"Bag It Up" is a song recorded by British singer and songwriter

Geri Halliwell Geraldine Estelle Horner (née Halliwell; born 6 August 1972) is an English singer, songwriter, author, and actress. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as Ginger Spice, a member of the girl group the Spice Girls. With over 100 million records ...

for her debut solo album '' Schizophonic'' (1999). It was written by Halliwell, Andy Watkins, Paul Wilson and produced by

Absolute Absolute may refer to: Companies * Absolute Entertainment, a video game publisher * Absolute Radio, (formerly Virgin Radio), independent national radio station in the UK * Absolute Software Corporation, specializes in security and data risk manage ...

. It was released as the fourth and final single from ''Schizophonic'' on 13 March 2000, by

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

, and topped the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, becoming Halliwell's third consecutive number-one single in the UK.

Composition

The backing vocals for the song were provided by

Tracy Ackerman Tracy Ackerman is a British singer and songwriter. She works with several other British songwriters including Andy Watkins and Paul Wilson of Absolute and Mark Taylor. Ackerman has written for artists including Geri Halliwell, Cher, Boyzone, Tina ...

and

Pepsi & Shirlie Pepsi & Shirlie are an English pop duo group formed in London in 1985, which released two albums, ''All Right Now'' in 1987 and ''Change'' in 1991. Their debut single "Heartache" reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart. Career The act comprised ...

, formerly of

Wham! Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling more ...

Chart performance

"Bag It Up" sold 106,000 copies in its first week, becoming Halliwell's third consecutive solo number one on the

. It has sold over 266,000 copies and has been certified silver by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

to "Bag It Up" was filmed in January 2000 and was directed by

Dawn Shadforth Dawn Shadforth is a British director of music videos, TV, and film and a visual artist. She was originally a fine artist making work with objects, light, video and sound. She won the Whitworth Young Contemporaries Award for the installation "Swe ...

. The video for "Bag It Up" is based around a humorous and raunchy nature. It begins with an advert promoting the male-behaviour-altering "Girl Powder". Girl Powder, administered in small doses, transforms any male into an obedient domestic servant and also a sex slave. The video starts with a domestic scene. Geri and her shirtless 'boyfriend' (played by Aiden Turner) are sitting down in a living room watching television when an advert comes on for Girl Powder, which declares that it is "Heaven in a box". Halliwell is seen doing all the housework and cooking for her 'boyfriend'. She then goes to the kitchen to make him coffee, when really she is preparing the Girl Powder drink. Once her boyfriend drinks it, his hair becomes pink and he has been transformed into a subservient male. The action then moves to the "Girl Powder" factory, where Geri has been transformed into a catsuit-clad superheroine boss, controlling (along with other females in white lab coats) a factory operated by many pink-haired men. The next time Geri and her boyfriend are seen, the roles have been reversed. Geri is now the one in control, with the semi-clad sex slave pandering to her every whim, even acting as a human table. We then return to the factory, where Geri eventually strips the oiled-up dancers down to hot pants, bunny ears and high-heeled ankle boots. Eventually they end up pole-dancing, acting as bunny boys and parodying

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

Bunnygirls, this time with the male as the sex object. We then see Geri parading the bunny boys on a leash at the end of the video, exhorting female listeners to "Treat him like a lady" and declaring "Who's wearing the trousers now?". The video ends with a white background and Geri's symbol as the TV switches off.

Live performances

To promote the single, Halliwell performed the song on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'', ''

Pepsi Chart The Pepsi Chart (previously known as "The Pepsi Network Chart Show") was a networked Sunday afternoon Top 40 countdown on UK radio that started life on 1 August 1993 with Neil 'Doctor' Fox hosting the show live from the Capital Radio studios ...

'', '' CD:UK'', ''

Live & Kicking ''Live & Kicking'' is a British children's television series that originally aired on BBC1 from 2 October 1993 to 15 September 2001. It was the replacement for ''Going Live!'', and took many of its features from it, such as phone-ins, games, c ...

'', ''

Party in the Park Party in the Park is the generic name given to music concerts organised by various radio stations and local authorities and groups in the United Kingdom, typically in large parks during the summer, however it is also used to refer to a family ori ...

'' and 2000 BRIT Awards. The performance at the BRIT Awards was a raunchy and controversial performance. Halliwell emerged from a pair of giant inflatable legs, accompanied by a sexy troupe of pink-haired male dancers. During the song, the dancers stripped down to pink hotpants, with Halliwell unbuttoning her shirt before walking over the kneeling dancers. According to herself, terrorist

David Copeland The 1999 London nail bombings were a series of bomb explosions in London, England. Over three successive weekends between 17 and 30 April 1999, homemade nail bombs were detonated respectively in Brixton in South London; at Brick Lane, Spitalfiel ...

planned to kill her during her performance at the awards show due to her "loving the gays", as well as her friendship with singer

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musici ...

, who was also gay.

Track listings

UK CD1 # "Bag It Up" # "

These Boots Are Made for Walking "These Boots Are Made for Walkin' is a hit song written by Lee Hazlewood and recorded by American singer Nancy Sinatra. It charted on January 22, 1966, and reached No.1 in the United States ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and in the UK Singles Chart. Su ...

" # " Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" # "Bag It Up" UK CD2 # "Bag It Up" # "Bag It Up" # "Bag It Up" # "Bag It Up" UK and New Zealand cassette single # "Bag It Up" # "These Boots Are Made for Walking" # "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" European CD single # "Bag It Up" # "These Boots Are Made for Walking" # "Bag It Up"

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end chart

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1999 songs 2000 singles EMI Records singles Geri Halliwell songs Number-one singles in Scotland Song recordings produced by Absolute (production team) Songs with feminist themes Songs written by Andy Watkins Songs written by Geri Halliwell Songs written by Paul Wilson (songwriter) UK Singles Chart number-one singles