It’s lovely watching them turn the tables on one Piers Morgan though, flabbergasted when the band posed naked with judgmental, misogynistic slogans daubed on their bodies. “Is THIS empowerment?’ he splutters, incandescent, missing the point entirely. Wonderfully, the band used this very clip of him at a live show.
It’s easy to get cynical about this series: it’s a bit “heard it all before” and the issues are something women and girls from all walks of life still face daily, but it’s still a fine chronicle of shifting pop culture, and if All Saints had some bona fide bangers, Sugababes were even better…and made a triumphant comeback at Glastonbury last year. As long as Atomic Kitten don’t follow suit. Miaow.
Available to watch on BBC I player
Hit The North 