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Before switching to photography I studied fashion, so my early photographs concentrated on that. But, in 1994, I decided that music and people were the subjects I wanted to get involved in. I went into a newsagent and found a music magazine called Touch, which I really liked the look of. After agreeing to look at my fashion portfolio, the editor said: “Well, you’ve got beautiful models here. Can you make boring DJs look as interesting?”
He commissioned me to photograph drum’n’bass DJ General Levy, and it ended up on the cover of the magazine. As a result, I picked up work from DJ Mag – they asked if I was into drum’n’bass and I just went with it. I photographed clubbers at London’s Ministry of Sound – there was a guy in the crowd who really stood out, and I was later excited to discover he was Goldie.
Only a month or so after I’d broken into music photography, a friend who was a stylist got in touch to say she knew a girl who was going to be in this really huge girl band. I was quite sceptical – it’s the kind of claim you hear a lot working as a photographer – but we ended up arranging to do a shoot at my house.
My friend styled the shoot, which was based on 60s and 70s TV shows and movies we grew up watching, involving strong women fighting evil – things like Wonder Woman and Charlie’s Angels. This one is based on Jane Fonda’s character Barbarella in the 60s sci-fi film, which is one of my favourites, with outfits designed by Paco Rabanne.
Most of the shots, including this one, were set up against a lovely big white wall just around the corner from my house. Back then, I was shooting on film, of course, and I cross-processed the E6 slide film in chemicals meant for colour negatives, which gave this supersaturated but grainy quality. I didn’t want the photographs to look too “real”.
At that time, with everyone I photographed it was a collaboration between me and them – there were no PRs interfering, or wanting to see the pictures as soon as I’d taken them. I was often working with other people at the start of their careers, so we were trying to find our way together. The girl was Geri Halliwell and she was really lovely – we had a great laugh. At the end of the session, she saw these tarot cards on my table and asked me to predict her future. I’m glad fortune-telling isn’t a road I took, because I predicted absolutely nothing. But she was laser-focused throughout the day – you could really tell she was going to go somewhere. This was two years prior to her fame – the Spice Girls’ Wannabe single didn’t come out until 1996.
I like to think you can see the evolution of a Spice Girl here. I think they did use some of these concepts. Six of the images from the shoot appeared in my book Rewind, which showcases my music photography from the 90s and 00s. There are others I took of her which have never been published – we did some based on St Trinian’s, including one of Geri climbing out of a window.
Years later, I saw Geri holding one of my prints in a documentary, and when I shared this image and others from the shoot on Instagram a few years ago, she reposted them and commented: “GIRL POWER 1994. I was dreaming of being a pop star and working multiple jobs. Keep following your dreams, you’ll never know where it will take you.” It’s good to know that some dreams do come true.
Soulla Petrou’s CV
Born: Leeds, 1964
High point: My image of Mis-Teeq being acquired by the V&A Museum for its permanent collection. It’s part of The Music Is Black: A British Story at the new V&A East Museum. I’m equally proud of being selected for the Taylor Wessing prize 2025 and having my work exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery.
Top tip: Always keep learning and experimenting. Keep up to date with relevant lighting techniques and software programs. Having lived through enormous technological change, from film to digital, I would say, above all else, be adaptable.
