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As we continue our look back at the best of 1994 and it’s resurgence in today, we thought it apt to look at the ladies that were taking the world by storm. Girl Power anyone?
The Spice Girls
Although they had yet to release their debut single, the ultimate girl band The Spice Girls were signed to Heart Management Ltd in April of 1994.
Love them or hate them, you can’t deny that they defiantly put British girl groups on the map. Everywhere you went, there were little girls dressed to the nines as Baby, Sporty, Posh, Scary or Ginger, carrying Spice Girl’s Walkers crisps and playing with their Spice Girl’s Barbie’s.
Ok, that doesn’t sound too great but at least they were encouraging Girl Power and pre-teens everywhere suddenly had a sense of confidence.
Their pop music was unashamedly cheesy, choreographed and overhyped but they managed to get Meat Loaf in their debut film which obviously shows they must’ve been doing something right.
Creating one of the biggest franchises in musical history, there is yet to be another girl band to make it quite like the Spice Girls did.
Girls Aloud had a good go and The Saturdays seem to be doing well (not sure who’s buying their music) but nothing has stuck like the Spices.
Only recently, Little Mix on X Factor were consistently being called the new Spice Girls. Unless they stop releasing crap covers of good songs and quit dressing up like little rag dolls then maybe… just maybe.
I’d take a 1994 resurgence of girl bands than One Direction any day.
Angela Chase
Claire Danes’ portrayal of 15-year-old Angela Chase in My So-Called Life burst onto our screens in August of 1994.
Based at the fictional Liberty High School in Three Rivers, Pennsylvania, My So-Called Life followed the life of Angela and her friends.
One of the first of its kind, it tackled issues such as child abuse, homophobia, teenage alcoholism, homelessness, adultery, school violence, censorship, and drug use.
Jared Leto played Jordan Catalano – Angela’s love interest who stereotypically plays in a garage band, is on the brink of being expelled and is of course, unashamedly good looking.
After 19 full length episodes, the first series finished to high acclaim with Claire Danes even receiving the Best Actress in Drama at the Golden Globes for her performance.
The series spawned many –a-teen-drama including Dawson’s Creek, Roswell and Felicity. These may not be to everyone’s taste but My-So-Called life started a trend of its very own.
Quirky, stylish (oversized check shirt anyone?) and witty, Angela Chase paved the way for 15-year-girls on and off screen.
The sound track also included nods to Sonic Youth, The Lemonheads and Daniel Johnston, showcasing music’s importance to the show.
Nowadays, we can see My-So-Called Life’s influence on teen television everywhere. Skins, for example tackles many of the same issues which may not have been possible without this 1994 creation.
Beth Gibbons (Portishead)
Following on from our previous brief history of Trip Hop in Bristol, Portishead’s debut album ‘Dummy’ was released in 1994.
Featuring singles ‘Numb,’ ‘Sour Times’ and ‘Glory Box’ the album then went on to win the Mercury Music prize in 1995. The album also ranked in Rolling Stone’s 500 greatest albums of all time
Not only had the band created a sound of their very own, Beth’s sultry vocals solidified her as one of the driving forces of new music.
Without that important voice, ‘Dummy’ may not have had even a smidge of the success it encountered and still relishes today.
Beth paved the way for experimental, fragile vocals and proved that you didn’t have to prancing around in platforms to be successful.
Her intelligence, talent and love for Bristol trip-hop solidified her as a huge influence on female singers and she will continue to do so for a very long time.
Lil’ Kim
Although she was yet to release any solo material in 1994, it was the year that Biggie Smalls, a.k.a. The Notorious N.I.G. came to work with Junior M.A.F.I.A.
The band’s first and only album ‘Conspiracy’ spawned three hit singles including ‘Players Anthem’ and ‘I Need You Tonight’ and in 1995, the album was certified gold.
Lil’ Kim went on to have a hugely successful career and it is clear that her time with Junior M.A.F.I.A was an essential part of her success.
Continuing her musical relationship with Biggie, her time working with him in 1994 was just the beginning.
Today, we can see a resurgence of Lil’ Kim wannabes – sassy female MCs with all the attitude but none of the Lil’ Kim swagger.
If you look to Nicki Minaj, her outrageous outfits and bright hair scream Lil’ Kim like no other and recently, the two of them recently had a Youtube spat.
There will only be one Lil’ Kim but her legacy will continue to influence others (and be copied by some.)
Uma Thurman
Who could forget Uma’s performance in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 release, Pulp Fiction?
A year plagued with Disney releases and a simple country boy with a love of running, Pulp Fiction blew everything else out of the water to become one of the World’s best loved films.
Uma’s character of Mia Wallace not only graces the poster that adorns almost every student’s wall, her performance caught the eye of the academy and she received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress the following year.
Serenely unrecognisable in her bobbed black wig, Thurman’s portrayal of a doped up gangster’s girlfriend couldn’t have been better.
She went on to become one of Tarantino’s favourite muses/actresses and the pair collaborated once more for the Kill Bill franchise.
Uma showed us that girls can take on these meaty roles and do them well. In an industry dominated by male counterparts, Uma really paved the way for young actresses everywhere.
Today we can see more and more women taking on these difficult and aggressive roles such as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and most recently, Emma Stone has been offered the lead role in ‘The Gangsta Squad.’
Uma, however will always be remembered as the ultimate gangster girlfriend. Holla!