Girl Power! British Music Experience display celebrates 30 years of the Spice Girls

It all began when Liz was an impressionable 11-year-old. She was hooked as soon as the Spice Girls released their first single Wannabe. 

Initially Liz just collected albums, magazines and sticker books but after a year of chart successes she started buying singles and masses of official merchandise. Everything was kept pristine in the packaging; Liz had a collector’s instinct from an early age, she would arrange and showcase proudly the boxed memorabilia on her bedroom shelves as a teenager.

At the age of 19 she bought her first museum worthy piece from eBay, a top worn my Melanie C. Fast forward a few years and Liz now owns the Guinness World Record for the largest Spice Girls collection in the world with more than 5,000 individual items devoted to the band. 

Some of her incredible collection, which includes over 80 designer and hand-made outfits, is going on display at the British Music Experience in Liverpool running from 7th February until 8th September. 

“It’s impossible to measure but this exhibition will remind us of what was the phenomenon of the Spice Girls.”

Elizabeth Koravos, director of the British Music Experience

What groups can expect from the Spice Girls exhibition

The display celebrates the story of how Sporty, Baby, Scary, Ginger and Posh became one of the most successful girl groups ever and enjoyed phenomenal global success, selling 80 million records and charting nine UK Number One singles. Their story began in March 1994 when an ad was placed in The Stage asking “are you street smart, extrovert, ambitious and able to sing and dance?”

Liz West said: “Bringing my collection to Liverpool is particularly fitting as it pays homage to Sporty Spice Melanie C, who hails from Widnes and is forever proud of her Northern heritage. I am proud to be exhibiting costumes and items that have never been seen in public before. I hope this exciting exhibition brings back nostalgia and reminds visitors how influential and lively those five girls are… Girl Power!”

The outfits will be complemented by audio visual elements, including a stage show montage of Spice Girls hits and listening stations. The BME has a season of activity planned to support the exhibition including film screenings, conversations, acoustic music and a special quiz night. The museum’s merch store will also be selling a range of Spice Girls apparel and giftware.

Director of BME, Elizabeth Koravos added: “11-year-old superfan, Liz West, did not see the industry forces widely discussed behind the scenes. She simply internalised the lyrics which paved the way for greater self-esteem and healthier relationships in an entire generation and now a huge cross section of the population in the UK and around the world. It’s impossible to measure but this exhibition will remind us of what was the phenomenon of the Spice Girls.”

“I am proud to be exhibiting costumes and items that have never been seen in public before.”

Liz West, collector and independent curator

About the British Music Experience

The British Music Experience is the UK’s Museum of Popular Music – a place where visitors relive the moments that helped put UK music on the map. It opened in the iconic Cunard Building in 2017 and boasts an unrivalled collection of stage outfits, objects and instruments, charting the beginnings, rise and influence of British pop from 1945 to the present day.

In addition to an incredible collection of artefacts and memorabilia – which includes some of David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust costumes, the iconic Beatles’ Saville Row Apple Corp Door and the original handwritten lyrics to Blue Monday – the museum also covers the impact that British music had on the culture, fashion, art and politics of the time.