Information AboutSpice Girls |
The Spice Girls were an . Retrieved March 12, 2006 HISTORY Beginning In , Geri Halliwell , Melanie Brown , Victoria Adams and Michelle Stephenson , who combined to form an all female group called "Touch." In June, during the groups first recording session, Michelle Stephenson was forced to leave due to commitment issues. She was replaced by Emma Bunton after Bunton's singing tutor had recommended her to the other girls. From this point up to March 1994 the girls lived together in a small house in Maidenhead where they worked on demos and practiced dance routines. After a successful showcase performance for music critics and producers in October, the group decided to fire their original management, who they cited as controlling and too domineering. That same day, the girls tracked down Sheffield-based producer Eliot Kennedy and persuaded him to work with the group (by then renamed the Spice Girls) over the course of the next year. In October 1994 , armed with a catalogue of demos and dance routines, the group began touring management agencies. The group was introduced to record producers Absolute , who in turn brought them to the attention of Simon Fuller of 19 Management . The girls began a relationship with Fuller and finally signed with him in March 1995 . During the summer of that year the group toured record labels in London and Los Angeles and finally signed a deal with Virgin Records in September 1995 . From this point up to the summer of 1996 , the Spice Girls continued to write and record tracks for their debut album while extensively touring the west coast of America , where they had signed a publishing deal with Windswept Pacific.. ''Spice'' '', released all over the globe in 1996. ()]] On July 8 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," (directed by Jhoan Camitz and shot in April at St Pancras Station in London), had dominated the music channels. The song entered the charts at #3 before moving up to #1 the following week and staying there for 7 weeks. The song proved to be a global hit - hitting #1 in 31 countries and became not only the biggest selling single by an all female group, but also the biggest selling debut single of all time. "Wannabe" also proved to be a catalyst in helping the Spice Girls break the notoriously difficult U.S. market when it debuted on the Hot 100 Chart at #11. At the time, this was the highest ever debut by a British act, beating the record previously held by The Beatles for " I Want To Hold Your Hand " at #12. In . Retrieved March 10, 2006. Riding a wave of publicity and hype, the group followed the single "Wannabe" up quickly by releasing " Say You'll Be There " () in October and " 2 Become 1 " in December. The two tracks continued the group's remarkable sales by topping the charts in over 53 countries and cementing the groups reputation as the biggest pop act on the planet. ''Spiceworld'' '' was released internationally in November 1997 ]] In November . Retrieved March 11, 2006. and the United States alone, but it failed to match the incredible success of its predecessor. Criticised in America for releasing the album just nine months after their debut and suffering from over-exposure at home, the Spice Girls began to experience a media backlash. The group were criticised for the amount of sponsorship deals they signed – over 20 in total – and they began to witness diminishing international chart positions. Nevertheless, the Spice Girls remained the biggest selling pop group of both 1997 and 1998 . Further singles released from the album included " Too Much ," " Stop " and " Viva Forever " – with "Stop" being the only track not to hit #1 in Britain (the track remains their only single not to go to #1 in the UK). In . Retrieved March 12, 2006 . '' grossed $75million at the box office]] On November 7 1997 the Spice Girls fired their manager and mentor Simon Fuller . According to their various autobiographies, it was mainly Geri and Melanie B who pushed for Fuller’s dismissal. They cited that he had become too controlling by restricting their personal and artistic freedom, and they accused him of using Divide And Rule tactics to get his own way. The group quickly found the burden of managing themselves time consuming, so they assigned various responsibilities to each member of the group. They later built their own team, headed by Nancy Phillips, to deal with their affairs. In early , Norway reportedly due to Gastroenteritis . However, rumours quickly circulated that Geri had become disenchanted with the group and was planning to leave – and after she also missed a performance of "Viva Forever" on the National Lottery show, rumours began to intensify. 5 Become 4 On . Retrived on March 14, 2006.. The four remaining girls were adamant though that the group would carry on and that their approaching North American tour would continue as normal. '' became the group's third consecutive Christmas number one. ]] Geri Halliwell's departure threw most of the groups plans into disarray. It was cited as the reason the planned live album was cancelled. It also meant that most of the material the girls had recorded throughout the first half of 1998 at Dublin 's Windmill Lane Studios with long time collaborators Richard Stannard and Matt Rowe was eventually scrapped. A rumoured animated venture by Disney also failed to materialize. The Spice Girls first release as a foursome was " Viva Forever ," the last single taken off ''Spiceworld''. The video for the single was made before Geri's departure and features the girls in Animated form – a decision made because there was no time to produce a video due to the heavy world tour schedule. Originally planned as a Double A-side with " Never Give Up On The Good Times ," the idea was dropped for several reasons, mainly due to time restraints (since there was no time to re-record and edit out Geri's vocals or make a video for the track). Whilst on tour in America the group continued to record new material and they released the new song " Goodbye " at Christmas 1998 . Written before her departure, the song was nevertheless seen as a tribute to Geri and when it topped the British chart it became their third consecutive Christmas Number One – equalling the record previously set by The Beatles. The song also became one of the most successful songs of the 1990s in Canada, where it stayed at number one for 16 weeks. ''Forever'' '' was released internationally in November 2000 ]] In ''. Retrieved March 11, 2006. and achieved only a fraction of the success of its two best selling predecessors. In the US it peaked at number thirty-nine on the Billboard 200 albums chart. In UK, the album was released the same week as Westlife ’s Coast To Coast album and the chart battle was widely reported by the media. In the end Westlife, whom had embarked on a massive promotional tour, outsold The Spice Girls by a margin of three to one to take the top spot. The lead single from the album, the double A-side '' Holler '' / '' Let Love Lead The Way '', did have some success – it became the groups ninth number one single in UK. However, the song failed to break onto the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart, instead peaking at number seven on the Bubbling Under chart. Many credit the poor success of the album down to the fact the group did very little promotion in the run up it to its worldwide release. The only major performance of the lead single came at the MTV Europe Music Awards in November 2000 , and a few TV performances aside, the group did little meaningful promotion. In an attempt to cover more ground, the girls split up and covered different countries separately; for example Victoria and Emma headed to America while Melanie B and C concentrated on Europe. Further planned single releases off the album never materialised. Promo singles of ''"Tell Me Why"'' and "''If You Wanna Have Some Fun''" came into circulation but to fans dismay the ''. February 18 , 2003 .. LEGACY Impact Ten years after the release of their debut single, The Spice Girls were voted the biggest cultural icons of the ''. Retrieved March 28, 2006.. The popularity of the group in the mid- 1990s was such that it drew comparison to that of The Beatles, with the group selling in excess of 50 million records worldwide in the space of two-and-a-half years. After being shut out by the Brit Pop revolution that occurred in the early 1990s when bands like Oasis , Pulp and Blur dominated the charts, pop music found a voice again. The Spice Girls who are largely credited for bringing music to a younger market – most notably pre-teenage girls. The image of the Spice Girls was deliberately aimed at young girls, and the five distinctive personalities were marketed such that there was at least one Spice Girl that every girl could associate with. This marketing was helped in no small way by the aliases assigned to each member of the group. Shortly after Wannabe’s release, the group appeared in "Top Of The Pops" magazine where each member was given a nickname based upon their image: Victoria became "Posh Spice," Emma became "Baby Spice," Melanie B was named "Scary Spice," Geri Halliwell was named "Sexy Spice" and Melanie C became "Sporty Spice." These nicknames quickly caught the imagination of tabloid editors and they stuck with the girls throughout their careers, although there was later made an attempt to rename Halliwell "Ginger Spice" in order to create an image more suitable for young children. Attacked as a mere marketing ploy by critics, their ". January 17, 2002.. The impact of the group and "Girl Power" can be summed up by author Ryan Dawson who stated "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable." The Spice Girls also found themselves at the forefront of a miniature British cultural revolution in the mid-. Retrieved March 11, 2006. but it was Geri Halliwell's iconic Union Jack dress that dominated media coverage and eventually became the face of "Cool Britannia". The future Over the past five years, reunion stories have dominated Tabloid headlines in Britain. Newspapers have claimed that declining solo careers have forced each of the girls to consider reuniting the group. The vast majority of these however have been based on nothing more than rumour and hearsay. Despite official denials by the girls themselves tabloid editors continue to fill column inches with stories about a comeback. Whenever any of the members of the group are seen together in public, its almost certain that reunion stories will appear in the tabloid newspapers the following day. The closest the group has come to reuniting on stage came in July 2005 at the Live 8 concert in Hyde Park , London. The group were widely rumoured to be performing at the show, and organiser Bob Geldof confirmed at a press conference on May 31 2005 that he had been in contact with all of the girls. However the group did not perform due to the fact Melanie B had work commitments in LA . Rumours have persisted of a greatest hits release and possible tour in 2006 to mark the tenth anniversary of the release of their debut single, '' Wannabe '', in July. Melanie B appeared to confirm a greatest hits album in interviews in 2005 , however the claims have been denied by other members of the group. Sky Showbiz interview with Mel B Further scorn on these rumours came in interview with Hello Magazine when she told fans to "watch this space." Whatever the situation, the general consensus amongst fans is that something will happen to celebrate the Spice Girls tenth anniversary – whether it is a one off gig, greatest hits album release or possibly even a tour. Career records and achievements
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