Spiceworld! It seemed that there was little more that could set this day up to be any more pleasant, what with it being a Friday etc. but then, out of the blue, comes the announcement that four out of the five most iconic female performers from everybody’s current favourite nostalgia decade, the 1990s, are set to perform in Dublin.
Having announced their reunion tour at the start of the month many Irish fans were put out that they had only stated plans to perform gigs in England. Perhaps their decision to acquiesce to the demands of Irish fans and announce a gig here was driven by the uncertainty surrounding what impact Brexit might have on peoples’ ability to travel from Ireland to the UK. Well I hope Emma, Geri and Mels B through C have a flannel handy as they undoubtedly have egg on their faces after seeing that Theresa May’s proposed Brexit deal involves a maintenance of the Common Travel Area between Ireland and the UK and thus the continuation of the free movement of people between the two. However, I imagine the wheels were already in motion for this show in Croke Park and it was consequently too late for them to back down.
The gig has been announced for Croke Park on 24 May 2019, which means that, as it stands, it will be their first reunion gig, scheduled as it is a week before their first show in the UK.
My great hope for this is that former Taoiseach Enda Kenny will attend the concert and we will be treated to a sequel of what, in my mind, is surely one of the greatest concert videos extant: His dancing and air guitaring to Bruce Springsteen in Croke Park.
Tickets are scheduled to go on sale next Thursday.
