Official Chart Pop Gem #15: Emma Bunton, Maybe

While we await the Royal baby, pop’s most famous Baby leaves the Spice Girls behind and gets her Sixties swing on.

We know a good song when we hear one, and, boy, do we love to hear one. But, have you ever wondered what happens to some songs when they disappear out of the charts, off radio playlists, pulled from music TV channels, never to be seen again?

They could be absolute corkers, seemingly everywhere for a whole summer, yet they vanish. Or perhaps they were an 'unsung hero' – the overlooked single that didn’t even make it into the Top 10 but made you tingle with love for pop music all the same.

And now they’re gone, into a puff of smoke they went – last year, five years ago, 12 years ago, 20 years ago, whatever year they were from… they were fantastic, then disappeared into obscurity, destined to be forgotten. Until NOW.

We’re bringing some of these long-lost lovelies back into the spotlight, and crowning them as an Official Chart Pop Gem. We’ve picked some beauties, but we’re turning it over to you, too. If you’ve got a forgotten classic, a lesser-loved anthem, hit us up on popgem@officialcharts.com. If we pick yours, you get a prize! Ooooh!

This week: As we eagerly await the birth of the Royal baby, here’s our very favourite Baby in action with one of pop’s most swinging anthems, suggested by Tim Jones, one of our Facebook devotees. Cheers Tim!

Emma Bunton – Maybe

It’d already been a couple of years since five became one and Baby Spice Emma Bunton struck out on her own by the time Maybe hit the stores. While she managed to hit the Number 1 spot with her debut solo single What Took You So Long, it was Emma’s transformation into a fab and groovy Sixties siren with killer dance moves that really captured our pop-loving imagination.

“To hell with current music trends”, La Bunton seemed to be saying as she unleashed the Free Me album. “I’m taking all my favourite hep cats and groovy chicks and heading to the far-out scene of Carnaby Street and dancing my butt off.” And, well, strangely, it worked. Emma had the look, the voice, the tunes, and as you can see from the video , the moves! Who needs the Spice Girls, anyway?

No true Pop Gem can rely on its video, and while Maybe’s mini-movie of cocktails, dancing girls rocking obscene amounts of Twiggy-inspired lashes and eyeliner and tuxedo-sporting hunks is a true feast for the eyes, the tune itself is strong enough to make you want to hug your radio every time it comes on.

Peaking at Number 6 in October 2003, Maybe seemed to be a summer song that had slept in too long. We can’t help but wonder how many barbecues would have featured an impromptu performance of swinging Sixties dancing had the track come out earlier.

All together now: Ba-da-da-da-ba, bababadadadada…. There’s no maybe about it; this is definitely a Pop Gem!