The Power of Céline Dion, Ed Sheeran’s Response, and a Spice Girls Biopic

Sidetracked with Annie and Nick

In this episode of Sidetracked, guest co-host Jack Rooke joins Annie McManus to navigate a week of heavy-hitting pop culture news. The discu

Key takeaways

• Jack Rooke is currently developing a comedy-drama script centered around the Spice Girls legacy.
• Ed Sheeran faced significant backlash after addressing the Israel-Palestine conflict following support act withdrawals.

Main topics

• Spice Girls Biopic
• Ed Sheeran Controversy

Notable quotes

I never wanted to be an activist musician, but this has put me in the middle of an important and passionate argument.

Conclusion

The episode highlights the complex intersection of celebrity branding,

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:00) This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Welcome to the Haunted Library. Have you come in search of a tale? This podcast invites you to browse the shelves and find stories that will linger long after you've left this place. From gothic masterpieces to pulpy penny dreadfuls, join me, Colin Morgan, with new episodes twice a week. Find The Haunted Library wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 3 (0:38) Okay, babe. Do you want to go over how it will run or do we want to just crack in? Speaker 2 (0:45) It'll be a laugh. Speaker 3 (1:00) Alrighty then. Welcome to Sidetracked. My name is Annie McManus. Hello, I'm Jack Krook. Speaker 3 (1:09) Yes, so Jack Rook is our very special co-host today, standing in, deputising for Mr Nick Grimshaw, who is away with his family. As he Speaker 2 (1:19) should be. A hard-working man. The guy does not take enough holidays, to be honest. Exactly. Yeah. Speaker 3 (1:23) And couldn't think of a more fun co-host to step in. Thank you. Thank Speaker 2 (1:28) you for having me. I'm a fan of the pod, so this is a dream. Speaker 3 (1:31) Well, then you'll know what to do when I say, please, can you do the swear warning? Oh, Speaker 2 (1:35) oh yeah. Please, oh wait, so no. I know what to do when you say swear. I was going to say because you do swear on it, don't you? Yeah, so you have to warn people that we're going Speaker 3 (1:45) to swear. Speaker 2 (1:47) Just to warn you guys, there might be some naughty language. We might be swearing. So if you've got the kids in the kitchen and you've got sidetracked on full blast, then if you, I mean, unless your kids are massive swearers, keep them in. But if they're not, then perhaps pop the iPad on or make them go out and play in the park like they should be. Love. Speaker 3 (2:06) Is that Speaker 2 (2:06) okay? That's perfect. Speaker 3 (2:08) So if you're listening, and in case you need to be reminded, Jack. Our co-host is both a writer and a comedian. You'll probably know him most, I'd say, as the creator of the incredible series Big Boys. He has won multiple BAFTAs, countless other awards for his writing. And yeah, just a perfect person to sign in for Grimm because you love pop culture too, right? I'm Speaker 2 (2:31) a pop girlie. I think in an alternative life, I would be like one of those kind of... spoken word musicians you know like no i don't know why would you be that well you know like dan lesac versus scroobius pitt back in the day or like what anthony uh is it smirek is doing now right like kind of i'd probably be doing spoken word over dance beats right that was what i always thought maybe one day i would do but alas no the the comedy lot they struck me down Now I just write sad little sitcoms. Yeah, I mean, I'm a big music fan. And my favourite part of making Big Boys is always doing the soundtrack. I bet. So you keep that for yourself? Yeah. Me and the director, Jim, when we'd be in the edit, we'd go, what's all the money we've got to spend on the songs? It's like shopping and be like, oh, you can't have that, it's too expensive, but you can have this instead and be like, yeah, it's Speaker 3 (3:27) great. Wow. Speaker 2 (3:28) Well, Speaker 3 (3:29) is it right that your love of pop music and your writing is converging and you have or have written or are writing a Spice Girls biopic? I know it was reported in the papers and producer Gronja reminded me. Yes. Speaker 2 (3:45) So maybe Speaker 3 (3:45) this can Speaker 2 (3:46) be the place where you can tell us what the hell is going on. Okay. I don't know how much I can say. He's Speaker 3 (3:52) being coy. Speaker 2 (3:53) But. Yes, I have been developing something. Right. I've been developing something that is, I would say, more than a music biopic. Right. It's like a sort of fun comedy drama. So there has been a script written with me and a lovely little group of gals and gays. Right. But that's all I can say. And we don't know what's going on with it. Maybe one day, if people would like to watch that, that would be amazing. I would love for the Spice Girls themselves to love that too. Those discussions are ongoing, so we'll see. Oh my God. I had a gig with Speaker 3 (4:26) Mel C the other week. I could have said to her, Oi, what's going on with the biopic? She's Speaker 2 (4:30) the best. She is the best. She's the best. I'm going to go see her at Brixton Academy next month. Speaker 3 (4:35) Fab. I mean, some of the new tunes are real nice. Are really good. Yeah. Speaker 2 (4:38) And there was a really gorgeous video of her this week on Instagram of her being quite emotional in the back of a car after having headlined a New York gig. And you're like, yeah, you're 30 years in. You're still making songs that really resonate with people. And you're getting sellout audiences. You deserve it. I saw Speaker 3 (4:53) that gig thing. And one of the things she said was like, all on my own. Like the fact that I'm able to do this by myself, you know. Yeah. It's like she can't. really like she hasn't been able to to this point accept that she she can be a solo Speaker 2 (5:05) artist in her own right also her back catalogue is immense yeah from the brian adams track yeah to like i would say when you're Speaker 3 (5:14) gone truly Speaker 2 (5:15) what my favorite song yeah yeah i mean i think musically she really deserves to stand in her own lane as a solo artist yeah Speaker 1 (5:25) and Speaker 2 (5:26) also just her Speaker 1 (5:26) like Speaker 2 (5:27) Ethics as an artist I really appreciate. The amount of stuff that she's done for like knowing that she's a big gay icon but actually like going the full hog and like not doing gigs in places that have anti-LGBT laws and dropping out of stuff and like always showing up with Sink the Pink and doing a lot of stuff. I Speaker 3 (5:44) did not know Speaker 2 (5:44) this side of Speaker 1 (5:44) her. Speaker 2 (5:45) Oh, she's Speaker 3 (5:45) like Speaker 2 (5:45) a real goodie. Yeah. Like an out and out goodie. And wouldn't it be so nice to write something about... the legacy of all of them. Oh Speaker 3 (5:53) my God, yes. Speaker 2 (5:54) I think the legacy of, that was my phone, I'm ever so sorry. Don't worry. Let Speaker 3 (5:58) me Speaker 2 (5:58) put you on silent. We'll forgive you because... Thank you. Speaker 3 (6:00) We'll forgive you. But no, I totally agree. It would be such an amazing, compelling thing to watch. This idea of, I mean, I don't know what the script is, but this idea of the story of how the Spice Girls came to be. Because it is kind of a thing of music lore now, isn't it? Oh, 100%. Speaker 2 (6:17) Yeah. They really, I think... For me, they represent the first time that I think we saw working class women be ambitious in like British pop culture. Yeah. It was the first real time that it was like. I mean, also a lot of Spice Girls detractors could say it was like the first time that it became a big capitalist entity as well. Like they sold everything. Speaker 1 (6:39) But Speaker 2 (6:40) part of me is like that's still a story about ambition and class and how important that is to see. Because once you see it, then it becomes, you know, what I think we have today, which is so many more women in the media and so many more women in music Speaker 1 (6:53) being. Speaker 2 (6:55) loud and outspoken and being particularly British. Yeah. And like, I don't know, this week, did you see the photos of the four men playing the Beatles? No, I've seen some, but not this week. They released new photos. And like, I'm going to say a couple of the wigs are a bit ropey. I'm very excited. I thought that Speaker 3 (7:14) too. I saw the original photos. I'm Speaker 2 (7:16) like, how are these wigs? They're going to have to do something on the wigs here. Speaker 3 (7:18) Yes. Speaker 2 (7:19) They need some drag queens to be doing the wigs for the Beatles because they would fit the lad's hair a bit better. But I'm like, if we're going to have these four films about the Beatles, then I do think we need a big comedy rump about the Spice Girls. But that is me. I've said too much. Oh, okay. That would be my dream and desire. I Speaker 3 (7:36) appreciate you giving us that little tidbit. It's very cool. And we will all keep our fingers crossed that we may one day see this. So Spice Girls, if you're listening, I like to imagine that you're regular listeners. Come on, give it the green light. You know what, Mel Speaker 2 (7:49) C, I definitely think Mel C will be. And I think Emma will be. Emma's a big broadcasting fan. Is she? I mean, I also think Emma as well does a lot of stuff for the trans community. A lot of activism, a lot of advocacy. Like really, I think that the Spice Girls are more than we... No, we know them obviously as a band and we know what their legacy is, but I think they've been doing stuff recently that is quite interesting. I'm saying too much. I'm also Speaker 3 (8:14) just thinking about the class thing because that's so fascinating because there's an ongoing discussion within music about class and how hard it is to actually progress in pop music, dance music, any genre of music in Britain as a working class person because you're not getting the support you need. You don't get... to do work experience and work for free because you've got to fucking pay your rent. Speaker 2 (8:35) Yeah, yeah. All Speaker 3 (8:36) this stuff. It's harder and harder. Speaker 2 (8:38) There's Speaker 3 (8:38) also the thing about Speaker 2 (8:38) failure, which I think really affects a lot of working class artists and music. Yes. You get one shot. Yes. You don't get to just keep coming back and coming back like some artists from more privileged backgrounds get. And I think, you know, we are in a period of time where it's really important to ensure that people from working class backgrounds can still be ambitious. Right. To not be put off. Because we are like in a cost of living crisis, which I think has affected the music industry massively. And it's affected my industry too. The cost Speaker 3 (9:07) of Speaker 2 (9:07) touring. Oh my God. The cost of touring has changed. This is why I