1993-2001Victoria Addams Beckham ("Posh Spice")
Melanie Brown Gulzar ("Scary Spice")
Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice")
Melanie Chisholm ("Sporty Spice")
Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice")1993-1998
The Spice Girls came together when they answered an ad in a London magazine called The Stage. The ad called for any young woman between the ages of 18 and 23 to form a singing group. After the girls were chosen, they began training at a place called Trinity Studios. They originally named themselves "Touch." In August 1993, they changed their name to "The Spice Girls" when they heard a song dedicated to them called "Sugar 'n' Spice."
Bunton was actually a replacement for a girl named Michelle Stephenson, who departed shortly after being chosen due to family reasons. Bunton was recommended by the girls' singing teacher.
In October 1993, the girls refused to obey their original manager's orders on what material to sing, what to wear, and who should sing lead. On top of that, they had to wear the same clothes and were forbidden to write their own material. They left their manager to gain their independence. It took them two years to find a new manager, but their search paid off in March of 1995 when they signed with 19 Management and found a new manager in Simon Fuller and signed with Virgin Records three months later. Their debut single "Wannabe" was not released until July of 1996.
In May of 1997, they set a record when their second single "Say You'll Be There" debuted on the US charts at #5 which is the highest entry by a European artist.
Their first album Spice set records for fastest-selling British album and the only debut album by a British act to reach #1 in the US. It was at the time the ninth-best-selling album in Britain.
In late 1998 and during the popularity of their first single without Halliwell ("Goodbye"), the members took time off to devote time to their personal lives and/or pursue solo careers. They made a concert comeback in December 1999 when they performed (along with their previous songs) four new songs. In October 2000, the Girls made a recording comeback with their ninth #1 British single (the double A-side "Holler/Let Love Lead the Way") and followed it with their third album Forever one month later. Sales of their third album were not as successful as their other two albums and only reached UK #2. In the spring of 2001, they disbanded.
In February of 1997, the group won two Brit Awards: Best Song for "Wannabe" and Best Video for "Say You'll Be There."
In March of 1997, with the release of their fourth #1 British hit (the double A-side "Mama/Who Do You Think You Are"), the Spice Girls became the first artists to have their first four singles all reach #1. Their record continued on when their hit "Too Much" became their sixth #1 hit in a row. Their string of #1 British hits stopped in March of 1998 when their seventh single "Stop" reached #2.
In the fall of 1997, The Spice Girls performed their first live concert in Istanbul, Turkey.
On November 5, 1997, they won an MTV Europe Music Award for Best Group. They won the same award for the second time on November 12, 1998. During the fall of 1998, they also won another MTV Europe Music Award for Best Pop Group.
On May 31, 1998, Halliwell's lawyers announced that she was leaving the group on account of "differences" between her and her band members.
On September 13, 1998, Brown married dancer Jimmy Gulzar. They had a daughter named Phoenix Chi on February 19, 1999. They divorced in the fall of 2000.
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Suggestion credit:
Jerro - New Alexandria, PA, for all above
On July 4, 1999, Addams married English soccer star David Beckham. Together, they have three sons: Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz.
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Suggestion credit:
Tamsin - Welington, New Zealand
According to Halliwell's book
If Only, she came up with the name "Spice" when she was working out in the gym.
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Suggestion credit:
Thomas - Borehamwood, England
Their nicknames - Ginger, Posh, Scary, Baby and Sporty - came from an interview they did with Top of the Pops magazine before their first single was released. Staff at the magazine thought up the names and used them to refer to the girls in the piece; other outlets followed suit and the names became associated with the girls. "Scary" got her name because she was rather loud during the photo shoot.
Chisholm sang The Pointer Sisters' "
I'm So Excited" at the Spice Girls audition. She recalled to
NME: "I was trying out for West End shows and I got this flyer for a girl band and it was just another audition to me. But I rocked up and said to my friend, 'That's it, that is what I'm going to do' - and I did."
Chisholm admitted in a 2016 interview with BBC Good Food magazine that she suffered from an eating disorder at the height of the Spice Girls' fame. "I was in the spotlight, being photographed constantly, and I started to become self-conscious of my body image," she explained.
Geri Halliwell has the most #1 singles of any British female musician in UK chart history. She appeared on seven of the Spice Girls chart-toppers and has also reached the peak position as a solo artist on four other occasions.
When the Spice Girls visited Nelson Mandela's house in 1997, Mel B made off with a toilet roll. She later told Mandela, making him laugh.
Emma Bunton's mother, Pauline, is a karate instructor. Emma herself is a blue belt and took on the alias Kung Fu Candy in the 1996 video for "
Say You'll Be There."
