MELANIEBROWN.COM (11/02/2011)

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Spice World Exhibition in my home town Leeds

"I am over the moon that this Spice Girls exhibition is up and running in my home town, Leeds. Liz, 25, who I’ve been speaking to for a while, is the one responsible for putting together almost 4,000 pieces of Spice Girls memorabilia. What a job she has done! Hurry up guys, cause it’s only open until July 3rd.

Love them or hate them, this interactive exhibition celebrates Brit Pop’s most successful girl group. Through the extensive collection of local fan Liz West, explore the music industry at the height of Brit Pop – manufactured bands, the media, the glamour, the pressure of celebrity status and of course the music and merchandise that so often made the Spice Girls front page news.

Take a journey from the stage door to the bright lights of a performance and see if you’ve got what it takes to be a star!

The memorabilia on show will include a number of eye-catching items, such as the iconic Union Jack boots worn by Geri Halliwell in ‘Spiceworld: The Movie’, Emma Bunton’s blue sequin dress from the band’s memorable performance at the 1997 Brit Awards (where Geri made her first appearance in the Union Jack dress) and Mel B’s trademark giraffe print catsuit complete with ‘Mel B’ crystal-studded belt.

Other items among those which have never been seen together on public display before will include outfits worn by Emma, Geri and Mel B on their ‘Spiceworld’ tour, a gold and diamond-studded Chopard watch worn by Victoria, the directors’ script from ‘Spiceworld: The Movie’ and the multi-platinum CD the band were awarded for selling over four million copies of the album ‘Spice’ in America in 1997."

MANCHESTERCONFIDENTIAL.COM Review (03/03/2011)

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Paul Clarke finds merchandise and memories at a local shrine to Girl Power

Zig-a-Zig-Ah.
That moronic battle cry of the Spice Girls was the sorry soundtrack of 1996 as Britain’s most successful girl group stormed the charts.
‘There is – of course - tons of tacky merchandise sold to gullible kids. There is a room dedicated to how the Spice Girls were ruthlessly marketed and it is depressing to find they made £5m each from marketing deals alone.
A new exhibition at Leeds Museum celebrates the achievements of the not so Fab Five, who have reformed since then to lukewarm response as their individual careers zig-a-zagged in different careers.

This cleverly staged show is partly a tribute to Leeds lass Mel B – aka Scary Spice – and because local uberfan Liz West has also allowed her collection of more than 3,600 pieces to form the backbone of this retrospective.
Liz has made the Holy Grail of all obsessive fans by scoring a museum show and make no mistake this is the sort of top drawer collection that would make the music snobs in High Fidelity gave a grudging nod of respect.
Liz has not just collected the usual marketing tat the Spices Girls were happy to hawk but it contains a fascinating range of clothes the girls actually wore. There’s a glass case full of Mel B’s typically tasteful outfits, some of Baby Spice’s more demure dresses and even the Union Jack boots Geri wore in the film SpiceWorld.

There is – of course - tons of tacky merchandise sold to gullible kids. Pester power rather the Spice’s laughable claim that personified girl power. In fairness to the curators there is a room dedicated to how the Spice Girls were ruthlessly marketed and it’s depressing to find they made £5m each from marketing deals alone.
That’s the dark heart of this exhibition because the rise of the Spice Girls was the moment millions of teenagers realised that talent didn’t matter if you were a wannabe. All you had to do was pout, wear pigtails, shout a lot in a Yorkshire accent, wear a trackie or just have ginger hair and you could make millions.
The real irony behind the Spice Girls is that it was a marketing juggernaut driven by male executives, who all made a bigger fortune than the girls.
There is a direct link between the marketing genius behind the band and the vacuous X Factor generation's desperate quest for their 15 minutes of plastic fame.
But that isn’t Liz West’s fault and she has amassed a collection that is staggering its range and quality. Everywhere you turn there are platinum discs, signed posters, or a piece of original Spice clothing.
The team at Leeds Museum have pulled out all the stops to create a sympathetic - and strangely honest – romp through the career of a cultural phenomena who have outsold every other girl band in history by a country mile.

Throw in a dressing up room for the kids and a Spice Girls karaoke complete with a stage to yell 'zig-a-zig-ah' to your heart’s content and it all adds up to a must see fun exhibition that celebrates rather than mocks super fandom.
Spiceworld – the Exhibition runs until July 3 and is free entry. Leeds Museum is holding a Guinness world record attempt on April 9 when they aim to set a new mark for the largest ever Spice Girls collection. You are invited to come along as a Spice Girl – or Boy - and join in a special sing-a-long.

CULTURE 24 Review (16/03/2011)

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Spiceworld goes number one in Leeds City Museum display
By Ben Miller

Exhibition: Spiceworld – The Exhibition, Leeds City Museum, Leeds, until July 3 2011

In 1996, as the Spice Girls zinged into all-conquering life with saccharine chart-basher Wannabe, Liz West did her bit to help by buying two copies of the single.

“I must have had a collector’s instinct even as a 12-year-old child,” she confesses, claiming she just wanted to “support the Girls” and “help them be number one”.

“My collection really began when I went on a trip to London. I went to Hamleys, where they had a display of discounted Spice Girls Dolls.”

West hadn’t been able to afford the £20 cost of each feminist figurine in Woolworths, but the southern sale allowed her to buy four.

“It then became a challenge for me to find the fifth doll, Melanie C,” she adds, spending the next eight years trawling a “primitive” internet before eventually spotting her mini Sporty Spice.

“Visiting eBay made me realise how many different Spice Girls memorabilia products existed that I was not aware of in the 1990s. It has since become my mission to collect Spice Girls paraphernalia from every corner of the world.”

She was destined to assemble the largest collection dedicated to the famous five in the world, a haul so large she’s been limited to putting only a fraction of it on display so far in hugely popular exhibitions at Clifton Park in Rotherham, Cusworth Hall in Doncaster and the British Music Experience at London’s O2.

CDs, vinyl, Union Jack platform boots and signed photos of pouting future Beckhams abound, with more examples from the 3,400 items – including dozens of grinning, lurid dolls – available to view in an online version of the show.

“I wanted to get the collection out of storage and exhibit it for all to see,” says West.

“It’s pointless being hidden away when there are some amazing items in there to wonder at.”

Open Tuesday-Friday 10am-5pm (7pm Thursday, 11am-5pm Saturday and Sunday). Admission free.
Follow Liz West’s Spice Girl Museum on Twitter or visit the collection online.