Outlook Mixtape: The girlband edition

Available for over a year

We've rifled through the Outlook back catalogue and dusted off three great stories about the enduring appeal of the girlband....and what it's like to be in one! The hugely talented singer, Mary Wilson who passed away in 2021 was born to a poor family in Mississippi, the daughter of an itinerant worker and a mother who couldn't read or write. She grew up to be a legend of Motown, co-founder of one of the most successful groups of all time: The Supremes. In an interview from the Outlook archives, originally broadcast in 2015, Mary speaks to Tim Allen and describes her childhood, why she hated some of their early hits and what really happened with Diana Ross. In the year 2000, four pre-teen best friends from California – Ayden, Jessica, and sisters Mary and Janet – had the idea of starting a pop group. They called themselves X-Cetra and they asked Mary and Janet's mum Robin to produce their album, Stardust. Robin paired the girls’ songs of pre-teen crushes, joy and angst, with some tracks sent to her by a producer friend in Berlin. But when the girls finally heard it, they were embarrassed about the strangeness of the album which was nothing like the Spice Girls sound they hoped for! They forgot about the album and went their separate ways but it would be 20 years before they realised that Stardust had amassed an online cult following. In 2015, a 33-woman strong Japanese band called KBG84, with an average age of 84, took their country's music scene by storm. They ended up playing to sell-out crowds in major cities like Tokyo and landed a record deal with their song, Come on and Dance, Kohama Island. Outlook spoke to one of the singers at the time, Tomi Menaka who revealed what it's like to be famous at the age of 92 and what her grandchildren think of her new found pop-stardom. Presenter: Asya Fouks Producer: Hannah Dean Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707 (Photo: A transparent 60-minute cassette tape on a white background with a white label with the words: The Outlook Mixtape. Credit: Getty Images)