Tuesday 12 July 2011

HUDDERSFIELD EXAMINER Article (05/07/2011)

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Record news for Spice Girls fan Liz West

AN exhibition of the Spice Girls, made possible by a Huddersfield woman, is a record-breaker. Spiceworld: The Exhibition smashed visitor numbers at the Leeds City Museum, where it closed at the weekend. And that’s great news for Liz West, of Lindley, who loaned much of her amazing Spice Girls collection to the museum. Since it opened in January, nearly 50,000 people have visited the exhibit at Leeds City Museum.

Now she is planning to move the exhibition to Londonderry next summer and then on to Northampton. The items in Spiceworld: The Exhibition are owned by collector Liz and include a pair of Union Jack boots worn by Geri Halliwell.

The event had already created a world record for the largest number of Spice Girls items together in a collection. Liz said: “It feels surreal, but obviously I’m very proud that people have come along to see all the bits and pieces I have collected over the years. I’m still adding to it all the time and there will be more when it goes to Northern Ireland next year”.

The museum said the best-attended exhibition previously was Dr Rock’s Lost Gallery – involving minerals and crystals - which attracted 3,500 visitors in 2010. Curator of exhibitions Helen Langwick said: “The Spiceworld exhibition has proved really popular and we are especially proud to have played our part in making a little bit of history with the Guinness World Record for Liz, which is well deserved for her amazing collection”.

The exhibition was the first time Ms West’s full collection had been on public display. She was just 11-years-old when Girl Power spiced up the world. She heard Wannabe on the radio and said she became hooked on the Spice Girls. Now the 25-year-old, who lives in Lindley, has amassed a collection of 4,000 pieces of Spice Girl memorabilia. The Leeds exhibition was the first time all had gone on show in the same place.

Liz was a fan first and a collector second, but the artist is now able to make a career out of her collection. She said: “I was always extremely keen for this museum to play host to my collection, mainly because of the impressive nature of the venue but also because Leeds is Mel B’s hometown. "Sadly Mel B wasn’t able to get along to see it because she is heavily pregnant”.

Melanie Brown was born in Harehills and lived in Burley. She married dancer Jimmy Gulzar in 1998. The couple later divorced, and she went on to marry movie producer Stephen Belafonte in 2007. The other members of the pop group were Victoria Beckham, Melanie Chisolm, Geri Halliwell and Emma Bunton.

Read More http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-west-yorkshire-news/2011/07/05/record-news-for-spice-girls-fan-liz-west-86081-28992920/#ixzz1RsyRjzpO

Wednesday 6 July 2011

BBC NEWS WEBSITE Article (03/07/2011)

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Spice Girls exhibition: doors close on record-breaking display

An exhibit of a record-breaking collection of Spice Girls memorabilia in Leeds has closed. Since it opened in January, nearly 50,000 people have visited the exhibit at Leeds City Museum. The items in Spiceworld: The Exhibition are owned by collector Liz West and include a pair of Union Jack boots worn by Geri Halliwell.

The event held a world record for the largest number of Spice Girls items together in a collection. The museum said the best-attended exhibition previously was Dr Rock's Lost Gallery - involving minerals and crystals - with 3,500 visitors in 2010.

Curator of exhibitions Helen Langwick said: "The Spiceworld exhibition has proved really popular and we are especially proud to have played our part in a making a little bit of history with the Guinness World Record for Liz, which is well deserved for her amazing collection."

The exhibition was the first time Ms West's full collection had been on public display. She said: "I was always extremely keen for this museum to play host to my collection, mainly because of the impressive nature of the venue but also because Leeds is Mel B's hometown." Melanie Brown was born in Harehills and lived in Burley. She married dancer Jimmy Gulzar in 1998. The couple later divorced, and she went on to marry movie producer Stephen Belafonte in 2007.

The other members of the pop group were Victoria Beckham, Melanie Chisolm, Geri Halliwell and Emma Bunton.

Sunday 3 July 2011

YORKSHIRE EVENING POST Newspaper Article: (01/07/2011)

Leeds: Spice Girls exhibition sizzles to its finish
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By Jonathan Brown
Published on Friday 1 July 2011 10:32

A record-breaking exhibition to spice up your life will come to a close on Sunday.

The world’s biggest collection of Spice Girls memorabilia was recognised by Guinness World Records during Spiceworld: The Exhibition’s run at Leeds City Museum, in Millennium Square, Leeds.

Collector Liz West, 26, who lives in Huddersfield, has amassed 2,066 items related to the band, which have been on show at the free-to-enter display since January.

She said: “There are still a few days left to see it if anyone has been meaning to but has not come along yet.

“The great reaction from everyone who has seen it has made me really proud and the icing on the cake was securing the Guinness World Record.”

The exhibition is the first time Ms West’s collection has ever been on display in its entirety in public.

Among the items on show are the iconic Union Jack boots worn by Geri Halliwell in the group’s first-ever live concert in Istanbul, Emma Bunton’s blue sequin dress from the band’s memorable performance at the 1997 Brit Awards and Leeds-born Mel B’s trademark giraffe print catsuit complete with a crystal-studded belt.

The museum’s curator of exhibitions, Helen Langwick, said: “The Spiceworld exhibition has proved really popular.

“We are especially proud to have played our part in a making a little bit of history with the Guinness World Record for Liz which is well deserved for her amazing collection.”

Spiceworld: The Exhibition also examines what it takes to be a modern celebrity.

Other items on display include outfits worn by Emma, Geri and Mel B on their Spiceworld tour as well as a gold and diamond-studded Chopard watch worn by Posh Spice, Victoria Beckham.

The director’s script of Spiceworld: The Movie and the multi-platinum CD awarded to the girls for selling over four million copies of their album, Spice, in America in 1997 are also on show.

The Spice Girls sold 80 million records worldwide following the impact of debut single, Wannabe, which topped the charts in 31 countries in 1996.

Contact: www.leeds.gov.uk/citymuseum for information.