I think the Diana car crash was a HUGE deal over here in Europe. In fact one could say it was almost 9/11-like, especially in Britain.

I can go back to just a few public events like these and while some, like the early 1997 comet in the sky affected me only personally, others, like 9/11 affected far more people. Ditto for Trump winning the lottery elections, the December 2014 terrorist attacks that ended the early 2010's culture in Europe.

Diana's crash basically affected British pop culture, which was and still is the most dominant pan-European one.

Nah and I'm getting pretty sick of people seeing pop culture transitions into tragic events like this, it's just disrespectful

I'm not sure how it was like since not only am I not from Britain, but I also wasn't alive when that car crash happened.

I don't think a car crash would've been enough to cause a cultural shift into the late 90's though.

Nah and I'm getting pretty sick of people seeing pop culture transitions into tragic events like this, it's just disrespectful


This. Half the time I don't even think pop culture transitions have little to nothing to do with tragic events. I just see it as everyone over thinking things.

Meh, I'd rather say it would be the release (or more accurately, the charting) of Wannabe by the Spice Girls. :P

I'm in the US, but interestingly enough, when Diana's death occurred, I distinctly remember thinking "a page has been turned here". That's EXACTLY the phrase that came into my mind. In other words, this is something that has not happened before, in this way, "death by paparazzi" you might say. I felt we had entered a new, strange almost science-fiction kind of era when things like this could happen, where pop culture could kind of literally consume people, so to speak. It had been kind of leading up to such an era for some time, but with Diana's death we entered fully into it.

I don't know about Europe but, I remember nothing about Diana before her death. After her death, everything was about Diana for at least a week.

Spice Girls was the start of the late 90s in the U.S. so why not the same in Europe?

I would say that it started earlier; probably in mid-late 1996.

That's when The Spice Girls started to become popular in Europe.

Another rather unusual byproduct of Diana's death was that this is when celebrity funerals became entertainment. Granted, when John Kennedy died his funeral was broadcast on TV, but he was president of the United States and it was appropriate to do so. Similarly it happened with Robert Kennedy. But when Diana died the technology was such that they actually packaged her funeral and sold it as a VHS tape! A friend of mine saw this tape being played in the waiting room of his dentist's office! Is this what you want to see while you are in the dentist's office? Diana's funeral-as-entertainment set of a flurry of others. When Sonny Bono, of all people, died in a skiing accident the following year, HIS funeral was broadcast live on nationwide TV in the US. Why do we need to see Sonny Bono's funeral live on TV? Oh yes, the big finale was a highly dramatic speech by his ex-wife, megastar Cher, complete with crocodile tears.  ::)

Another rather unusual byproduct of Diana's death was that this is when celebrity funerals became entertainment. Granted, when John Kennedy died his funeral was broadcast on TV, but he was president of the United States and it was appropriate to do so. Similarly it happened with Robert Kennedy. But when Diana died the technology was such that they actually packaged her funeral and sold it as a VHS tape! A friend of mine saw this tape being played in the waiting room of his dentist's office! Is this what you want to see while you are in the dentist's office? Diana's funeral-as-entertainment set of a flurry of others. When Sonny Bono, of all people, died in a skiing accident the following year, HIS funeral was broadcast live on nationwide TV in the US. Why do we need to see Sonny Bono's funeral live on TV? Oh yes, the big finale was a highly dramatic speech by his ex-wife, megastar Cher, complete with crocodile tears.  ::)


I remember this being a huge worry about Diana. While it did come to pass to some extent, it didn't get as big and common as we feared.

I would say that it started earlier; probably in mid-late 1996.

That's when The Spice Girls started to become popular in Europe.


I agree.

And also don't forget Michael Jackson's funeral being live on national TV in 2009.

And also don't forget Michael Jackson's funeral being live on national TV in 2009.


The start of the 2010s happened cuz of that. ;)

The start of the 2010s happened cuz of that. ;)


It did? I never knew that, I thought it happened long before that? ???

I would say that it started earlier; probably in mid-late 1996.

That's when The Spice Girls started to become popular in Europe.


I agree. I always find it fascinating how the United States & Europe are so similar in culture, but yet could vary on when certain popular trends emerge. The Spice Girls were already big in 1996 in the UK, but their true stardom really began when they went international in early 1997. Low & behold, that was around when people in America started to first hear of them. Do you think there was a 'Second British Invasion' in the 1990s? Between Ace of Base, Oasis, The Spice Girls, and other musical acts, the 90s saw an explosion of British pop stars/musical groups getting big all of a sudden, akin to the 60s.

I agree. I always find it fascinating how the United States & Europe are so similar in culture, but yet could vary on when certain popular trends emerge. The Spice Girls were already big in 1996 in the UK, but their true stardom really began when they went international in early 1997. Low & behold, that was around when people in America started to first hear of them. Do you think there was a 'Second British Invasion' in the 1990s? Between Ace of Base, Oasis, The Spice Girls, and other musical acts, the 90s saw an explosion of British pop stars/musical groups getting big all of a sudden, akin to the 60s.


I think so, but I don't think that it was as significant as the one from the 60's.

And I think that Ace of Base is Swedish, not British.

Do you think there was a 'Second British Invasion' in the 1990s? Between Ace of Base, Oasis, The Spice Girls, and other musical acts, the 90s saw an explosion of British pop stars/musical groups getting big all of a sudden, akin to the 60s.


I disagree. Although Oasis and Spice Girls may have achieved success in the country, the United States chose not to embrace other concurrent British artists/bands who were significant at the time as well. For instance, America missed out on Blur, Jamiroquai, Robbie Williams, Steps, Pulp, Moloko and S Club 7, all of whom were very successful elsewhere in the world.

I disagree. Although Oasis and Spice Girls may have achieved success in the country, the United States chose not to embrace other concurrent British artists/bands who were significant at the time as well. For instance, America missed out on Blur, Jamiroquai, Robbie Williams, Steps, Pulp, Moloko and S Club 7, all of whom were very successful elsewhere in the world.


While you do have a point, it was still pretty noticeable. Also, the artists you listed that I have in bold were big in the United States as well, but of course not as prominent as they were overseas.

That's because the USA is very big and too important/dominant culturally to care much about external artists. I think US record labels promote US artists more. Nothing wrong with that but apparently to get into US airplay is very hard, even if you get someone popular in the US on your record. I remember how one local singer did a colaboration with Snoop Dog (Dime Piece). NO ONE in the USA has ever heard about it:

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While people in smaller/less important countries like those in Europe know most US artists (except country ones  8-P) in addition to their local stars. I don't know if someone from Spain has it easier to cross over to, say Mexico. Everyone has at least one song in English, so it gets lost in the many many nameless songs online.

Nah. Like others said, the late 90s began around Late 1996 cause you had the Spice Girls, breakthrough of 3D gaming with Super Mario 64, death of Tupac, economy beginning to pick back up, premiere of Y2K era shows like Hey Arnold and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, etc. 1996 was still mostly a mid 90s year, but like other years that end in -6, it introduced many things that would play a pivotal role in the late part of the decade.

Weren't Spice Girls ony big with little girls?

Nah. Like others said, the late 90s began around Late 1996 cause you had the Spice Girls, breakthrough of 3D gaming with Super Mario 64, death of Tupac, economy beginning to pick back up, premiere of Y2K era shows like Hey Arnold and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, etc. 1996 was still mostly a mid 90s year, but like other years that end in -6, it introduced many things that would play a pivotal role in the late part of the decade.


Not in the USA because the spice girls were not even on the radio or mtv until Jan 97 lol

A lot of sources list 1996 as the year Spice Girls came out but fail to mention that was the UK only
until 1997

Weren't Spice Girls ony big with little girls?


haha. Nope. They might have been the target demographic but their influence went beyond little girls

Weren't Spice Girls ony big with little girls?


I didn't think that music really started to be aimed at little kids until late 1998/early 1999.

haha. Nope. They might have been the target demographic but their influence went beyond little girls


and I think teenage girls liked them too as well.

Not in the USA because the spice girls were not even on the radio or mtv until Jan 97 lol

A lot of sources list 1996 as the year Spice Girls came out but fail to mention that was the UK only
until 1997


Good point, but overall Late 1996 was pretty pivotal in the transition to the Late 90s. The mid 90s obviously didn’t die overnight, but the transition began in earnest around in the late period of that year. Hence why many people think the Classic/Rigged 90s were from 1990-1996, with the more modern/sleek version of the 90s being from Late 96’/1997-1999.

By Spring 1997; with Clinton’s controversial second term beginning, the dot com bubble starting to get big, with Biggy dying (& Puff Daddy’s subsequent rise) signaling an end to the Golden Age of Hip Hop of the 80’s/90s along with the end of the East v. West Coast Rap Wars, Soundgarden disbanding which was an official end to the Grunge subculture of the early-mid 90s (Grunge fashion & mid 90s Post Grunge Music), fashion being fully established in the Late 90s minimalist look, shows like Buffy, Sabrina, & 7th Heaven already on the air & killing it in the ratings, teen pop like Backstreet Boys & Spice Girls being big international (not just in their respective countries like the year prior), and gaming being pretty established within the 5th Generation with PlayStation & N64 at the forefront, among other trends, is when we officially entered the cultural Late 90s.