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16th Jun 2019

WATCH: 21 years later, Geri Halliwell has apologised for leaving the Spice Girls

Rory Cashin

Spice Girls Croke Park

“I’m sorry I left. I was just being a brat.”

31 May 1998 was, for many, the REAL Brexit.

Geri Halliwell announced that she would be leaving the Spice Girls, just six months after the release of their hugely successful second album Spiceworld.

It would be another two-and-a-half years before the third album Forever would be released to a more muted response (although ‘Holler’ was, is, and always will be an absolute banger), while Halliwell herself released her debut album Schizophonic in June 1999.

Up was down. Left was right. Cats and dogs were living together. Victoria Beckham was working with… is that Dane Bowers? What. Is. Happening??

Over time, they all pretty much stopped making music, branching out into different career paths, until…

Over the last few weeks and months, four of the five Spice Girls (Halliwell was back in, Victoria Beckham was out) took on the Spice World 2019 Tour, kicking off in Dublin in May, and ending this weekend in London.

On that last performance, Geri Halliwell took centre-stage before their final track for the night, and made the apology that Spice Girls fans have been waiting for over two decades to hear:

“It suddenly occurred to me this afternoon, I need to say something I should have said a long time ago: I’m sorry. I’m sorry I left. I was just being a brat. It is so good to be back with the girls that I love.”

Can you find it in your hearts to forgive her? Watch her apology in full right here:

Clip via Mara Webster

On the plus side, there is new Spice Girls movie inbound (apparently entirely animated, and Posh Spice will be involved!), which also means there is some new Spice Girls music on the way.

Whether you love them or hate them, you can’t deny the fact that they’ve had some of the catchiest pop songs of all time, and we are 100% ready to hear some more.