A decade came and went between Passion (2005)—Geri Horner’s (née Halliwell’s) third solo album—and its successor Man on the Mountain; the latter was poised for a 2016 reveal, but it never materialized. There was one lone single via “Angels in Chains,” a moving tribute to fellow friend and icon George Michael, in 2017, but Man on the Mountain remained locked away despite being unceremoniously leaked onto the internet in November of 2016. Longtime loyalists eagerly engaged with the unofficial release of Horner’s fourth set; it was a lush raft of grown-up pop tendered in her inimitable fashion.
Yet the woman behind the music had clearly gotten bored with the promotional mechanisms necessary to take that effort out into the world. Barring her showstopping turns during the Spice World – 2019 Tour reunion shows, Horner had earned and embraced a far more bucolic existence in recent years.
In this light, the November 1st announcement of the Rainbow Woman project—described in a current interview feature on Horner for The Times as “a YouTube series that Horner created, directed, wrote the score and starred in”—came from out of nowhere. Rumblings of a children’s book series—her second after the Ugenia Lavender line from 2008—did the rounds this year. But the trailer that appeared online at the top of this month—with Horner grandly costumed as Queen Elizabeth 1—was one of the more welcome, if strange surprises of 2020. Clearly, this initiative was going to be more than just a collection of books.
Horner describes the short films—set to appear on her YouTube channel every Sunday at noon—as “a girl power adventure of discovery,” where she looks to redefine womanhood and middle age through several interviews, excursions and other creative endeavors. Although eschewing the traditional recording artist format that brought this plucky heroine to prominence a quarter of a century ago, Rainbow Woman has given Horner a platform to draft inspiring content.
For her devotees, the music portion of this experience will intrigue and excite as Horner looks to cycle in pieces from the shelved Man on the Mountain LP and other new songs too. This development is another fascinating chapter in the ever-evolving Spice Girls story sure to showcase this wonderful pop eccentric at her lovable best.
Enjoy the complete series of videos & songs below.
Quentin Harrison is the author of Record Redux: Spice Girls, the first written overview of the Spice Girls’ collective and individual canon which was originally published in 2016. He recently published an overhauled version of the book, which can be added to your library in physical or digital formats. Harrison has published four other books in his 'Record Redux Series' on Carly Simon, Donna Summer, Madonna and Kylie Minogue that are currently available physically and digitally.
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