Spice Girls

The Spice Girls (1996–1998/2000) were a British vocal girl group. They enjoyed substantial commercial success from 1996 to 2000, and it is claimed that they are the biggest-selling girl group of all time, with reported sales of over forty-five million albums and thirty million singles. They are also famous for popularising the term Girl Power. The group originally consisted of Victoria Adams, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm, Melanie Brown, and Geri Halliwell. However, in 1998, Halliwell left to pursue a solo career. The remaining four members never formally broke up, but have not performed together or released any new recordings since 2000. They have each released solo material, and some have stated that they have no interest in participating in the group in the future.

Current status

Members of the group have stated that they do not see any future for the Spice Girls, but the group has never formally split up. Each member has released solo albums (with varying degrees of commercial success, but not nearly in the same class as their group efforts). Each of the girls' solo popularity has waned over the past four years:

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• Melanie Brown was successful initially in the U.K., with her debut single making number one but her popularity quickly fizzled out. Since then, she has also starred as Mimi in Rent on Broadway, and written an autobiography entitled Catch a Fire. She has one daughter, Phoenix. Five years after her first album, she released L.A. State of Mind, her second album,and charted the lowest of any solo Spice record (number four hundred fifty-three), disappointing fans.
• Melanie Chisholm was successful worldwide with her debut album, Northern Star, scoring two U.K. number-one singles and charting on the Billboard Hot 100 with dance remixes of "I Turn to You". However, her second album, Reason, was a flop (compared to her debut), after which she was dropped by Virgin Records. She is currently taking a break from promoting singles from her third studio album, the somewhat successful Beautiful Intentions, but says she will have a new release out by Christmas.
• Geri Halliwell scored great success as a solo artist in Europe, especially in the UK, where she hit the top spot four consecutive times, and to date, has scored eight top ten hits. Her top-selling album, Schizophonic, went on to sell over two million copies worldwide. However, her second studio release, Scream If You Wanna Go Faster, was only a fair success in the U.K., but sold well on a worldwide basis. Halliwell's third album, Passion, has so far failed to create much of an impact in Europe. She's also written two autobiographies, If Only and Just for the Record. A cover she did of the Weather Girls 1983 hit "It's Raining Men" was added to the dance music video game '.
• Emma Bunton has scored a solo chart topper and has become moderately successful in Europe. She has been seen in minor roles in the British television series Absolutely Fabulous. Her second album, Free Me, featuring the hits "Free Me", "Maybe" and "I'll Be There", was a reasonable success, with sales a bit higher than her first in the UK, but was a flop worldwide. Free Me was also released in the U.S. early in 2005. Bunton says her third album, which she is currently working on, will keep the 1960s sound of Free Me.
• Victoria Beckham, wife of footballer David Beckham, is currently the wealthiest Spice Girl, but has the least successful music career. To date, she is the only Spice Girl not to score a solo chart topper in Britain, though she has hit the top three twice, with "Out of Your Mind" and "This Groove/Let Your Head Go". Beckham is responsible for writing Learning to Fly, her autobiography, and she has three sons, Brooklyn, Romeo, and Cruz. Beckham is currently adding finishing touches to her Winter '05 collections for Rock & Republic, set to hit the shops later this year. The new VB for Rock & Republic collection follows the jeans she created for in 2004, which was a success at Harvey Nichols. She is also designing handbags for Japanese luxury label, Samantha Thavasa.

As their layoff extends, speculation grows that the group will not perform or record again. In January 2003, a meeting between all five members spawned rumours of a reunion, but no announcements have been made. To date, such rumours still circulate, as well as, more recently, speculation about a possible Spice Girls greatest hits album and/or reunion tour. Towards the end of 2003, the Spice Girls were featured on an episode of VH1's Behind the Music, and implied that such rumours might end up coming true sometime in the future.

Related Topics:
2003 - Behind the Music

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In May 2005, Mel B stated in an interview in Britain that the Spice Girls are going to reunite in 2006 to mark the tenth anniversary of their first single, "Wannabe". Though this was not completely certain, other sources indicated that the four were indeed planning a reunion. In an article on the Top of the Pops website, it was stated that Mel B had been in contact with all of the girls, including Geri, and that all were eager to reunite at some point in the future. A greatest-hits album will definitely be released in 2006. http://www.sky.com/showbiz/article/0,,50002-1181764,00.html

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Rumours of a full reunion intensified as it became known that they wanted to perform together at the Live 8 concert. This was confirmed when organisers excluded them from the schedule. According to the Daily Mirror, organisers were quoted saying, "their style of music did not fit in with the serious political message about world poverty the transatlantic event hopes to portray". Live Aid founder Bob Geldof, when making the official announcement for the concerts on May 31, 2005, said that they were reconsidering allowing the Spice Girls to perform.

Related Topics:
Live 8 - Daily Mirror - Live Aid - Bob Geldof - May 31 - 2005

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The group did not perform at Live 8 due to Melanie B changing her mind a few days before the show. Though widely rumoured in media and music circles, it is untrue that they are recording any new material according to Melanie C, both on her website and on Anne Robinson's chat show.

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In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Mel C claimed she will never get back together with the Spice Girls and that the planned greatest-hits will be a "rip-off", as the only new songs would be those which were deemed not good enough to make it on to any of their previous albums.

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