Reach for the Stars: Michael Cragg with Nicola Roberts

“A brilliant, celebratory, gossipy history of 90s pop. You’ll love it.”

- Richard Osman

Michael Cragg, chronicler of the heyday of British pop music, is joined by Nicola Roberts for a chat about girl bands, behind-the-scenes gossip, and the significance of the last great movement in British pop.

Reach for the Stars: 1996-2006: Fame, Fallout and Pop’s Final Party takes the advent of the Spice Girls as its starting point for a celebratory and detailed oral history of a decade of pop culture.

It was a heady, chorus-heavy period – populated by the likes of Steps, S Club 7, Blue, 5ive, Mis-Teeq, Hear'Say, Busted, Girls Aloud, McFly, Craig David and Atomic Kitten, among countless others – yet the music is often dismissed as inauthentic and juvenile. Now, Michael Cragg talks to the popstars, songwriters, executives and producers to get to the heart of a fantastically entertaining time in British music.

Michael Cragg is a a music writer, whose work has appeared in the Guardian, The Observer, Vogue, GQ, Vice, Stylist, i-D, Dazed, and Time Out. He has interviewed Lady Gaga, Björk, Kylie Minogue, Kylie Jenner, Max Martin, Katy Perry, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton, Lorde and many others.

Nicola Roberts is a British pop singer, and was a member of Girls Aloud from 2002 until 2013.

Their conversation will be followed by an audience Q&A. Doors will open from 6:45pm.

Tickets: £28 Book and Ticket / £8 General Admission

Venue: The Auditorium (Level 6) at Foyles, 107 Charing Cross Road*

*Please note that the Auditorium at Foyles is fully accessible from the Ground floor lifts.