Too spicy? Spice Girls' ‘Spice Up Your Life' is being censored by UK radio stations

Euronews

26-03-2025

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British national treasures Spice Girls are being censored by radio stations in the UK.
You read that correctly.
The popular 90s group now joins the likes of Rage Against The Machine – whose 'Killing In The Name Of' refrain '
Fuck you I won't do what you tell me
' was unbroadcastable by many – and the Sex Pistols and their antimonarchist punk anthem 'God Save The Queen' in being censored by certain radio stations.
Their hit 1997 song 'Spice Up Your Life' features a line which has been deemed controversial: '
Yellow man in Timbuktu / Colour for both me and you
.'
Now, 28 years later, radio stations including BBC Radio 2 are playing an amended version of the song with the word 'Yellow' removed.
You can expect right-leaning British media to have a field day with this one, with the usual suspects crying foul with headlines like 'Woke brigade at it again' and 'Wokery gone mad'. And
*
gasp *
this time they may have something to sing about.
No one has complained about the lyrics, and a music insider told
The Sun
: 'Spice Up Your Life is a piece of pop music history - it's baffling that the Beeb have decided to censor it. The (band) are singing in celebration of people from all walks of life. It's clumsy but not insulting.'
A Radio 2 representative said that the edit was not made by them and other UK stations are also playing an amended version of the song.
There were reports in 2019 that the Spice Girls were considering replacing the word 'yellow' with 'happy' for their reunion tour that year. However, this decision was promptly scrapped, and they played the song with the original lyrics.
Spice Girls during the Closing Ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics
AP Photo
Spice Girls last had a reunion in 2019, without Posh Spice (Victoria Beckham). The last time they all performed together publicly was at the London Olympics closing ceremony in 2012, and there have been rumours that the group may be reuniting – especially after the members gave a surprise performance of their hit song 'Stop' at Beckham's 50th birthday party last year.
So, have you been waiting 28 years to be offended by the 'Spice Up Your Life' lyric too, or do British radio stations have nothing better to do on a Wednesday?