Back in 2019 Emma Bunton headlined the Royal Albert Hall in London, throwing a huge Christmas party that celebrated the festive season, her solo hits and a number of classic Spice Girls songs. The event was supposed to become an annual one but in 2020 the pandemic hit and halted those plans. Now that we’re finally out of the pandemic, Bunton announced ‘Emma Bunton & Friends’, a Christmas party that she planned to take around the UK. Unfortunately, illness struck mid-way through the run forcing her to cancel two dates but thankfully a few days rest meant she was able to take to the stage at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London last night for the final date on the tour.
Taking a similar format to her 2019 Christmas show, ‘Emma Bunton & Friends’ was a real mix of Christmas classics, solo songs and Spice Girls favourites. Split into two halves, with an intermission in the middle, the show was the perfect way to get into the spirit with less than a week until Christmas Day. Opening with ‘Santa Claus Is Coming To Town’, Bunton was met with rapturous applause from the audience. Flanked by six festively dressed male dancers, and wearing a gold dress, Bunton powered through her setlist with gusto. With so many familiar songs on the setlist, the atmosphere inside the Theatre Royal Drury Lane was electric with everyone on their feet dancing and singing throughout the whole show.
For ‘Dream a Little Dream of Me’, Bunton was joined onstage by her husband Jade Jones and their family. Jones stuck around to duet with Bunton on ‘2 Become 1’, the first Spice Girls song of the night’ and Bunton ran through a medley of her solo hits that included ‘Free Me’, ‘Take My Breath Away’, ‘What Took You So Long’ and ‘What I Am’. Bunton brought the first half of the show to a close with a cover of Shakin’ Stevens’ ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’ and during the interval she changed into a black ensemble for the second half.
Returning to the stage, Bunton treated fans to a medley of Spice Girls classics – ‘Viva Forever’, ‘Mama’, ‘Say You’ll Be There’ and ‘Spice Up Your Life’ – before diving back into the Christmas classics starting with ‘It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas’. A highlight during the second half of the set was Bunton’s gorgeous rendition of ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’, which really showed off her vocals. For a cover of Slade’s ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’, Bunton was joined on stage by Ricky Wilson but it was the surprise appearance of fellow Spice Girl Melanie C on the Spice Girls’ ‘Stop’ that sent the crowd into a frenzy. It was a joy to see the bandmates on stage together again and Melanie told the crowd just how ill Bunton had been just a few days earlier.
After Melanie C left the stage, Bunton performed her iconic solo hit ‘Maybe’, which once again had the audience dancing and singing along. Bunton then briefly left the stage before returning to perform an encore of ‘Coming Home For Christmas’, her own original Christmas song that was released back in 2019. As the song came to a close, Bunton looked overwhelmed with the reaction from the audience and her mother Pauline looked down from one of the boxes adoringly, add a bit of emotion to the evening.
Bunton really is in her element with Christmas songs and as with 2019, she got the balance of the setlist spot on. I’m really hoping that she tours again next year for Christmas and that we might get a Christmas album from her. Failing that we’ll settle for that long-rumoured Spice Girls reunion that has been talked about since the group last performed together in 2019.
Set list: 1. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town 2. Step Into Christmas 3. Jingle Bell Rock 4. Dream a Little Dream of Me (with Jade Jones and family) 5. 2 Become 1 (with Jade Jones) 6. Let It Snow 7. Sleigh Ride 8. Free Me / Take My Breath Away / What Took You So Long / What I Am 9. Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree 10. Merry Christmas Everyone 11. Viva Forever / Mama / Say You’ll Be There / Spice Up Your Life 12. It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas 13. Santa Baby 14. Rockin’ Robin 15. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas 16. Merry Xmas Everybody (with Ricky Wilson) 17. Stop (with Melanie C) 18. Maybe 19. Coming Home For Christmas Performance date: 19th December 2022
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