We pick the girl band's best tunes ahead of their Croke Park comeback

After years and years of 'will-they-won't-they' rumours, the Spice Girls finally committed to a UK and Irish tour that'll take place this summer and kicks off in Dublin on Friday, May 24th.

What can we expect at Croke Park? Well, with no new material announced (not yet, anyway), it means a Greatest Hits set is surely in store. There'll be plenty of songs you know in the mix, so bring your dancing shoes. The possibility of each member doing a few of their own solo tracks is also a strong possibility.

With that in mind, here are ten of the iconic girl band's best tracks to whet your appetite.

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1) WANNABE

Of course Wannabe is in there. You probably still remember where you were the first time you heard their debut single in 1996 (just us, then?), which introduced 'Zig-a-zig-ah' into the modern lexicon. It epitomised everything that was great about the Spice Girls: attitude, individuality and great pop songs.

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2) SAY YOU'LL BE THERE

Possibly our personal favourite Spice Girls song – it's a tough call. Another of the group's early singles, it proved that they were no one-hit-wonders and epitomised their 'girl power' ethos; written after they split from their management, they took it upon themselves to look up songwriter Eliot Kennedy in the phonebook and essentially land on his doorstep, pretty much demanding he work with them. The result? This little banger.

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3) STOP

We all know this track as 'the one with the video filmed in Dublin', but it's a nifty tune in its own right. True, we'll never be able to listen to it without imagining Posh et al on the streets of Stoneybatter, but it harkened back to '60s girl group-style pop, laden with strings and brass.

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4) SPICE UP YOUR LIFE

If the Spice Girls have a signature tune, it's probably this one. Taken from their second album 'Spiceworld', it's both an anthem and a call-to-arms – and it's simply impossible not to have a little dance (remember: slam it to the left/shake it to the right) every time you hear it.

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5) TOO MUCH

They're not just high-kicks and punchy pop tunes; songs like 'Too Much' proved that the Spice Girls were more than capable of a schmoozy doo-wop-style ballad. It was also their second Christmas Number One in 2007.

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6) HOLLER

A vastly underrated song that came at the tail-end of their output (from their final album 'Forever' in 2000), 'Holler' remains one of the fab five's best singles. Produced by Rodney 'Darkchild' Jerkins, it undoubtedly sounds tailored for the US market and could be a Destiny's Child song – but they do r'n'b pretty well, too.

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7) WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE

Swing it, shake it, move it, make it... what can you say about this track, other than it's everything that a pop song should be? A great melody, arse-kickingly empowering lyrics and great vocals – a hallmark of most great Spice Girls songs is their ability to segue easily between all five voices – there's nothing not to like. Arguably their best song.

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8) GOODBYE

Released as the first track without Geri Halliwell – and arguably as a goodbye to their fans as they prepared to split – it's undeniably on-the-nose, but unapologetically so. As far as tearjerkers go, this is their heavy-hitter.

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9) MAMA

If you didn't buy this CD single for your mammy on Mother's Day in March 1997, shame on you! Actually, it was a double A-side (ask your parents, kids) with 'Who Do You Think You Are' released for Comic Relief. It's a sweet little number with a big emotional chorus. You'd have to have a heart of stone, etc.

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10) VIVA FOREVER

The song that lent its name to the Spice Girls musical and taken from 1996's 'Spiceworld', it proved to be their last single featuring Geri Halliwell. Even the video featured Ginger Spice in fairy form (perhaps, like us, you were enthralled by the video and watched it non-stop on MTV). If you ask us, it's a gorgeous, wistful little end-of-summer pop gem.