THEY had been there since early morning. About loo mostly female screaming teenagers waiting for their first glimpse of what must be this generation's Famous Five.
Geri, Emma, Victoria, Mel C and Mel B, a.k.a. the Spice Girls, landed at Dublin Airport yesterday displaying the pierced body parts and tattoos which have made them household names. Enid Blyton would not have approved.
The Spice Girls were in Dublin for a one off performance at last night's Irish Recorded Music Association's awards.
Victoria Addams (22), emerged from the aircraft to damp and dreary weather looking only slightly the worse for wear. "Everyone's been really friendly so far," she said, after five minutes on Irish soil.
Mere mortals could gain some small satisfaction from her chin - Spice Girls get spots too. We heard Mel B (Melanie Brown, who is 21 and dubbed Scary Spice because of her wild locks and pierced tongue) before we saw her. She was singing an Oasis hit at the top of her voice and waving her arms madly: Hello Ireland, she screamed, hiiaaaaaahhh!!!!.
Mel C, a.k.a. Melanie Chisholm (22), the permanently Adidas clad Sporty Spice girl, smiled for the cameras while Geri Halliwell, (24), she of the ginger hair and cheeky grin, hid from the advances of some over friendly fans behind an ankle length fur coat.
Last night the band performed at the IRMA awards with Boyzone and the rest of Ireland's pop music elite. Their debut album, Spice, sold spectacularly here last year and their sexually explicit lyrics provoked concerns from some quarters that the band may be partly responsible for sexualising Irish preteens.
At the IRMA event, it was the Battle of the Bland. Pop and middle of the road acts dominated the winners list, and the emphasis was on the teenypop end of the Irish music market.
Boybands and girlgroups were the hot favourites, with Boyzone winning Best Irish Group Album and Best Overall Irish Act, and the Spice Girls collecting the award for Best International Pop Album. Best International Male award went to the Australian heartthrob Peter Andre, who had a big hit last year with Mysterious Girl, and Best New Irish Act was OTT.
Boyzone manager Louis Walsh was presented with an Industry Special Recognition Award. Frances Black was awarded Best Irish Female Album for her soft rock collection, The Smile On Your Face, and Ronan Hardiman won best Irish Folk/Traditional album for his soundtrack music to Michael Flatley's Lord Of The Dance. Hardiman beat artists like Altan, The Chieftains, Clannad, De Danann and Dervish for the coveted award.
Brian Kennedy, who beat Van Morrison to the Best Male Artist award at the previous night's Hot Press Rock Awards, once again got the better of his maestro, winning Best Irish Male Album for A Better Man.
The awards were presented by 22 year old Liz Bonnin of Irish girl group Syren, and musical guests included Van Morrison and Wet Wet Wet.