Victoria Beckham, if you don’t mind, never Vicky – puts the class into this class act. A sophisticated lady from Herts who’s been breaking hearts wherever she goes. And that’s most likely to be Knightsbridge and South Ken when she’s not performing or recording, because she’s a self-confessed designer label girl whose favourite pastime is shopping.
Blessed with long, long legs that can show off clothes to their best effect, Victoria is happiest when she’s entering the hallowed halls of Harvey Nichols, Joseph or Gucci. She tackles her shopping with the same organised determination that she brings to everything she does – and which means used to be the calm centre of the Spices. Perhaps it was the country setting of the house she used to share with her parents, three Yorkshire Terriers and her wonderful wardrobe that provides her tranquil air.
Sometimes the others want to crack her cool, collected façade. When the group signed to Virgin, the group plied
Victoria (who rarely drinks) with huge quantities of champagne to see if they could get her completely legless. She probably didn’t mind: there’s a cheeky sense of humour tucked just behind the exterior. Just make sure you never spill red wine all over her favourite suit, and you might just see it.
Victoria Beckham may have sold over 40 million albums and 25 million singles as part of the Spice Girls during their five-year tenure at the top of the pop world, but nothing could have prepared even her for what has happened over the last couple of years. A debut solo album, massive hit single, and a best selling book ? not to mention the birth of a son and another baby on the way. Victoria Beckham doesn?t do dull!
It takes a lot of love and even more media coverage to guarantee that the world knows you simply by your first name. And in a day and age where a million column inches and a zillion hours of air time are filled up by people who are simply famous for being famous, there is absolutely no getting away from the fact that Victoria Beckham has left an indelible mark on our collective consciousness. She is undoubtedly famous ? very famous indeed ? but what makes her different from most of the celebrity circuit is the fact that she is a true star in a sky full of hype and hubris.
In the summer of 2000, she teamed up with Truesteppers and made the smash hit ?Out Of Your Mind? ? a serious chunk of funk and a great video that paved the way for the start of her solo career.
Her eponymous debut album came out towards the end of last year at a time when the media?s seemingly insatiable appetite for stories about Victoria was at its height. Although there were many that eagerly anticipated her commercial demise, her first solo set surprised the doubters just as much as it moved and grooved the fans. J17 summed it up perfectly by calling it ?catchy, pristine pop,? while The Sun dubbed it ?cool, dancey and very much of today.?
Despite the perception that Spice was a largely manufactured pop phenomenon, the Girls had always had a hand in the writing process from day one. In fact, Victoria Beckham helped pen 9 out of the 12 songs on her debut.
Kicking off with her infectious first solo single, ?Not Such An Innocent Girl?, the musical diversity displayed on her debut long-player surprised a lot of people. Songs like the funky ?A Mind Of Its Own?, ?Watcha Talkin? ?Bout? and ?That Kind Of Girl? were pure slices of R&B heaven that would have fooled a lot of hip DJs had they appeared on some anonymous white label. The latter contains lines like ?drinking champagne out of paper cups?, which Victoria says is ?very me and David.?
There are also a handful of sublime, soulful ballads that could melt even the stoniest of hearts at a hundred paces. Of these, ?Unconditional Love? and ?I.O.U? stand out as two of the most personal songs she has ever committed to tape. The latter was written and dedicated to David, simply because, as Victoria puts it, ?I really do feel I owe him everything.?
Her book ?Learning to Fly? is still in the top five bestsellers list a year after publication, and has sold something approaching half a million copies. It?s about to be published in Japan, China and Korea.
In the meantime, she has been snapped up by Telstar Records, where she will be label mates with amongst others, Mysteeq. Work has already started on a new album, and will continue in earnest after the birth of her baby.
Is there anything else she needs to do to show everyone that she?s in for the duration? ?Hopefully people will see that there is a bit more to Victoria Beckham than a pout and a trip down to Bond Street,? she says with a smile.
Victoria Beckham is one of the biggest and brightest stars on the planet right now. Of that there is absolutely no doubt. Having been at the top of the pop tree in one form or another since she first emerged alongside her four friends singing ?Wannabe? back in the summer of 1996, she is no longer a ?Wannabe?. She just is. Only a fool would bet against her star still shining bright for a long time to come.
