Information AboutThe Spice Girls |
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NOTE TO EDITORS: When adding to this article, please avoid the temptation to overload the article with too many details on sales information or chart positions in particular countries and the like. Save that stuff for the individual song or album articles. Additionally, don't get into the details of various solo careers. Those are best left to the individual member articles. And, especially, please include a source to back up any piece of information that you add to the article. Stick to accurate, verifiable, relevant information, please! Lastly, do not put any album pics on the main pic as it should be solely posed pics or normal style. Album or Single covers should be left to articles about that album/single, please....
The Spice Girls are an . Retrieved March 13, 2006. The group embraced Merchandise and became a regular feature of the British press. Each member of the group was given an alias by ''Top of the Pops Magazine'' in 1996, aliases which were adopted by the group and media alike. According to biographer David Sinclair, " Scary , Baby , Ginger , Posh and Sporty were the most widely recognised group of individuals since John , Paul , George and Ringo ", stating that the group was "a social phenomenon that changed the course of popular music and popular culture".Sinclair, David. ''Wannabe: How The Spice Girls reinvented Pop Fame'' (2004). p. x. Omnibus Press, London. ISBN 0-71198-643-6. They released three studio albums and went their separate ways in 2001 (a break-up was never formally announced) to focus on their solo careers; however, on June 28 , 2007 , they reformed and are now planning a Greatest Hits Album , plus a tour, The Return Of The Spice Girls , which will be in support of their hits compilation. GROUP HISTORY Beginning In early and Take That . That was all a bit of a yawn for me, and only appealed to female audiences...I felt if you could appeal to the boys as well, you'd be laughing".Sinclair, p. 4. In March 1994 , Heart Management – which comprised the Herberts together with financier Chic Murphy – placed an advertisement in '' The Stage '' trade magazine asking "R U 18-23 with the ability to sing/dance? R U streetwise, ambitious, outgoing and dedicated?" Hundreds of girls responded and the applicants were whittled down to a final five that consisted of Victoria Adams , Melanie Brown , Melanie Chisholm , Geri Halliwell and Michelle Stephenson . The group was given the name "Touch" and moved into a house together in Maidenhead (owned by Murphy) where they were subsidised by Heart Management and each was claiming Unemployment Benefit . During the first two months the group worked on Demos and dance routines at the Trinity Studios in Woking . According to Stephenson, the material the group was given was "very, very young pop" and included the song "We’re Gonna Make It Happen", a record that never came to light.Sinclair, p. 29. It soon became apparent that Stephenson did not have the drive and belief that the rest of the group had, so the decision was made to fire her from the group. Bob Herbert stated that "she just wasn't fitting in...she would never have gelled with it and I had to tell her to go".Sinclair, p. 30. However, Stephenson stated it was her decision to leave the group because of the illness of her mother, who was diagnosed with Breast Cancer . Victoria later dismissed this claim saying she "just couldn't be arsed" to put in the work the rest of the group was doing.Sinclair, p. 31. The Herberts searched for a replacement and first came across Abigail Kas, who did not impress, and then were led to eighteen-year-old Emma Bunton at the suggestion of vocal coach Pepe Lemer. Bunton instantly impressed the Herberts and was invited to meet the group in July 1994, who welcomed her with open arms: "Straight away I knew she was the one", stated Halliwell.Sinclair, p. 31. After Bunton joined the girls there was growing discontent amongst the group with the management team. The group felt insecure about the lack of a contract and were frustrated by the direction in which Heart Management was steering them. 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 Momis Studios in Shepherds Bush where they received an "overwhelmingly positive" reaction.Sinclair, p. 33. 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 Momis showcase the five girls delayed signing contracts on the legal advice from, amongst others, Victoria's father Tony Adams. In March 1995, because of the group's frustration at their management's unwillingness to listen to their visions and ideas, they parted from Heart Management. In what biographer David Sinclair calls an "incredibly self-serving and underhand" ploy, the group stole the master recordings of their discography from the management offices in order to ensure they kept control of their own work.Sinclair, p. 34. That same day the girls tracked down Sheffield -based producer Eliot Kennedy, who had been present at the showcase, and persuaded him to work with the group. 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 and finally signed a deal with Virgin Records in September 1995. From this point up to the summer of 1996 the 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'' On market when it debuted on the Hot 100 Chart at number 11. At the time this was the highest-ever debut by a British (or non-American) act in the US, beating the record previously held by The Beatles for " I Want To Hold Your Hand " at number 12. "Wannabe" reached number one in the US four weeks later. In November 1996 the Spice Girls released their debut album ''. Retrieved March 10, 2006. Riding a wave of publicity and hype, the group released their next singles, " Say You'll Be There " and " 2 Become 1 ", in October and December respectively. The two tracks continued the group's remarkable sales by topping the charts in over fifty-three countries and cementing the group's reputation as the biggest pop act on the planet. The last release from ''Spice'' was a double A-side of " Mama "/" Who Do You Think You Are ", which once again saw them at number one. ''Spiceworld'' In November 1997 the Spice Girls released their second album, ''. Retrieved March 11, 2006. and the United States alone. Criticised in America for releasing the album just nine months after their debut there and suffering from over-exposure at home, the Spice Girls began to experience a media backlash. The group was criticised for the number of sponsorship deals signed – over twenty 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 number one in Britain (it entered and peaked at number two). The track remains their only single not to go to number one in the UK. In June 1997 the group began filming their movie debut, ''. Retrieved March 12 , 2006 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, Melanie B's: Tour Control, Geri's: Sponsorship, Emma's: Personnel, Schedule and Charities, Victoria's: Merchandising, Melanie C's: Record Company, Singles and Formats. They later built their own team, headed by Nancy Phillips, to deal with their affairs. In early 1998 the Spice Girls embarked upon a sold-out 102 date world tour covering Europe and North America. The Spiceworld Tour kicked off in Dublin , Ireland on February 24 1998 before moving on to mainland Europe and then returning to Britain for fourteen gigs at Wembley Arena and Birmingham’s NEC Arena. It was here that recordings were made for a planned live album, which was confirmed by the group: "We've shown everyone we can do the business on stage, so now we want to do a live album for fans". Despite masters of the recording being made, the idea was eventually dropped. In an interview on ''This Morning'' in the UK in May 1998, literally just weeks before Halliwell's departure, the group confirmed that they were writing their third studio album which would be unlike its two predecessors. The group intended the album to consist of various solo singles, duets and group songs to allow the girls to record their own music, yet stay together as a band. This would never materialise as Halliwell's departure threw the groups plans into complete disarray. At the end of the European leg of the tour, Geri Halliwell missed the final two shows in Oslo , 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. ''Goodbye'' On . Retrieved 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. Geri Halliwell's departure threw most of the group's 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 materialise. " Viva Forever ", was 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). While on tour in America the group continued to record new material and they released a new song, " Goodbye ", in Christmas 1998. Although 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 sixteen weeks. ''Forever'' In November 2000 The Spice Girls released their last album, ''''. 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 the 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. The lead single from "Forever", the double A-side " Holler " / " Let Love Lead The Way ", did enjoy some success – it became the group's ninth number one single in the UK. However the song failed to break onto the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart stateside, instead peaking at number seven on the Bubbling Under chart. "Holler" did peak at number thirty-one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play in 2001. 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 North America while Melanie B and C concentrated on Europe. Further planned single releases off the album never materialised. Promo singles of " Tell Me Why ", " Weekend Love " and " If You Wanna Have Some Fun " came into circulation but to fans' dismay the "Forever" project was abandoned as the girls each began to concentrate on solo careers. In February 2001, the group announced that, despite only coming back in late 2000, they were having a break and going apart for the foreseeable future, concentrating on their solo careers. Reunion/Greatest hits Shortly after the ''Forever'' era had ended, the Spice Girls decided to focus on their solo careers. UK national tabloid, '' The Mirror '',1 dedicated front-page space and half of their double page, daily entertainment news to what was supposedly their scoop, that the Spice Girls were reforming for the Live 8 concerts. Organiser Bob Geldof confirmed at a press conference on May 31 2005 that he had been in contact with all of them and was serious about wanting them to reform but it was all five of them or nothing. In the end, the girls were unable to reform due to prior obligations in the US by Melanie B. The girls also hoped to perform at the Concert For Diana but were unable due to timing constraints and that Emma was heavily pregnant at the time. On June 28 2007 after months of speculation, the Spice Girls announced an eleven date world wide tour entitled " The Return Of The Spice Girls " kicking off in Vancouver on December 2 2007 .23 The tour will support the November release of A Greatest Hits Album through Virgin Records . In addition, filmmaker Bob Smeaton will oversee an official Documentary on the reformed band, which will be distributed worldwide at an undisclosed date. On the documentary, Geri said, "You are going to get to know what is behind the stories that you've heard, it's going to be the most honest story you've ever heard, you're going to get to see the dark side of the Spice Girls, the gritty side, the tears". Recently on their official website , the Spice Girls announced they were letting fans vote for whichever city they wanted to be the "Spice City", (that city will be included in the tour). On August 3rd, 2007, Toronto , Ontario , Canada was named the "Spice City". The Spice Girls said in a statement: "We’re really amazed by the fantastic response to our “Spice City” competition. "This was all about making your own city a Spice City and since we launched there have been literally millions of votes for us to play in hundreds of cities including places like Rio De Janeiro , Chicago , Melbourne , Manchester , Paris , Alice Springs , Baghdad (in result from an Internet prank on several websiteshttp://www.nowmagazine.co.uk/celeb_news/Spice_Girls_voted_to_play_in_Iraq_article_133569.html) and Diss Corn Hall (in Norfolk, Englandhttp://www.dissexpress.co.uk/news?articleid=3064608). CULTURAL IMPACT The British music scene 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 image of the Spice Girls was deliberately aimed at young girls, an audience of formidable size and potential; reinforcing the range of appeal within the target demographic were the bandmates' five distinctive personalities, which encouraged fans to identify with one member or another. 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 was named "Sexy Spice" (later changed to "Ginger Spice"), and Melanie C became "Sporty Spice".Halliwell, Geri (1999). ''If Only'', p. 229. New York: Delacorte Press. ISBN 0-385-33475-3. These nicknames quickly caught the imagination of tabloid editors and they stuck with the girls throughout their careers. "Girl Power" The ". January 17, 2002. In summation of the concept, author Ryan Dawson said, "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable."Dawson, Ryan. ''"Beatlemania and Girl Power: An Anatomy of Fame"'' . ''Bigger Than Jesus: Essays On Popular Music''. University Of Cambridge . Archived from original on October 4, 2005. Retrieved January 27, 2007.... "Cool Britannia" The term ". Retrieved March 11 , 2006 . but it was Geri Halliwell's Union Jack dress that appeared in media coverage the world over and eventually became a symbol of "Cool Britannia". Icons of the 1990s The Union Jack dress Geri wore has acquired something of an iconic status, and is in the Guinness World Records as the most expensive piece of pop star clothing ever sold at an auction. Ten years after the release of their debut single The Spice Girls were voted the biggest cultural icons of the 1990s by 80% in a UK poll of 1,000 people carried out for the board game ''''. Retrieved March 28, 2006. CAREER RECORDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
DISCOGRAPHY ''For detailed information relating to Spice Girls' releases, please see the Spice Girls Discography .'' Albums
Singles #" Wannabe " #" Say You'll Be There " #" 2 Become 1 " #" Who Do You Think You Are " / " Mama " #" Spice Up Your Life " #" Too Much " #" Stop " #" Viva Forever " #" Goodbye " #" Holler " / " Let Love Lead The Way " #" Tell Me Why " #" If You Wanna Have Some Fun " #" Weekend Love " TOURS
REFERENCES Citations Book references
EXTERNAL LINKS
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