If you wanna be my lover, you better have a strong appreciation for the Spice Girls. Not only are these ladies the bestselling girl group of all time, but each and every one is an icon in their own right. And as Geri Halliwell a.k.a. Ginger Spice celebrates her 48th birthday we’re recognizing the special place these women have held in our hearts. From their rise to fame to Spice World, Union Jack fashion, meeting the royals, and beyond, this British girl band is the stuff of ’90s legend.
Before we dive into the details of their past, let’s catch up on how these girls are doing now. Scary Spice, AKA Melanie B (AKA Mel B), has released several solo albums since the band broke up, as well as mentoring on The X Factor and briefly starring in her own reality show, Mel B: It’s a Scary World. Sporty Spice Melanie Chisholm (Mel C) has had a terrific career as a solo artist, releasing seven solo albums with international hits.
Baby Spice Emma Bunton started her solo career during a Spice Girls hiatus in 2001 and has released four solo albums total, as well as appearing on shows like BBC’s Absolutely Fabulous and Strictly Come Dancing. Ginger Spice Geri Halliwell, who famously left the group in 1998 and released a solo album the following year, has had a varied career including further albums, two autobiographies, a series of children’s books, and guest hosting The X Factor.
Finally, Posh Spice Victoria Beckham went on to marry soccer star David Beckham, release a solo album, star in various documentaries and reality series, and become a well-known fashion designer. The one thing these women still have in common? Once-in-a-lifetime memories of being the biggest UK stars to come around in decades, and — of course — an undying love of girl power.
Now that we’re caught up on these ladies’ lives, let’s take a look back at Spice Girls’ iconic history with fun facts you may not know.
A version of this story was originally published on Dec. 30, 2015.
Ginger Bailed
Geri Halliwell feels bad about how she left the band high and dry
“There was a bit of ruction in the band… It was like, ‘You’re getting on my nerves, and I don’t know how to talk this through, so I’m out of here,'” Halliwell recently told Oprah of her abrupt breakup with the rest of the group in 1998, via The Huffington Post.
“It was quite immature,” she now admits.
Pretty Much the Beatles
They are pretty much the female version of The Beatles
While their songs may not be as critically acclaimed, the Spice Girls’ 80 million album sales make them the best-selling female group of all time, and judging by their merchandise sales, album sales and endorsements, they are the biggest thing to come out of Britain since Beatlemania, according to the BBC.
How It All Started
Everything started with a trade magazine ad
Remember back in the ’90s when you had to look for a job in magazines and newspapers instead of LinkedIn? Yeah, neither do we, but Mel B, Mel C, Geri Halliwell, Victoria Beckham and Emma Bunton definitely do. The ladies all auditioned for the group after seeing an ad in The Stage magazine that read, “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,” according to thespicegirls.com.
Geri Halliwell Almost Didn’t Make It
Halliwell almost missed the boat because she didn’t apply her SPF
Ginger Spice saw the ad in The Stage, but missed the audition because she had been skiing and got a nasty sunburn on her face. She called Heart Management several weeks later to follow up and wiggled her way into an audition. The rest, as they say, was history.
They Had Fans in High Places
They had fans in high places
“These are my heroes,” Nelson Mandela announced after meeting the Spice Girls in South Africa in 1997, according to the BBC.
The girls also visited with Prince Charles during the same meeting. “It is the second greatest moment in my life,” the Prince said. “The greatest was the first time that I met them.”
They’re a Musical
They’ve already been made into a musical
VIVA FOREVER!was a 2012 musical comedy based on the songs of the Spice Girls, written by Jennifer Saunders and brought to life on the stage of London’s Piccadilly Theater, according to the play’s official website. The show closed in summer 2013.
They Inspired a Jack in the Box Commercial
They inspired a Jack in the Box commercial
The Spice Girls meets Jack’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich. It really is a match made in heaven. The fast food giant cashed in on the Spice Girls craze back in the day and influenced TV viewers with this extremely Spice Girls-esque advertisement.
Halliwell and Mel B Met Before Spice Girls
Halliwell and Mel B met before the formation of the group
Legend has it that the two met on an audition for the 1995 film Tank Girl, starring Lori Petty.
Olympic History
They have their place secured in Olympic history
The Spice Girls became the most tweeted about moment of the 2012 Summer Olympics because of their closing ceremony performance. According to hlntv.com, the group inspired 116,000 tweets per minute while they were on stage.
‘Wannabe’ Was Filmed in One Take
“Wannabe” was filmed in one take
No small feat, considering how much dancing and running is in the iconic video.
Zig-A-Zig What?
Zig-a-zig was all Mel B’s doing — and how they refused to shoot a second video for “Wannabe”
Geri Halliwell explained just how ‘zig-a-zig’ came about in an interview with Marie Claire: “It didn’t take any longer than a day to write ‘Wannabe.’ Mel B came up with the ‘zig-a-zig-ahh’ line… The record execs were probably a bit horrified when they saw the video. They even wanted us to shoot a separate video for the American market, but we refused. This was our video, and this was what we wanted.”
They Fired Two Managers
They fired two managers
The Spice Girls ditched Heart Management in 1995 after allegedly stealing some of their work out of the management office. Shortly after, they signed with Simon Fuller of 19 Entertainment, with whom they broke things off in 1997 with plans to run things on their own. Many fans and critics speculate that the firing of Fuller was what led to the ultimate demise of the group.
Geri Thought She Was Bossy
Living together, in the beginning, was tricky
According to Geri Halliwell, when they all started living together, it wasn’t all peachy: “Five girls living together in a small three-bedroom house in Maidenhead, just outside London, was lots of fun, albeit at times tricky. I was the oldest at 22 and had already experienced living away from home, so the other girls probably found me to be quite bossy.”
The Meaning Behind ‘Girl Power’
“Girl power” meant so much to Geri Halliwell
In an interview with Marie Claire, Halliwell explained what “girl power” meant to her, saying: “Girl power, for me, was a voice for the voiceless, screamed from a megaphone and kicked out hard: ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.”
They Still Hang Out
They are still friends
Through all the highs and lows of fame, the girls are still tight — as evidenced by this cute image Mel B recently shared on Instagram.
Mel C Was Bullied
Mel C was bullied
In an interview with Attitude, Melanie Chisholm (better known as Mel C) revealed she was bullied by members of the Spice Girls. “Yes. I’m not going to name names. But yes. It’s been addressed, they were aware of what they’d done. They apologised.”
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