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Measures of their success include international record sales, a 2007–2008 reunion tour, merchandising, record-breaking achievements, iconic symbolism such as Halliwell's Union Jack dress, representing "Girl Power", a box-office film, Spice World, and their internationally recognised nicknames. The group became one of the most successful marketing engines ever,[11] with their global grosses estimated at $500–800 million between 1996 and 1998[11] and the group earning up to $75 million per year.[12] Under the guidance of their mentor and manager Simon Fuller, the group embraced merchandising and became a regular feature of the British and global press.

In 1996, Top of the Pops magazine gave each member of the group aliases, which were adopted by the group and media. According to Rolling Stone journalist and biographer David Sinclair, "Scary, Baby, Ginger, Posh and Sporty were the most widely recognised group of individuals since John, Paul, George, and Ringo".[13] They were the biggest popular cultural icons of the 1990s, according to a survey carried out by Trivial Pursuit, winning by 80 percent in a poll of 1,000 people, stating that "Girl Power" defined the decade. They are cited as part of the 'second wave' '90s British Invasion of the US.[14]

Contents [hide]

1 Band history

1.1 1992–96: Formation and early years

1.2 1996–97: Spice and breakthrough

1.3 1997–98: Groundbreaking success, Spiceworld and Halliwell's departure

1.4 1998–2000: Forever and hiatus

1.5 2007–08: Return of the Spice Girls and Greatest Hits

1.6 2010–12: Viva Forever musical and London Olympics

2 Cultural impact and legacy

2.1 British music scene

2.2 "Girl Power"

2.3 "Cool Britannia"

2.4 1990s iconic status

2.5 Spicy Crispy Chicks

2.6 Fashion trends and nicknames

3 Portrayal in the media

4 Other brand ventures

4.1 Film

4.2 Television

4.3 Viva Forever: The Musical

4.4 Merchandise and sponsorship deals

5 Career records and achievements

6 Discography

7 See also

8 References

8.1 Book references

9 External links

Band history[edit source | editbeta]

1992–96: Formation and early years[edit source | editbeta]

The Stage classified advertisement, 1994.

In the mid-1990s, family management team Bob Herbert, Chris Herbert and Lindsey Casbon set about creating a girl group to compete with popular boy bands that dominated the pop music scene in the mid- to late-1990s: "The whole teen-band scene at the time was saturated by boy bands like Take That and East 17. 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."[15] In February 1994, Heart Management – which comprised the Herberts together with financier Chic Murphy – placed an advertisement in The Stage trade magazine asking "WANTED: R.U. 18–23 with the ability to sing/dance? R.U. streetwise, outgoing, ambitious, and dedicated? Heart Management Ltd. are a widely successful music industry management consortium currently forming a choreographed, singing/dancing, all-female pop act for a recording deal. Open audition. Danceworks, 16 Balderton Street. Friday 4 March. 11 am-5:30 pm. Please bring sheet music or backing cassette".[16] About 400 women who answered the ad went to Dance Works studios. There, they were put into groups of 10 and danced a routine to "Stay" by Eternal. After that, the selection continued and the girls had to sing solo songs. Victoria Adams sang "Mein Herr", Melanie Brown sang "Greatest Love of All", Melanie Chisholm sang "I'm So Excited", Michelle Stephenson sang "Don't Be a Stranger". After the auditions, the women returned home and waited for some weeks. Geri Halliwell had seen the ad but went skiing in Spain and missed the audition because her face got sunburnt.[17]

In April 1994, the women got a call and were down to the last 12. They went to Nomis Studios, Shepherd's Bush. The women chosen were Suzanne Tinker (who did not attend), Melanie Laccohee, Lianne Morgan, Tracey Shield, Michelle Stephenson, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm (who did not attend), Victoria Adams, and a few others. Geri Halliwell saw the ad after two months, and decided to call. The management let her in to the last 12, so she was one of them. After arriving, the women had a little solo interview, in which Halliwell sang "I Wanna Be a Nightclub Queen". After the interviews, they were divided into 3 groups of four women and they created a routine for "Just a Step from Heaven" by Eternal. In one group there was Adams, Brown, Stephenson and Morgan. After a dance, Halliwell joined and she was taught their dance. Later, they sang solo songs and Brown sang "Queen of the Night". Those five were told they had been picked while they were having a cup of tea. After the auditions, the women returned home and waited a couple of weeks.[17] Tinker passed the first audition, but could not attend the second because her train was delayed due to a bomb scare, and she did not want to go in late. Chisholm passed the first audition, but could not attend the second because she had problems with her tonsils. Her mother called the management to ask for another chance and they told her they had whittled their choice down to ten women, including Chisholm. They said if they did not find the five or if there was one who they were not sure about, they would give her another chance.[17]

One week later, the women were called and asked to attend a recall. They were not sure how many women they wanted. If they had wanted four, one of them would have been picked out. They met again in Nomis Studios. Morgan received a letter and she was told she looked too old for the other women, and was replaced with Chisholm. The women had learned "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" and sang it on their own and in a group. They were finally selected and told they were going to be a band. Sunday of that week, they spent a week in a guest house in Surrey. The first afternoon, they went to Trinity Studios to learn "Take Me Away". Pepi Lemer trained them for the week. After that week, they did a showcase for Murphy. Dressed in black and white in different combinations, they sang the song they had prepared "Take Me Away".[17] The group was given the name Touch,[15] and moved into a house together in Maidenhead, Berkshire, (owned by Murphy) where they were subsidised by Heart Management. They spent the spring and summer rehearsing at a house in Boyn Hill Road, Maidenhead. Chisholm and Brown shared rooms, Adams and Stephenson shared a second bedroom and Halliwell had a small room to herself.

During the first two months the group worked on demos at South Hill Park Recording Studios in Bracknell, Berkshire with producer/studio owner Michael Sparkes and song writer/arranger Tim Hawes. Most notably recording a track called Sugar and Spice, written by Tim Hawes and the source of their final band name. They also worked on various dance routines at the Trinity Studios in Knaphill, near Woking, Surrey. 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.[18] 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".[19] However, Stephenson stated that it was her decision to leave the group, because of the illness of her mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer.[17] Adams later dismissed this claim, saying she "just couldn't be arsed" to put in the work the rest of the group was doing.[20] The Herberts searched for a replacement and first came across Abigail Kis who sang a soul song to the management and two days later she was selected. However, she decided not to be on the band because she was too young and didn't want to have problems with her boyfriend having to live with the girls for months and then were led to eighteen-year-old Emma Bunton at the suggestion of vocal coach Pepi 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.[20] During the Summer and Autumn, the group kept on rehearsing and they wrote their first song together: "It's Just One of Those Days". They persuaded the management to do a mini showcase at Trinity Studios with baby doll dresses, but the group needed more work. After some months, they changed their name to Spice and another showcase was planned in early November in Nomis Studios.[17]

The group felt insecure about the lack of a contract and was 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 Shepherds Bush where they received an "overwhelmingly positive" reaction.[21] 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, among others, Adams's 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 from Heart Management. In order to ensure they kept control of their own work, the group allegedly stole the master recordings of their discography from the management offices.[22] That same day the group tracked down Sheffield-based producer Eliot Kennedy, who had been present at the showcase, and persuaded him to work with them. The group was introduced to record producers Absolute, who in turn brought them to the attention of Simon Fuller of 19 Entertainment. The group 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 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.

1996–97: Spice and breakthrough[edit source | editbeta]

Main article: Spice

The group performing "Wannabe" at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, during the Return of the Spice Girls tour

On 7 June 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 Swedish commercials director Johan Camitz and shot in April at St Pancras Chambers in London), got a trial airing on The Box music channel. The video was an instant hit, and was played 502 times a week. After the video was released, the Spice Girls had their first live TV slot on broadcast on LWT's Surprise Surprise.[23] The first music press interview appears in Music Week. In July 1996, the group conducted their first interview with Paul Gorman, the contributing editor of music paper Music Week, at Virgin Records' Paris headquarters. His piece recognised that the Spice Girls were about to institute a change in the charts away from Britpop and towards out-and-out pop. He wrote: "JUST WHEN BOYS with guitars threaten to rule pop life – Damon's all over Smash Hits, Ash are big in Big! and Liam can't move for tabloid frenzy – an all-girl, in-yer-face pop group have arrived with enough sass to burst that rockist bubble."[24] The song entered the charts at number 3 before moving up to number 1 the following week and staying there for seven weeks. The song proved to be a global hit, hitting number 1 in 31 countries[25] and becoming not only the biggest selling debut single by an all-female group but also the biggest-selling single by an all-female group of all time.[26]

Riding a wave of publicity and hype, the group released their next singles in UK and Europe; in October "Say You'll Be There" was released topping the charts at number one for two weeks. In December "2 Become 1" was released, becoming their first Christmas Number 1 and selling 430,000 copies in its first week which made it the fastest selling single of the year.[27][28] The two tracks continued the group's remarkable sales by topping the charts in over fifty-three countries[29] and cementing the group's reputation as the biggest pop act in the world. In November 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut album Spice in Europe. The success was unprecedented and drew comparisons to Beatlemania.[30] In seven weeks Spice had sold 1.8 million copies in Britain alone,[31] making the Spice Girls the fastest selling British act since the Beatles. In total, the album sold copies in Britain,[31] the biggest-selling album of all time in the UK by a female group.[32] certified 10x Platinum.[31] and peaked at number one for fifteen non-consecutive weeks. In Europe the album became the biggest-selling album of 1997 and was certified 8x Platinum by the IFPI for sales in excess of 8 million copies.[33] That same month the Spice Girls attracted a crowd of 500,000 when they switched on the Christmas lights in Oxford Street, London.[34] At the same time, Simon Fuller started to set up million pound sponsorship deals for the Spice Girls with Pepsi, Walkers, Impulse, Cadbury’s and Polaroid.[34] In December 1996, the group won three trophies at the Smash Hits awards at the London Arena, including best video for "Say You'll Be There".[34] In January 1997, the group released "Wannabe" in the United States. The single, written by the Spice Girls, Richard Stannard, and Matt Rowe also proved to be a catalyst in helping the Spice Girls break into the notoriously difficult U.S. market when it debuted on the Hot 100 Chart at number 11. At the time, this was the highest-ever debut by a non-American act, beating the previous record held by the Beatles for "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and the joint highest entry for a debut act beating Alanis Morissette with "Ironic".[34] "Wannabe" reached number one in the US for four weeks. In February 1997, Spice was released in U.S., became the biggest-selling album of 1997, peaking at number one and being certified 7x Platinum by the RIAA[35] for sales in excess of 7.4 million copies.[36] The album is also included in the Top 100 Albums of All Time list of The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) based on US sales.[37] In total, the album sold 28 million copies worldwide[1] becoming the biggest-selling album in the music history by an all-female group.[2][38][39]

Wannabe

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A 26-second sample from "Wannabe", featuring Brown and Halliwell singing the refrain in a call and response interaction, the use of the word "zigazig-ha", and the group singing the song's first chorus.

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Later that month, the Spice Girls won two Brit Awards for Best Video, "Say You'll Be There" and Best Single for "Wannabe",[34][38] The group performed "Who Do You Think You Are" to open the 1997 Brit Awards with Geri Halliwell wearing a Union Jack mini-dress, causing it to become one of pop history’s most famed outfits.[40][41] In March 1997, a double A-side of "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are" was released in Europe, the last from Spice, which once again saw them at number one,[42] making the Spice Girls the first group in history since the Jackson 5 to have four consecutive number one hits.[34] Girl Power!, The Spice Girls' first book and manifesto was launched later that month at the Virgin Megastore. It sold 200,000 copies within a day, and was eventually translated into more than 20 languages. In April, Spice: the Official Video Volume One, was released, and sold half a million copies.[34] In May, Spice World was announced by the Spice Girls at the Cannes Film Festival. The group also performed their first live British show, for the Royalty of Great Britain. At the show, they breached royal protocol when Mel B and then Geri Halliwell planted kisses on Prince Charles' cheeks and pinched his bottom, causing controversy.[34] At the Ivor Novello Awards, the group won International Hit of the Year and Best selling British Single awards for "Wannabe". In June 1997, Spice World began filming and wrapped in August. In September, the Spice Girls performed "Say You'll Be There" at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards and won Best Dance Video for "Wannabe".[43] At the 1997 Billboard Music Awards the group won four awards; New Artist of the Year, Hot 100 Singles Group of the Year, Album Group of the Year, and Album of the Year for Spice.[44]

1997–98: Groundbreaking success, Spiceworld and Halliwell's departure[edit source | editbeta]

Main article: Spiceworld

In October 1997, the Spice Girls released the first single from Spiceworld, "Spice Up Your Life". This entered in the UK charts at number one on 19 October 1997 making it the group's fifth consecutive number one hit single. That same month, Simon Fuller took the Spice Girls east to perform their first live major concert to 40,000 fans in Istanbul, Turkey. Later, the Girls travelled to South Africa to meet Nelson Mandela, who announced, "These are my heroes."[45] This was the year when the Spice Girls reached the height of their career. In November, the Spice Girls released their second album, Spiceworld. The album was a global best seller. It set a new record for the fastest-selling album when it shipped seven million copies over the course of two weeks. Gaining favourable reviews,[39] the album went on to sell over 10 million copies in Europe,[46] Canada,[47] and the United States[35] combined, and 20 million copies worldwide.[48] Criticised in the United-States 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[49] – 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.

The Spice Girls performing "Spice Up Your Life" as the opening number of their Return of the Spice Girls tour, at the Air Canada Centre, in Toronto.

On 7 November 1997, the group performed "Spice Up Your Life" in the 1997 MTV Europe Music Awards.[50] After this performance, the Spice Girls made the decision to take over the running of the group themselves, and fired their manager Simon Fuller.[51] The firing was front page news around the world. Many commentators speculated that Fuller had been the true mastermind behind the group, and that this was the moment when the band lost their impetus and direction.[52] In December 1997, the second single from Spiceworld, "Too Much", was released. This became the second Christmas number one for the group and the sixth consecutive number one hit single in the UK. At the 1998 American Music Awards on 26 January, the Spice Girls won three awards; Favorite Pop Album, Favorite New Artist, and Favorite Pop Group.[53] In February 1998, the Spice Girls won a special award for overseas success at the 1998 Brit Awards, for sales of 32 million albums worldwide,[54][55] That night, the group performed their next single, "Stop". This was their only track not to hit number one in Britain (it entered and peaked at number two). Further singles released from the album included "Viva Forever", was scheduled to be released as a double A-side with "Never Give Up on the Good Times", but these plans were scrapped due to Halliwell's departure from the group in May 1998. The song became the seventh number one, and the video includes scenes of Halliwell stop motion animation.

"Spice Up Your Life"

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A 20-second sample of the song, featuring the group singing the last part of the chorus, followed by a spoken bridge, in which they mention different dance styles, with a backing track that have influences of Latin rhythms such as salsa and samba.

"Too Much"

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A 26-second sample of the song, featuring the group during the second chorus. Bunton sings the high part; Brown, Beckham and Halliwell the lower and middle parts, while Chisholm adds the ad-libs

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In early 1998, the Spice Girls embarked upon the world tour that Fuller had set up for them covering Europe and North America. The Spiceworld Tour kicked off in Dublin, Ireland on 24 February 1998 before moving on to mainland Europe and then returning to Britain for two gigs at Wembley Arena[56] and Twelve gigs at Birmingham’s NEC Arena. Performing to 150,000 fans over the course of the tour. 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. Later that year, the Spice Girls were invited to sing on the official England World Cup song "How Does It Feel (To Be on Top of the World)", however, it was derided by England football fans in favour of a re-release of the Lightning Seeds anthem "Three Lions", which comfortably beat it to No. 1 in the Singles Charts. This was also the last song the group recorded with Geri's vocals until 2007. On 31 May 1998, Halliwell announced her departure from the Spice Girls. Through her solicitor (i.e. attorney) she stated: "Sadly I would like to confirm that I have left the Spice Girls. This is because of differences between us. I'm sure the group will continue to be successful and I wish them all the best."[57] Halliwell claimed that she was suffering from exhaustion and wanted to take a break. Halliwell's departure from the group shocked fans, in the middle of rumours of fight with Mel B, the news of Halliwell's departure was covered as a major news story by media around the world, it made the covers of the most important tabloid[58] and became one of the biggest entertainment news stories of the year,[59] making news headlines the world over. Geri went on to launch an initially successful solo career.

The four remaining members were adamant that the group would carry on and that their approaching North American tour would continue as normal, however, Halliwell's departure threw most of the group's plans into disarray. It also meant that most of the material the group 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. Finally, Halliwell's departure was the subject of a lawsuit by Aprilia World Service BV, a manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters. On 9 March 1998, Halliwell informed the other members of the group of her intention to withdraw from the group, yet the girls signed an agreement with AWS on 24 March and again on 30 April and participated in a commercial photo shoot on 4 May in Milan, eventually concluding a contract with AWS on 6 May 1998. The Court of Appeal of England and Wales held that their conduct constituted a misrepresentation, allowing AWS to rescind their contract with the Spice Girls. This is now the leading case in English law on misrepresentation by conduct.[60][61] "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 Halliwell's vocals or make a video for the track). The North American tour was a big success, began in West Palm Beach on 15 June, and grossed $60 million in 40-date sold-out.[12]

1998–2000: Forever and hiatus[edit source | editbeta]

Main article: Forever

The Spice Girls as a four-piece performing "Holler" in Cologne, Germany.

While on tour in the United-States, the group continued to record new material and they released a new song, "Goodbye", before Christmas in 1998. The song was seen as a tribute to Geri and when it topped the UK Singles 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. Later in 1998, Bunton and Mel C appeared at the 1998 MTV Europe Music Awards without their other band members, and the group won two awards: "Best Pop Act" and "Best Group" for a second time.[62] In late 1998, Brown and Adams announced they were both pregnant at the time, the former also got married to dancer Jimmy Gulzer and became known as Mel G for a brief period. She gave birth to daughter Phoenix Chi in February 1999. One month later Adams gave birth to son Brooklyn. Later that year she married his father, Manchester United player David Beckham in a highly publicised wedding in Ireland. From here onwards she would become known professionally as Victoria Beckham.

The Spice Girls returned to the studio in August 1999, after an 8 month recording break to start work on their third album. The album's sound took a mature direction when American producers like Rodney Jerkins, Jimmy Jam, and Terry Lewis came on to collaborate with the group. In December 1999 they performed live for a UK-only tour, named Christmas in Spiceworld, in London and Manchester, also showcasing new songs from the third album. During 1999, the group recorded the character Amneris' song "My Strongest Suit" in Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, a concept album which would later go on to fuel the musical version of Verdi's Aida. The band performed again at the 2000 BRIT Awards, and it was announced that they had received the Outstanding Achievement in Music Award. Despite being at the event, Halliwell did not join her former bandmates on stage. In November 2000, the group released Forever. Sporting a new edgier R&B sound, the album received a lukewarm response[63] and achieved only a fraction of the success of its two best-selling predecessors, selling five million copies.

"Goodbye"

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A sample of "Goodbye", which was released in 1998 after Geri Halliwell left the band.

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In an attempt to cover more ground, the group split up and covered different countries separately; for example Victoria Beckham and Emma Bunton headed to North America while Melanie B and Melanie C concentrated on Europe. In the US, the album 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, where Westlife won the battle reaching number one in the UK, leaving the Spice Girls at number 2. 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 Hot 100 Singles. "Holler" did peak at number thirty-one on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 2001. The only major performance of the lead single came at the MTV Europe Music Awards in November 2000. With their few TV performances aside, the group did little meaningful promotion, where their last performance came in December 2000. 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 each group member began to concentrate on solo careers. In December 2000, the group unofficially announced that they were beginning an indefinite hiatus and would be concentrating on their solo careers in regards to their foreseeable future, although they pointed out that the group was not splitting.[64]

2007–08: Return of the Spice Girls and Greatest Hits[edit source | editbeta]

Main articles: Return of the Spice Girls and Greatest Hits (Spice Girls album)

Spice Girls at the Return of the Spice Girls tour, 2008.

It has been rumoured that the decision to reform was made in December 2006. In January the Spice Girls managements started a "fan" campaign to bring "Stop" back to the charts. The date chosen for this was the same week the press conference was booked. On 28 June 2007, the group held a press conference at The O2 Arena revealing their intention to reunite.[65] The plan to reform had long been speculated by the media,[66] but the group finally confirmed their intention to embark upon a world wide concert tour, starting in Vancouver on 2 December 2007.[67] Filmmaker Bob Smeaton, directed an official documentary on the reunion. It was entitled Spice Girls: Giving You Everything and was first aired on Australia's Fox8 on 16 December 2007,[68] followed by BBC One in the UK, on 31 December.[69] Ticket sales for the first London date of "The Return of the Spice Girls" World Tour sold out in 38 seconds.[70] It was reported that over one million people signed up in the UK alone and over five million worldwide for the ticket ballot on the band's official website.[70] Sixteen additional dates in London had been added[71] and sold out. In the United States, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Jose shows also sold out, prompting additional dates to be added.[72] It was announced that the Spice Girls would be playing dates in Chicago and Detroit (Auburn Hills) and Boston, as well as additional dates in New York to keep up with the demand. On the first concert in Canada, they performed to an audience of 15,000 people, singing twenty songs and changing a total of eight times.[73] Along with the tour sellout, the Spice Girls licensed their name and image to Tesco's UK supermarket chain.[74] The band have reportedly been paid £5 million for their appearances in Tesco advertisements.[75]

The group's comeback single, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)", was announced as the official Children in Need charity single for 2007 and was released 5 November. The first public appearance on stage by the Spice Girls was made at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, where the group performed at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. They performed two songs, 1998 single "Stop" and the lead single from their greatest hits album, "Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)". The show was filmed by CBS on 15 November 2007 for broadcast on 4 December 2007.[76] They also performed the song live for the BBC Children in Need telethon on 16 November 2007 from Los Angeles,[77] in Roberto Cavalli gowns.[77] The release peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the groups lowest charting British single to date. However, the album fared better, peaking at number two on the UK Albums Chart.[78] On 1 February 2008, it was announced that due to personal and family commitments their tour would come to an end in Toronto on 26 February 2008, meaning that tour dates in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires were cancelled.[79] In March 2008, the group won the coveted "Icon Awards" at the 95.8 Capital Awards; Bunton and Chisholm collected the award. In June, they captured the Glamour Award for the Best Band; Bunton, Brown and Halliwell received the award at the event. In September, the Spice Girls won the "Best Live Return Award" at the 2008 Live Vodafone Music Awards, beating acts such as Led Zeppelin and the Sex Pistols. Bunton was there to collect the award.[80]

2010–12: Viva Forever musical and London Olympics[edit source | editbeta]

The Spice Girls at the Viva Forever: The Musical premiere night, 2012.

In 2010, the group was nominated for a BRIT Award in the new category, "Best Performance of the 30th Year" for their iconic Brit Awards performance of their songs, "Wannabe" and "Who Do You Think You Are". The group later won the award which was received by Halliwell and Brown. During this year, Spice Girls and Simon Fuller have team up with Judy Craymer and Jennifer Saunders to start developing a Spice Girls musical entitled Viva Forever. Although the girls were not to be in the show, they were to influence the show's cast and production choices in a story which uses; similar to that of ABBA's music in Mamma Mia!.[81][82][83]

Two years later, in June 2012, the Spice Girls reunited for the first time in four years for the press conference in London to promote the launch of Viva Forever: The Musical.[84][85] The press conference was held at St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel, the location where the Spice Girls filmed the music video for their breakthrough hit "Wannabe", sixteen years earlier, to the day.[86] In August 2012, after much speculation from the press and the public, the Spice Girls performed a medley of "Wannabe" and "Spice Up Your Life" at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, reuniting solely for the event.[87][88] Their performance received great response from the audience and became the most tweeted moment of the Olympics with over 116,000 tweets on Twitter per minute.[89] In December 2012, the Spice Girls reunited once again for the premiere of Viva Forever: The Musical at the West End's Piccadilly Theatre.[90] In addition to the promotion of the musical, the group appeared in a documentary, Spice Girls' Story: Viva Forever! which aired on 24 December 2012 on ITV1.[91]

Cultural impact and legacy[edit source | editbeta]

British music scene[edit source | editbeta]

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, similar to the marketing ploy used in children's serial literature of including several different character types in the storyline. Shortly after "Wannabe"'s release, the group appeared in Top of the Pops magazine where each member was given a nickname based upon her image: Adams became "Posh Spice", Bunton became "Baby Spice", Brown became "Scary Spice", Halliwell became "Ginger Spice", and Chisholm became "Sporty Spice".[92]

"Girl Power"[edit source | editbeta]

Main article: Girl power

"Girl power" has put a name to a social phenomenon,[93] but the slogan was met with mixed reactions. The phrase was a label for the particular facet of post classical neo-feminist empowerment embraced by the band: that a sensual, feminine appearance and equality between the sexes need not be mutually exclusive. This concept was by no means original in the pop world; both Madonna and Bananarama had employed similar outlooks. The phrase, whilst coined by Welsh indie band Helen Love in 1993[citation needed] and was the title of an album by British pop duo Shampoo in 1995, was in fact attempted to be used by a London UK 'capella' all girl group called Mint Juleps in 1987. Who, with the production might of Trevor Horn behind them, released a track called 'Girl to the Power of 6'. The format of the song, whilst having an obvious '80's' sound, had a similar format to the Spice Girl's 'Wannabe', where each girl presented a distinct personality trait. The phrases 'Girl to the Power' and 'Girl Power' are mentioned several times, as well as strong overtones of female empowerment, unity and loyalty. However the formula did not work, perhaps being too far ahead of its time. It was not until the emergence of the Spice Girls in 1996 with Wannabe (over 9 years after Mint Juleps), that the concept of 'Girl power' exploded onto the common consciousness. The Spice Girls' version was distinctive. Its message of empowerment appealed to young girls, adolescents and adult women,[93] and it emphasised the importance of strong and loyal friendship among females.

In all, the focused, consistent presentation of "girl power" formed the centrepiece of their appeal as a band.[93] Some critics dismissed it as no more than a shallow marketing tactic, while others took issue with the emphasis on physical appearance, concerned about the potential impact on self-conscious and/or impressionable youngsters. Regardless, the phrase became a cultural phenomenon,[93] adopted as the mantra for millions of girls[93] and even making it into the Oxford English Dictionary.[94] In summation of the concept, author Ryan Dawson said, "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable."[10]

"Cool Britannia"[edit source | editbeta]

The term "Cool Britannia" became prominent in the media and represented the new political and social climate that was emerging with the advances made by New Labour and Tony Blair. Coming out of a period of 18 years of Conservative government, Tony Blair and New Labour were seen as young, cool and very appealing, a main driving force in making Britain look fashionable again. Although by no means responsible for the onset of "Cool Britannia", the arrival of the Spice Girls added to the new image and re-branding of Britain, and underlined the growing world popularity of British, rather than American pop music. This fact was underlined at the BRIT Awards in 1997. The group won two awards[95] but it was Halliwell's Union Flag dress that appeared in media coverage over the world and eventually became a symbol of "Cool Britannia".

1990s iconic status[edit source | editbeta]

The Union Jack dress that Halliwell wore has been identified with iconic status, becoming one of the most prominent symbols of 1990s pop culture... The dress was sold at a charity auction to Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas for a record £41,320, giving Halliwell the Guinness World Record for the most expensive piece of pop star clothing ever sold[96] after interest from a frenzy of bidders.[97] The dress was one of many items of Spice Girls memorabilia sold at the auction, where total sales reached £146,511 for charity.[97]

The iconic symbolism of the Spice Girls in the 1990s is also attributed to their merchandising and willingness to be a part of a media-driven world. They advertised for many brands and even parodied themselves in the video for the song "Spice Up Your Life", in which the band fly in a space ship surrounded by billboards and adverts featuring them. Because of their regular appearances in ads and the media, the band solidified themselves as a phenomenon – an icon of the decade and for British music. The Spice Girls ranked No. 10 in The 101 Reasons the '90s Ruled, special for TV channel E!.[98]

Some sources revere the Spice Girls as "gay icons", especially those in the United Kingdom. In a survey in which more than 5,000 male and female homosexually-oriented individuals from the UK had voted, Victoria Beckham placed 12th and Geri Halliwell placed 43rd in the Top 50 gay icons of all time.[99] Halliwell joked at the Video Music Awards in 1998 about her appearance as Ginger Spice: "As you have noted, I am no longer dressed like a drag queen."[100] During an interview, Emma Bunton explained why the Spice Girls have so many gay fans: "We were really flattered with having such a huge gay fan base because they know about fashion and they know about songs ... I'm so flattered that we've got such a huge gay following, it's amazing."[101]

Ten years after the release of their debut single, the Spice Girls were voted the biggest cultural icons of the 1990s by 80 percent in a UK poll of 1,000 people carried out for the board game "Trivial Pursuit", stating that "Girl Power" defined the decade.[102]

Spicy Crispy Chicks[edit source | editbeta]

In 1997, Jack in the Box, an American fast-food chain restaurant, sought to capitalize on Spice Girl Mania in America, by launching a major advertising campaign using a fictional musical group called the 'Spicy Crispy Chicks' (a take off of the Spice Girls). The comedic national television commercials were used to promote the new 'Spicy Crispy Sandwich,' with the girls mimicking the Spice Girls, dancing in "the Jack groove." The Spicy Crispy Chicks concept was used as a model for another successful advertising campaign called the 'Meaty Cheesy Boys.'[103] At the 1998 Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) Show, one of the Spicy Crispy Chicks commercials won the top award for humor.[104]

Fashion trends and nicknames[edit source | editbeta]

As the girls become more popular, their images became as important as their music. In their early days of the band, the girls had a laid back and casual look, and maintained an image of everyday British young females. As their career progressed into a worldwide phenomenon, the girls and their manager Simon Fuller became more aware of the impact their images had. The Spice Girls soon became noticeable just by their clothes and hairstyles, and soon became icons of late 1990s fashion. In a summer 1996 issue of Top of the Pops magazine, editor Peter Loraine gave them nicknames for their images and personalities, and this soon had an impact on their fashion. In contrast to their early career, the girls soon began to differ their images from each other, and each girl had a unique look.

Victoria Beckham: Victoria was called Posh Spice because of her more upper-middle-class background, her choppy brunette bob hairstyle and refined attitude, form-fitting designer outfits and her love of high-heeled footwear.

Melanie Brown: Melanie (also called Mel B) was given the nickname Scary Spice because of her outrageous, "in-your-face" attitude, "loud" Leeds accent, throaty laugh, pierced tongue, manner of dress (which often consisted of leopard-print outfits), and her voluminously curly Afro hair being the only black member of the group.

Emma Bunton: Emma was called Baby Spice because she was the youngest of the group, wore her long blonde hair in pigtails, wore babydoll dresses, had an innocent smile, and had a girly girl personality.

Melanie Chisholm: Melanie (also called Mel C) was called Sporty Spice because she usually wore a tracksuit with her dark hair in a ponytail and sported a tough girl attitude as well as sported tattoos on both of her arms. She also possessed true athletic abilities, her signature being her ability to perform back handsprings.

Geri Halliwell: Geri was called Ginger Spice because of her "liveliness, zest, and flaming red hair." She often wore outrageous stage outfits, as in the iconic Union Jack dress. Geri was seen by some[who?] as de facto leader of the group thanks to her articulate conversational style and business savvy nature.

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