Text & collage by Mia Kingsley

When I was 7 years of age I bought my first ever cassette tape, I walked down the aisles of HMV hunting for the plastic case I knew contained the musical gold that I would never forget. ‘…Baby One More Time’ was the single of my childhood, the whining yet hypnotic vocals of Britney Spears contaminated my brain with the passion of a heartbroken teenage girl, I didn’t really understand the lyrics but I knew it was important. Eventually I viewed the video that accompanied the song I had played non stop since I clicked it into my cassette player. I wanted the pink feather hairbands, I wanted the knee high socks, I wanted the bronzed skin and  I wanted to be Britney. But being only 7 the closest I could get to accomplishing my goal was to tie my t-shirt into a knot creating a cropped number, adopt pigtails and sing through my nose. As the years have passed I must admit my musical taste has changed immensely however whenever I hear the sound of 90s school shoes tapping impatiently, the school bell ringing and miss Spears breaking into song I will always be transported back to a time when everything was so simple, ‘I must confess’ I will forever love Britney.