Spice Girls
The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). With their "girl power" mantra, they redefined the girl-group concept by targeting a young female fanbase.[1][2] They led the teen pop resurgence of the 1990s, were a major part of the Cool Britannia era, and became pop culture icons of the decade.[3][4][5]
"Spice Girl" redirects here. For other uses, see Spice Girl (disambiguation).
Spice Girls
London, England
- 1994–2000
- 2007–2008
- 2012
- 2018–present
The Spice Girls were formed by Heart Management, who held auditions to create a girl group to compete with the British boy bands popular at the time. After leaving Heart, the Spice Girls hired Simon Fuller as their manager and signed with Virgin Records. They released their debut single, "Wannabe", in 1996, which reached number one on the charts of 37 countries.[6][7] Their debut album, Spice (1996), sold more than 23 million copies worldwide,[8] becoming the best-selling album by a female group in history.[9] It produced three more number-one singles: "Say You'll Be There", "2 Become 1" and "Who Do You Think You Are"/"Mama". Their second album, Spiceworld (1997), sold more than 14 million copies worldwide.[10] The Spice Girls achieved three number-one singles from the album with "Spice Up Your Life", "Too Much" and "Viva Forever". Both albums encapsulated the group's dance-pop style and message of female empowerment, with vocal and songwriting contributions shared equally by the members.
In 1997, the Spice Girls made their live concert debut and released a feature film, Spice World, both to commercial success. In 1998, the group embarked on the Spiceworld Tour, which was attended by an estimated 2.1 million people worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing concert tour by a female group.[11] Halliwell left the Spice Girls mid-tour in May 1998. Following a number-one single with "Goodbye" (1998) and a successful 1999 concert tour, the Spice Girls released their R&B-influenced third album Forever in 2000. It featured their ninth number one single with "Holler"/"Let Love Lead the Way", setting a record for most UK number ones by a girl group of all time.[12] At the end of 2000, the Spice Girls entered a hiatus to concentrate on their solo careers. Since then, they have reunited for two concert tours: the Return of the Spice Girls (2007–2008) as a five-piece and the Spice World – 2019 tour without Beckham, both of which won the Billboard Live Music Award for highest-grossing engagements, making the Spice Girls the top touring all-female group from 1998 to 2020.[13] They also reunited briefly in 2012 for a performance at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony.[14][15]
The Spice Girls have sold 100 million records worldwide,[16][17][18] making them the best-selling girl group of all time,[19][20][21] one of the best selling artists, and one of the most successful British pop acts since the Beatles.[22][23][24] They received five Brit Awards, three American Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Europe Music Awards and one MTV Video Music Award. In 2000, they became the youngest recipients of the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. According to Rolling Stone journalist and biographer David Sinclair, they were the most widely recognised group since the Beatles.[25] Notable elements of the Spice Girls' symbolism include Halliwell's Union Jack dress and the nicknames that were given to each member of the group by the British press. Numerous endorsement deals and merchandise brought the group additional success, with a global gross income estimated at $500–800 million by May 1998.[26][nb 1] According to the Music Week writer Paul Gorman, their media exposure helped usher in an era of celebrity obsession in pop culture.[31]
Artistry[edit]
Musical style[edit]
According to AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the Spice Girls "used dance-pop as a musical base, but they infused the music with a fiercely independent, feminist stance that was equal parts Madonna, post-riot grrrl alternative rock feminism, and a co-opting of the good-times-all-the-time stance of England's new lad culture."[5] Their songs incorporated a variety of genres, which Halliwell described as a "melding" of the group members' eclectic musical tastes,[205] but otherwise kept to mainstream pop conventions.[206] Chisholm said: "We all had different artists that we loved. Madonna was a big influence and TLC; we watched a lot of their videos."[207] A regular collaborator on the group's first two albums was the production duo known as Absolute, made up of Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins. Absolute initially found it difficult to work with the group as the duo was heavily into R&B music at the time, while the Spice Girls according to Wilson were "always very poptastic".[208] Wilson said of the group's musical output: "Their sound was actually not getting R&B quite right."[209]
In his biography of the band, Wannabe: How the Spice Girls Reinvented Pop Fame (2004), Rolling Stone journalist David Sinclair said that the "undeniable artistry" of the group's songs had been overlooked. He said the Spice Girls "instinctively had an ear for a catchy tune" without resorting to the "formula balladry and bland modulations" of 90s boy bands Westlife and Boyzone.[210] He praised their "more sophisticated" second album, Spiceworld, saying: "Peppered with personality, and each conveying a distinctive musical flavour and lyrical theme, these are songs which couldn't sound less 'manufactured,' and which, in several cases, transcend the pop genre altogether."[210]
Portrayal in the media[edit]
The Spice Girls became media icons in Great Britain and a regular feature of the British press.[5][34] During the peak of their worldwide fame in 1997, the paparazzi were constantly seen following them everywhere[330] to obtain stories and gossip about the group, such as a supposed affair between Emma Bunton and manager Simon Fuller, or constant split rumours which became fodder for numerous tabloids.[5][347][348][349] Rumours of in-fighting and conflicts within the group also made headlines, with the rumours suggesting that Geri Halliwell and Melanie Brown in particular were fighting to be the leader of the group.[26] Brown, who later admitted that she used to be a "bitch" to Halliwell, said the problems had stayed in the past.[350] The rumours reached their height when the Spice Girls dismissed their manager Simon Fuller during the power struggles, with Fuller reportedly receiving a £10 million severance cheque to keep quiet about the details of his sacking.[26][348][349] Months later, in May 1998, Halliwell would leave the band amid rumours of a falling out with Brown; the news of Halliwell's departure was covered as a major news story by media around the world,[132] and became one of the biggest entertainment news stories of the decade.[133]
In February 1997 at the Brit Awards, Halliwell's Union Jack dress from the Spice Girls' live performance made all the front pages the next day. During the ceremony, Halliwell's breasts were exposed twice, causing controversy.[79] In the same year, nude glamour shots of Halliwell taken earlier in her career were released,[5] causing some scandal.[34]
The stories of their encounters with other celebrities also became fodder for the press;[5][351] for example, in May 1997, at The Prince's Trust 21st-anniversary concert, Brown and Halliwell breached royal protocol when they planted kisses on Prince Charles's cheeks, leaving it covered with lipstick, and later, Halliwell told him "you're very sexy" and also pinched his bottom.[352] In November, the British royal family were considered fans of the Spice Girls, including The Prince of Wales and his sons Prince William and Prince Harry.[353][354][355] That month, South African President Nelson Mandela said: "These are my heroes. This is one of the greatest moments in my life"[104] in an encounter organised by Prince Charles, who said, "It is the second greatest moment in my life, the first time I met them was the greatest".[104] Prince Charles would later send Halliwell a personal letter "with lots of love" when he heard that she had quit the Spice Girls.[352] In 1998 the video game magazine Nintendo Power created The More Annoying Than the Spice Girls Award, adding: "What could possibly have been more annoying in 1997 than the Spice Girls, you ask?".[356]
Victoria Adams started dating football player David Beckham in late 1997 after they had met at a charity football match.[357] The couple announced their engagement in 1998[358] and were dubbed "Posh and Becks" by the media, becoming a cultural phenomenon in their own right.[359]