Spice Girls have shared an archival performance of “Viva Forever” from Top of the Pops on YouTube. The appearance originally aired on June 5, 1998, during a pivotal period in the group’s history and weeks before “Viva Forever” was released as a single.
“Viva Forever” was written by the Spice Girls with Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard and became the fourth single from Spiceworld. Its Top of the Pops performance was recorded shortly before Geri Halliwell’s departure from the group was announced at the end of May 1998, making it one of the final television performances featuring all five original members from that period. The single was subsequently released in the UK in July and reached No. 1 on the Official Singles Chart, spending two weeks at the top. It became the Spice Girls’ seventh UK No. 1 and was among the country’s best-selling singles of 1998.
The song also represented the final single released from Spiceworld, an album that expanded the group’s rapid rise following their 1996 debut, Spice. The record arrived alongside the feature film Spice World and was followed by the Spiceworld Tour in 1998. “Viva Forever” has remained part of the group’s catalog in the decades since, later appearing on their 2007 Greatest Hits collection and returning to their live repertoire during reunion performances.
The archival clip arrives as Spice Girls prepare to release The Singles Collection on November 6. The set brings together all of the group’s singles for the first time, with original artwork, B-sides, rare remixes, and previously unreleased recordings from the archive. The vinyl edition features 14 individually colored 7-inch singles, while a 14-CD edition expands the collection to 160 tracks.
Order the Spice Girls’ The Singles Collection 7″ Color Vinyl Box Set here.
