Emma Bunton
Emma Lee Bunton (born 21 January 1976)[3] is an English singer, songwriter, media personality, and actress. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Baby Spice, reflecting the fact that she was the youngest member. With over 100 million records sold worldwide,[4] the Spice Girls are the best-selling female group of all time.
Emma Bunton
Baby Spice
- Singer
- songwriter
- media personality
- actress
1992–present
2
Vocals
During the Spice Girls hiatus, Bunton released her debut solo album, A Girl Like Me (2001), which debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart, and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry for sales in excess of 100,000 copies.[5] The album spawned the successful singles "What Took You So Long?", "What I Am" and "Take My Breath Away". Her second album, Free Me (2004), included the top five single "Free Me", and the top ten singles "Maybe" and "I'll Be There". Following the release of her third studio album, Life in Mono (2006), which included the successful single "Downtown", Bunton reunited with the Spice Girls in 2007 for a one-off international tour and greatest hits album. In 2019, she released her fourth studio album, My Happy Place, and reunited with the Spice Girls for a tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Bunton had a recurring role on the BBC One comedy series Absolutely Fabulous (2003–2012). She competed on the fourth series of the BBC dancing show Strictly Come Dancing in 2006. Bunton has also served as a judge on television talent shows, including Dancing on Ice (2010–2011), Your Face Sounds Familiar (2013), and Boy Band (2017). From 2013 to 2018, Bunton was a co-presenter on the Heart Breakfast radio show in London with Jamie Theakston. She currently presents her own show for Heart Radio on Sunday evenings.
Early life and career beginnings[edit]
Emma Lee Bunton was born on 21 January 1976 in Finchley, Barnet, London.[6] Her parents, Pauline, a karate instructor, and Trevor Bunton, a milkman, split when she was 11, after which she stayed with her mother. She has a younger brother, Paul James.[7] As stated in a TV interview with Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford on This Morning during August 2016, Bunton's maternal family originate from County Wexford, Ireland. Bunton went to St Theresa's Roman Catholic Primary School in Finchley.
She enrolled in the Sylvia Young Theatre School.[8] At the SYTS, she became friendly with Keeley Hawes; they lived and travelled together for six months.[9]
Bunton appeared briefly in the BBC soap opera EastEnders in 1992 as a mugger.[10] In 1993, she appeared in the ITV police drama The Bill, and made a brief appearance as a prostitute in the BBC drama series To Play the King. Bunton also appeared in a 2000 public information film for the British government concerning firework safety.[11]
Music career[edit]
1994–2000: Spice Girls[edit]
In 1994, Melanie Chisholm, Melanie Brown, Geri Halliwell, and Victoria Adams responded to an advertisement in The Stage.[12] Around 400 women who answered the ad went to Dance Works studios. Halliwell, Chisholm, Adams, and Brown were originally chosen as the members of the group, along with Michelle Stephenson, who due to her lack of commitment was replaced with Abigail Kis, then Bunton. The group felt insecure about the lack of a contract and were frustrated by the direction in which Heart Management was steering them.
In October 1994, armed with a catalogue of demos and dance routines, the group began touring management agencies. They persuaded Bob Herbert to set up a showcase performance for the group in front of industry writers, producers and A&R men in December 1994 at the Nomis Studios in Shepherd's Bush where they received an "overwhelmingly positive" reaction.[13] Due to the large interest in the group, the Herberts quickly set about creating a binding contract for the group. Encouraged by the reaction they had received at the Nomis showcase, all five members delayed signing contracts on the legal advice from, amongst others, Adams' father Anthony Adams. In March 1995, because of the group's frustration at their management's unwillingness to listen to their visions and ideas, they parted with Heart Management. Bunton was the youngest member of the group.
The group began a relationship with Simon Fuller of 19 Entertainment and finally signed with him in March 1995. During the summer of that year the group toured record labels in London and Los Angeles with Fuller and finally signed a deal with Virgin Records in September 1995. From this point on, up to the summer of 1996, the group continued to write and record tracks for their debut album while extensively touring the west coast of the United States, where they had signed a publishing deal with Windswept Pacific. On 8 July 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut single "Wannabe" in the United Kingdom. In the weeks leading up to the release, the video for "Wannabe", got a trial airing on The Box music channel. "Wannabe" proved to be a major hit, topping the UK Singles Chart for seven weeks and also topping the charts in a further 34 countries, including Australia, Denmark, France, Germany and the United States.[14] and becoming the all-time biggest-selling single by an all-female group.[15] It was followed by nine further number-one singles from their albums Spice, Spiceworld and Forever.[16] Each member of the group received a nickname from the media. Bunton was named "Baby Spice".[17][18]
Other successful releases followed, including "Say You'll Be There", "2 Become 1", "Who Do You Think You Are" and "Mama" from Spice, and "Spice Up Your Life", "Too Much", "Stop" and "Viva Forever" from Spiceworld.[19] In 1999, she presented Emma on VH1.[20] She recorded "(Hey You) Free Up Your Mind" for the film Pokémon: The First Movie and contributed background vocals to Melanie B's song "Sophisticated Lady", which appeared as a B-side to her single "Word Up". In November 1999 she released her debut solo single, a cover of What I Am in collaboration with Tin Tin Out. In 2000, after the release of the group's comeback single, a double A-side of "Holler"/"Let Love Lead The Way" and the third studio album, Forever, which charted at number two in the UK, the Spice Girls stopped recording, concentrating on their solo careers in regards to their foreseeable future.[21] She also provided background vocals for Melanie B's album track, "Hotter", which appeared on the latter's debut solo studio album Hot in October 2000.
2001–2005: A Girl Like Me and Free Me[edit]
Bunton's debut solo album, A Girl Like Me, was released in the United Kingdom on 16 April 2001 by Virgin Records. The album debuted and peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart, with 21,500 copies sold in its first week.[22] Its lead single, "What Took You So Long?", debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart.[22] Although initial success was promising, A Girl Like Me fell down the chart quickly. However, the top five single "Take My Breath Away", and top twenty "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight" helped the album stay on the UK Albums Chart for several weeks. On 7 September 2001, A Girl Like Me was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales in excess of 100,000 copies,[5] ultimately becoming the 147th best-selling album in the United Kingdom for 2001.[23] The album sold 125,000 copies in the United Kingdom. The poor sales led to Bunton losing her contract with Virgin in 2002.[24] Bunton performed at Party at the Palace, an event that was held at Buckingham Palace Garden on 3 June 2002 in commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II. Her solo performances at the event were a cover of The Supremes' 1964 hit "Baby Love" and her own "What Took You So Long?".[25]
After parting ways with Virgin, Bunton signed a new deal with 19 Recordings, run by former Spice Girls' manager Simon Fuller,[26] to release her second album, Free Me, on 9 February 2004. The album was largely produced by Mike Peden and Yak Bondy. Other contributions on the album courtesy of Cathy Dennis, Henry Binns and Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi. Inspired by the Motown and the 1960s era, the album was widely acclaimed by critics by its "charm and grace".[27] It debuted at number seven on the UK Albums Chart, spending over twelve weeks inside chart,[22] and being certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).[5] The album had three top five singles in the United Kingdom – the title track, "Maybe" and "I'll Be There" – and a top twenty single, "Crickets Sing for Anamaria".[22] In the United States, both "Free Me" and "Maybe" were dance club regulars, reaching numbers four and six on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart respectively.[28] In 2005, Bunton appeared in the Bollywood film Chocolate: Deep Dark Secrets.[29]
Other ventures[edit]
Radio[edit]
In February, and again between May and June 2009, Bunton starred as guest presenter on Heart London's Heart Breakfast alongside Jamie Theakston and Harriet Scott.[53] Bunton began hosting her own pre-recorded Saturday drive time[54] radio show on Heart in the Saturday afternoon slot 4–7 pm starting on Saturday 13 June 2009.[55] Bunton provided maternity leave cover for Heart Breakfast co-presenter Harriet Scott from 3 October until 23 December 2011 on Heart London.[56] Following Harriet Scott's departure from Heart Breakfast in November 2012, it was announced Bunton would succeed her as co-host along with Jamie Theakston from 7 January 2013.[57] She co-presented with Theakston until December 2018, making her final Heart Breakfast appearance on 14 December.[58] In March 2017, Bunton won the awards for "Radio Presenter of the Year" and "Digital Radio Programme" at the annual Television and Radio Industries Club (TRIC) Awards for her work on Heart London.[59] In January 2018, Bunton was offered a new Sunday night show that runs between 7 and 10. The first show aired on 14 January.
Legacy[edit]
Bunton was the inspiration for actress Emma Stone, real name Emily Stone, when Stone first registered for the Screen Actors Guild. The name "Emily Stone" was taken and she eventually decided on using the name "Emma".[102][103]