Their debut single, Wannabe, in 1996, was number one in 37 countries, catapulting them to instant stardom. They went on to sell more than 85 million records worldwide, making them Britain's most successful group after the Beatles.
Credit: Wikipedia / CC 3.0
How it began
The Spice Girls were unusual because they were the first "manufactured" girl band. Rather than evolving naturally through the music scene, they were strangers hand-picked by Heart Management, who wanted to form a girl group to rival the likes of East 17 and Take That - the top boy bands of the era.
In 1993, open auditions were held in London, after Heart Management advertised their plan to launch a new "singing, dancing, all-female pop act" for a record deal. The ad said they were looking for "streetwise, ambitious, outgoing and dedicated" girls.
Among the hopefuls who turned up for the auditions were Melanie Chisholm, 19, Geri Halliwell, 21, Victoria Beckham, 19, Emma Bunton, 17, and Melanie Brown, 18. Once they had been hand-picked from thousands of would-be pop stars to form the Spice Girls, they were first introduced to each other at Trinity Studios in Woking.
Chris Herbert of Heart Management rented a house for them nearby and they were required to go to the studio every day to relentlessly practice singing and dancing together. It was later reported that they lived very frugally at the time.
Record deal
In March 1995, the girls' relationship with Heart Management soured and the two entities parted company, with the band claiming the management company wasn't willing to listen to their ideas, leaving them frustrated at the way their career was being steered.
After parting company with Heart Management, the band contacted Sheffield-based producer Eliot Kennedy and he agreed to work with them. They were then brought to the attention of Simon Fuller, of 19 Entertainment, who engineered their record deal with Virgin Records in September 1995.
They began writing and recording tracks for their first album, Spice. Released on 7th July 1996, their debut single, Wannabe, made them household names virtually overnight. The writing credits went to the Spice Girls, Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard.
Nicknames
An article in Top of the Pops magazine gave each of the girls their nicknames, which stuck throughout their career. Adams became Posh Spice, Bunton was Baby Spice, Chisholm (Mel C) was Sporty Spice, Brown (Mel B) became Scary Spice and Halliwell was nicknamed Ginger Spice.
Afterwards, Mel B joked it was a "lazy journalist" who came up with the nicknames because the magazine didn't know their real names. However, she said the band members decided to "go with it" because the names worked.
Posh was described as looking very sophisticated, Scary was said to have taken over Top of the Pops magazine's photo shoot and of being "very loud", Ginger had ginger hair, Baby was the youngest member and Sporty had a habit of doing back flips and other sporty moves on stage!
Top singles
Following Wannabe, the Spice Girls released a succession of number one hit singles, including Say You'll Be There and 2 Become 1, both in 1996, Who Do You Think You Are, Spice Up Your Life and Too Much in 1997 and Viva Forever and Goodbye in 1998.
They enjoyed diamond, multiple platinum, gold and silver certified discs all over the world and were second only to the Beatles in terms of popularity.
However, their career as a five-piece was relatively short-lived, after Halliwell left in May 1998 to pursue a solo career. The other girls continued as a quartet until December 2000, when they took an indefinite break.
Where are they now?
Posh Spice is arguably the most successful of the Spice Girls today. After marrying Manchester United footballer David Beckham in July 1999, she went on to forge a hugely successful career as a respected fashion designer, after launching her own fashion label in 2008. The couple have four children.
Sporty Spice began her solo career in 1998 by releasing a duet with Canadian rock singer Bryan Adams, When You're Gone, which was a worldwide hit. She has sold 20 million records to date as a solo artist. In terms of musical careers, she has enjoyed the biggest success since the Spice Girls' demise. She has won three World Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, five Brit Awards and three American Music Awards.
Ginger Spice enjoyed success as a solo artist between 1999 and 2006, most notably with her album, Scream If You Wanna Go Faster, in 2001, which peaked at number five in the UK albums chart. She has also been a judge on Australia's Got Talent and has written two autobiographies, If Only, followed by Just for the Record. She has also written children's fiction for Macmillan Children's Books.
Scary Spice had success with her solo album Hot and its lead single, I Want You Back, topped the UK singles chart. She finished second in the reality show, Dancing with the Stars in 2007, has been a judge on America's Got Talent, was a coach on The Voice Kids Australia in 2014 and has been presenting the British edition of Lip Sync Battle, with rapper Professor Green, since 2016.
Baby Spice enjoyed success with her debut solo album, A Girl Like Me, in 2001, peaking at number four in the UK albums chart and being certified gold. She has also achieved top five singles including What I Am and Take My Breath Away. In recent years, she was a judge on the ITV celebrity ice-skating show, Dancing on Ice.
Spice Girls reunion?
There has been much media speculation in recent years about the possibility of a Spice Girls reunion tour. According to articles in the press in August 2018, a reunion tour is planned for 2019, but without Victoria Beckham, who has refused to take part. Masterminded by Simon Fuller, the tour is reportedly climaxing with 13 dates at Wembley Stadium.
The Spice Girls (including Victoria) enjoyed a brief reunion in 2012, when they performed a medley of their hits at the closing ceremony of the London Olympics. Now Victoria is said to be concentrating on her fashion career and has no desire to sing again.
The 2019 tour hasn't been officially confirmed yet, although the members said to be taking part have been teasing about a reunion.
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