HUDDERSFIELD DAILY EXAMINER Newspaper Article: (13/01/2011)

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Girl Power takes over Leeds City Museum – Liz West’s collection of Spice Girl memorabilia to go on show

LIZ West was 11-years-old when Girl Power spiced up the world. She heard Wannabe on the radio and 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. And they’re all going on show for the first time – with some rare pieces included in the exhibition at Leeds City Museum.

For Liz, she was a fan first and a collector second, but the artist is now able to make a career out of her collection. Liz, originally from Barnsley, said: “I was listening to the Top 40 on the radio when Wannabe went to number one. It was such a catchy song which I could sing along to. “There were five different personalities which me and my friends could relate to. We made up dance routines but it was only by the time the second album came out I started buying the singles.” Liz started her collection with the band’s single Spice Up Your Life at the age of 12 in 1997. Two versions of the single were released and Liz bought both. She quickly bought the Spice Girls back catalogue and over the years has added mass produced and very rare items to her collection.

Included in the exhibition is the Union Jack boots famously worn by Geri Halliwell at their first ever live concert in Istanbul. Emma Bunton’s blue sequin dress from the band’s performance at the Brit Awards will go on show, along with Mel B’s trademark giraffe print catsuit and crystal-studded ‘Mel B’ belt. Outfits from the Spiceworld tour are included, a Victoria Beckham Chopard watch, the director’s script from Spiceworld: The Movie and a platinum disk the band were awarded selling four million copies of their album Spice in America in 1997. “I’ve no idea how much I’ve spent on it, if I ever worked it out I’d probably be quite shocked,” Liz added.

She has met three members of the Spice Girls. “I met Emma Bunton outside Radio Clyde One when I was a student in Glasgow,” Liz added. “She was adorable, absolutely stunning, very petite and friendly. There were only two fans waiting for her so I got a lot of time with her. “I met Mel C outside the Phoenix Theatre in London after she’d been in Blood Brothers and I met Mel B at Leeds Seacroft Tesco where she was doing a signing. “I’ve never met Geri or Victoria but I’d love to. “All my friends think it’s quirky collecting the items, but fun too.”

Liz first mooted the idea of the exhibition in 2007 and it’s taken until now to coordinate it. The free exhibition runs from Friday, January 28, until Sunday, July, 3 at Leeds City Museum.