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"Stop" is a song by English girl group the Spice Girls from their second studio album, Spiceworld (1997). The group co-wrote the song with its producers, Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins of the Absolute production duo, during the filming of the film Spice World.
"Stop" is a dance-pop song with influences of Motown and blue-eyed soul, and features guitar and brass. Its lyrics are about the group's frustrations with being overworked by their management. The music video, directed by James Brown and filmed in Ireland, features the Spice Girls in a 1950s working-class street playing children's games with young girls. The song received mostly positive reviews for its Motown influences and production. The Spice Girls performed "Stop" in a number of live appearances in Europe and North America including their three tours.
Released as the album's third single in March 1998, it peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart behind "It's Like That" by Run-DMC vs Jason Nevins, ending the Spice Girls' streak of consecutive number-one singles on the chart at six, and becoming the group's only single during their original tenure to not reach number one on said chart. It was moderately successful internationally, peaking inside the top 20 on the majority of the charts that it entered. In the United States, "Stop" peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the group's sixth consecutive top-20 entry on the chart.
The music video for "Stop" was shot on 27 January 1998 in Ireland, and was directed by James Brown. About the concept, Melanie Brown commented: "There wasn't a storyboard for this video—it was more trial and error. It wasn't planned down to the last detail and was quite a free-for-all. It's like everything we do—complete chaos! And we all want to get our bit in, so the director has to be able to encompass us all, plus put his ideas on top of it, and make it all flow.
The opening segment, reminiscent of a traditional 1950sworking-class street of terraced houses, was filmed at Carnew Street in Dublin, and features scenes of each member of the group knocking on different doors. Then during the first chorus, the group performs a hand-action dance, that was also used during their live performances. The second half of the video, set in the town of Rathdrum, County Wicklow, showed the group interacting with young girls in various activities, such as running around the streets dancing, skipping rope, playing hopscotch, cat's cradle and pat-a-cake, hula hooping, Geri horseback riding, and participating in competitions of various kinds. The locals are depicted as working-class people who attend the local fair or have a drink in the pub. At the end of the video, the group performs at a stage in the local hall in front of an audience of young and old people. The audience applauds after the song is finished. Geri can be seen sticking her tongue out and the video ends.
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