“They said, ‘Well, that's all we've got, but if you could round it off and complete it, that would be great”: Greg Lester on how he used a Gibson Chet Atkins to turn a keyboard melody into a classic nylon-string guitar solo in the Spice Girls’ 2 Become 1

The Spice Girls.

There was a time, not so long ago, when having the UK Christmas Number 1 meant an awful lot to bands and artists. And, back in 1996, it was the Spice Girls who sat atop the festive chart with 2 Become 1, their first big ballad.

Their two previous singles - Wannabe and Say You’ll Be There - had also hit the top spot, but 2 Become 1 showcased a softer side to Scary, Sporty, Posh, Baby and Ginger. Much of the tender mood is set by Greg Lester’s nylon-string acoustic guitar work, and he recently looked back on it in a conversation with Vertex Effects.