Mrluvaluva
28-06-2007, 10:19 AM
From www.metro.co.uk
It is 11 years since the Spice Girls exploded on to the pop scene with their first single Wannabe, and the lyric "zig-a-zig-ah".
Together Ginger, Posh, Baby, Scary and Sporty sold more than 55 million records.
The band formed after an advert appeared in The Stage magazine asking for girls that were "streetwise, ambitious, outgoing and determined".
Geri Halliwell, Victoria Adams, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm and Michelle Stephenson were plucked from hundreds of applicants.
But Michelle was replaced in the band, then called Touch, by Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) almost immediately.
The group exercised their notorious "girl power" by replacing their manager and signing up with Simon Fuller, the pop svengali who is now masterminding their comeback.
Years later, they would also oust Fuller. The Spices got their nicknames in an interview with Top of the Pops magazine, and they soon caught on.
Wannabe, released in 1996, became the biggest-selling single by an all-female group. It was followed by a string of number ones, with songs like Say You'll Be There, and 2 Become 1.
Their debut album, Spice, made them the fastest-selling British act since the Beatles, and the band - particularly Geri Halliwell's Union flag dress - epitomised "Cool Britannia" in the aftermath of Labour's 1997 election victory.
The Spice Girls were also one of the few British bands to conquer the US.
Their 1997 movie, Spice World, earned the Spices a joint Razzie award for Worst Actress but was a huge box office draw.
They became one of the most marketed bands in history by endorsing a range of products, everything from deodorant to dolls and chocolate, to the tune of £5 million.
The band proclaimed Margaret Thatcher as the original Spice Girl, and generated headlines around the world when they met Nelson Mandela and the Queen.
Ginger Spice famously pinched the Prince of Wales's bottom at a Royal gala show.
After sacking Fuller, relations within the group hit a new low and there were constant rumours of a split.
After a run of six number one singles, Stop became the first not to make it to the top spot. Halliwell's lawyer shocked fans by announcing the flame-haired singer was quitting in May 1998.
She cited differences with the other band members, but added "PS I'll be back."
She had missed tour dates and the band's appearance on the National Lottery.
The group ploughed on, releasing a Christmas number one single Goodbye, in December 1998, which paid tribute to Ginger Spice.
But their third and last album Forever, released in 2000, was their first not to get to number one.
In 2001, after the remaining Spices had already turned their focus to their solo careers, one of the biggest band's of the nineties broke up.
It is 11 years since the Spice Girls exploded on to the pop scene with their first single Wannabe, and the lyric "zig-a-zig-ah".
Together Ginger, Posh, Baby, Scary and Sporty sold more than 55 million records.
The band formed after an advert appeared in The Stage magazine asking for girls that were "streetwise, ambitious, outgoing and determined".
Geri Halliwell, Victoria Adams, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm and Michelle Stephenson were plucked from hundreds of applicants.
But Michelle was replaced in the band, then called Touch, by Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) almost immediately.
The group exercised their notorious "girl power" by replacing their manager and signing up with Simon Fuller, the pop svengali who is now masterminding their comeback.
Years later, they would also oust Fuller. The Spices got their nicknames in an interview with Top of the Pops magazine, and they soon caught on.
Wannabe, released in 1996, became the biggest-selling single by an all-female group. It was followed by a string of number ones, with songs like Say You'll Be There, and 2 Become 1.
Their debut album, Spice, made them the fastest-selling British act since the Beatles, and the band - particularly Geri Halliwell's Union flag dress - epitomised "Cool Britannia" in the aftermath of Labour's 1997 election victory.
The Spice Girls were also one of the few British bands to conquer the US.
Their 1997 movie, Spice World, earned the Spices a joint Razzie award for Worst Actress but was a huge box office draw.
They became one of the most marketed bands in history by endorsing a range of products, everything from deodorant to dolls and chocolate, to the tune of £5 million.
The band proclaimed Margaret Thatcher as the original Spice Girl, and generated headlines around the world when they met Nelson Mandela and the Queen.
Ginger Spice famously pinched the Prince of Wales's bottom at a Royal gala show.
After sacking Fuller, relations within the group hit a new low and there were constant rumours of a split.
After a run of six number one singles, Stop became the first not to make it to the top spot. Halliwell's lawyer shocked fans by announcing the flame-haired singer was quitting in May 1998.
She cited differences with the other band members, but added "PS I'll be back."
She had missed tour dates and the band's appearance on the National Lottery.
The group ploughed on, releasing a Christmas number one single Goodbye, in December 1998, which paid tribute to Ginger Spice.
But their third and last album Forever, released in 2000, was their first not to get to number one.
In 2001, after the remaining Spices had already turned their focus to their solo careers, one of the biggest band's of the nineties broke up.