Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Step To Me by Spice Girls

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Yesterday, the Spice Girls released "Step To Me" on digital outlets everywhere. Normski gives us a fabulous history lesson of the song. Enjoy!

In the summer of 1997, we were truly living in Spiceworld. Ginger, Sporty, Scary, Baby, and Posh had stormed the charts across the globe with their record-breaking debut album Spice. The four singles from their debut album: “Wannabe”, “Say You’ll Be There”, “2 Become 1”, and “Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are” all went to No. 1 on the UK charts. They were in the middle of filming their movie Spiceworld, as well as recording their second album of the same name, and their faces were pretty much on any merchandise you could think of.



Spice Girls names/nicknames: Melanie C/Sporty, Geri/Ginger, 
Emma/Baby, Melanie B/Scary, and Victoria/Posh.


28th July 1997 saw the release of the Spice Girls’ brand-new single “Step To Me” in the UK – although this wasn’t a regular single release. The girls had already launched a campaign with Pepsi in the spring with an iconic TV commercial (watch it below) filmed in New York, which was soundtracked by the song “Move Over” (which would later feature on the Spiceworld album) and their faces were all over specially-branded cans of Pepsi across the UK.



 

The only way for Spice Girls fans to hear “Step To Me” was to collect 20 pink Pepsi ring pulls and send these off to receive an exclusive 4-track CD single in the post. Despite not being eligible for the charts, and therefore not a hit single for the girls, “Step To Me” remained a staple in live shows – performed at the girls’ first live concert in Istanbul, some US dates of the Spiceworld Tour 1998 and on the Christmas in Spiceworld Tour 1999. It was also featured as an exclusive bonus track on the Japanese edition of Spiceworld.



As we moved into the digital age, “Step To Me” remained elusive on music streaming platforms. It wasn’t featured on the Greatest Hits album in 2007 (even though “Move Over” was, despite not actually being a single) and fans were aching for the song to be added to Spotify, Apple Music, etc – many contacting the Twitter account Pop Music Activism (@Pop_Activism), which works to get pop hits from yesteryear online.

 


Yesterday, the Spice Girls announced the release of Spiceworld 25 on 4th November 2022 – including a 2CD and hardback book, double vinyl, coloured vinyl, picture disc and cassette, plus lots of merch. Excitingly, Spiceworld 25 will feature “Step To Me”, as well as the Extended Mix and demo (fun fact – this was on the girls’ original demo tape and was intended for Spice, but didn’t make the album).



Even more excitingly, the 7” mix of “Step To Me” is now available to stream on music platforms for the first time ever! The girls have also released a fantastic lyric video – with lots of nostalgic touches. See if you can spot the pink ring-pulls and the actual “Step To Me” CD which flies past the screen! It’s a small victory for Spice fans – and it’s great to say that, 25 years later, “Step To Me” has finally been officially released in the UK, as well as worldwide. What are you waiting for? Go stream it now!





"Step To Me" was written by Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell, Victoria Adams (Beckham), and Eliot Kennedy. It was produced by Absolute. It is available on digital outlets everywhere. Buy your copy today. We've added it to our 2022 Poptastic Confessions Playlist on Spotify



A-zig-a-zig-ah,
—Normski

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Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Into The Light EP by Alice D

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Last week, Alice D released her new EP called Into The Light. This picks up where her excellent 2021 EP Where The Wild Flowers Grow left off.  Get excited, because there are a lot of gems here. 


"Into The Light – Intro" is a 44-second song filled with distant drums and the music sounds like something from a movie. It sets the tone for the euphoria you are about to hear. This was written by Alice D, Melomé Clement, and Tim Blok, who also produced the track.


"Nervous" was the second single that Alice released this year. It came out in the beginning of August, and it has been a favourite on our Poptastic Confessions playlist. A summer anthem.  Check out what we said about it here. "Nervous" was written by Alice D, Melomé Clement, and Tim Blok, who also produced the track. Watch the music video here ...


"Ego" has lyrics are about difficulties in a relationship. The music and melody will have you singing along in no time. There are so many wonderful sounds here. This is really good. "Ego" was written by Alice D and Tim Blok, who also produced the track.

"Protect My Light" is more of a down tempo song, but we aren't sure if it is ballad. Perhaps somewhere in between. Alice sounds great on this. "Protect My Light" was written by Alice D and Tim Blok, who also produced the track.


"Warrior" is simply AMAZING! We absolutely love this song. It is absolutely beautiful from start to finish. It really is a girl power anthem. The music is dreamy and Alice command the vocals with such power. There is even a wonderful talking bit after the first chorus. This is one of those songs that you want to listen to again as soon as it done. We know because we have been singing it ever since we heard it. "Warrior" was written by Alice D and Julian Simmons, who also produced the track. Check out the incredible, fantastic lyric video ...


"Bittersweet" lightens the mood a bit with this almost tropical tune. We are loving the flute, which is also on some other songs on this EP. "Bittersweet" was written by Alice D, Lee Baxter, and Tim Blok, who also produced the track.



"Passion" was the first single from the EP, which was released in June. So we have been listening to this sensual tune all summer long, and we love it. "Passion" was written by Alice D and Tim Blok, who also produced the track. Check out the lovely music video here ...


"Out Of The Dark – Outro" is another 44-second track that ends the EP. It is sounds like a version of "Passion" that has been put through a time-space continuum. This was written by Alice D and Tim Blok, who also produced the track.

Overall, this is a great EP from Alice. It really shows off her songwriting skills, as well as her vocals always sounding so warm and smooth. The artist that is Alice D is evolving and we are loving what we are hearing. It's been really nice to have been along for the ride since her very first release.

The Into The Light EP is available on digital outlets everywhere. Buy your copy today. The best way to support independent artists is to buy their music, and tell your friends. Please do so! Use streaming as a way to sample. Hear the the album here ...



We've also added the songs to our 2022 Poptastic Confessions Playlist on Spotify. You'll also hear her previous singles "Passion"  and "Nervous" there. As well as a version of her song "Favourite" that was covered by Bananarama. Please remember to use Spotify as a way to hear new music. 


We've even added the music video to "Warrior" at the top of our 2022 Poptastic Confessions YouTube playlist. Check it out ...



Cheers then,

—Davearama

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Poptastic Confessions' interview with Alice D in 2014

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Poptastic Confessions 11th Anniversary

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Friday, September 2, 2022

Miracle by Betty Boo featuring Chuck D

Dear Poptastic Readers,

Betty Boo is on fire this year! What a comeback! Today, she has released her 4th single of the year and it is called "Miracle" and it features legendary Public Enemy rapper Chuck D. Betty has also released 2 teaser tracks from her forthcoming album next month. That makes 6 songs that Betty has released. What a treat!


"Miracle" is a fun track with a keyboard riff that sounds vaguely familiar, but no sample is listed. Betty and Chuck sound great on this, and it is treated like a duet with Betty on the first verse and Chuck on the second. It is making us very happy. Have a listen ...


"Miracle" was written by Alison Clarkson (aka Betty Boo) and Andy Wright, who both produced it with Gavin Goldberg. It is available on digital outlets everywhere. Buy your copy today. We've added it to our 2022 Poptastic Confessions Playlist on Spotify. You'll also hear Betty's songs "Get Me To The Weekend""Shining Star""Boomerang""Right By Your Side," and "Superstar" there. Please remember to use Spotify as a way to hear new music. The best way to support the artists are to buy their music. Please do so! 


Cheers then,
—Davearama

P.S. Please follow Betty Boo and Poptastic Confessions on social media ...


Please like and share our links so that more people hear and buy the music! 

P.S. Now for the icing on the cake: Betty has a whole TM Store website that you can order physical copies of her new music as well as merchandise! There is a CD, pink-colored vinyl, cassettes, t-shirts. Here is the tracklisting for the CD ...

Boomerang is released October 14, 2022

1. Get Me To The Weekend
2. Shining Star 
3. Miracle feat. Chuck D 
4. Right By Your Side feat. David Gray
5. Boomerang
6. Nobody Can Bring Me Down 
7. Stop Your Nonsense (Bubblegum Pop!)
8. Never Too Late
9. All I Wanna Do Is Dance
10. 808 
11. Superstar
12. Hell, Yeah 

BONUS TRACKS

13. Shining Star feat. Sophie Ellis-Bextor 
14. S.O.S. 
15. Bright Lights
16. Get Me To The Weekend (Extended mix) 
17. Right By Your Side feat. David Gray (Extended mix)
18. Miracle feat. Chuck D (Extended mix)