ItΓÇÖs likely that the Spice Girls have had more acres of media coverage devoted to them than any musical act since the Beatles. A cultural phenomenon and heroines to millions of wannabes around the world, the Spice Girls are undoubtedly the biggest girl band in the worldΓÇöever!
The glittering foursome is all set to spice up your life once again with the release of their third album on November 6. The Spice Girls have been writing and recording this album, which is titled Forever, over the last 14 months, recording in several locations including studios in London, Los Angeles, and Miami. They've been writing and working with producers including Rodney Jerkins and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis.
The first single is a double A-side featuring the up-tempo and funky ΓÇ£HollerΓÇ¥ and the ballad ΓÇ£Let Love Lead The Way.ΓÇ¥ Some fans had the opportunity to hear early versions of a few of the new album tracks, including ΓÇ£Holler,ΓÇ¥ when the Girls performed sold-out shows in London and Manchester, England, last December.
By now it's the stuff of legend, but just to reiterate the facts, the Spice Girls released their first album, Spice, in 1996. The follow up, Spice World, was accompanied by the Spice World film and a sold-out world tour. Since then, the Girls have sold more than 38 million albums worldwide. They have also had eight U.K. number one singles: ΓÇ£Wannabe,ΓÇ¥ ΓÇ£Say You'll Be There,ΓÇ¥ ΓÇ£Two Become One, Mama/Who Do You Think You Are,ΓÇ¥ ΓÇ£Spice Up Your Life,ΓÇ¥ ΓÇ£Too Much,ΓÇ¥ ΓÇ£Viva Forever,ΓÇ¥ and ΓÇ£Goodbye." With ΓÇ£Wannabe,ΓÇ¥ Spice Girls became the first all-girl group to go to number one in the U.K. since the Supremes in 1964. ΓÇ£Too MuchΓÇ¥ also sent them catapulting into the record books when they became the first band to reach number one with their first six singles. Spice Girls also share an honor with the Beatles: They are the only other band to have achieved three successive Christmas number ones since the charts began (in 1952).
During their career so far, Spice Girls have picked up a number of prestigious awards. In 1997 they received two Ivor Novello songwriting awards, then stole the show at the Brit Awards, picking up two awards for best video for ΓÇ£Say YouΓÇÖll Be ThereΓÇ¥ and best single for ΓÇ£Wannabe.ΓÇ¥ They also achieved the impressive feat of hitting the American Billboard Number One spot with ΓÇ£Wannabe,ΓÇ¥ thus receiving the honor of becoming the first U.K. act to hit the top of the charts in America with a debut single. In 1998, their trophy cabinet became even fuller when the Spice Girls won two MTV awards for best pop and best group. The Girls and Madonna were the only acts that night to win two awards. They were also given the outstanding contribution to British music award at the Brit awards this year.
The Spice Girls also proved that they could deliver live when their long-awaited Spiceworld world tour kicked off at the Point in Dublin, Ireland, in February 1998. The tour was a complete sell-out, with most countries selling out on the day the tickets went on sale. In Holland, the first show at the Gelredome in Arnhem (30,000 capacity) sold out within 15 minutes, breaking records previously held by rock giants U2 and Bruce Springsteen. The tour trail-blazed its way around Europe before taking the group to America and Canada. When tickets for the Madison Square Gardens gig in New York went on sale, 14,500 tickets sold out in a record 12 minutes! By the end of the tour, in September, the band had completed 103 showsΓÇönot missing a single one, even though half of the group was pregnant!
The girls then returned to the U.K. to satisfy their thousands of fans by playing sold-out gigs at Don Valley Sheffield and Wembley Stadium. These shows alone entertained more than 190,000 people. In December the girls kicked off their highly anticipated Christmas tour, Ringside With The Spice Girls. Their Earls Court concert was broadcast live on Sky and on the Spice Girls website.
Since the completion of the world tour in 1998, the Girls have been extremely busy, both on their current third album and with their own solo projects. In October 1998, Melanie B got to number one when she released her collaboration with Missy Elliot, ΓÇ£I Want You Back.ΓÇ¥ Her new single, ΓÇ£Tell Me,ΓÇ¥ will be released on September 25 and will be followed by the album Hot in October. Melanie CΓÇÖs double platinum album, Northern Star, was released in October last year, giving her four top five hitsΓÇötwo of which have reached number one. The album still remains in the U.K. top five nearly a year after its release.
Emma Bunton provided lead vocals on Tin Tin OutΓÇÖs version of the Edie Brickell hit ΓÇ£What I Am,ΓÇ¥ which went to number two in the charts last October. On August 14, the True Steppers, featuring Dane and Victoria, released their single ΓÇ£Out Of Your Mind,ΓÇ¥ which entered the charts at number two. Victoria had a taste of television presenting last year, too, when she filmed a program for Channel 4 entitled ΓÇ£VictoriaΓÇÖs Secrets.ΓÇ¥ The show, which featured interviews with Sir Elton John, Ruby Wax, Michael Parkinson, and Vinnie Jones, saw Victoria in the role of interviewer, earning praise from critics who described Victoria as ΓÇ£feisty, funny, and refreshingly down-to-earth.ΓÇ¥
ΓÇ£We are stronger after being apart for a while, and weΓÇÖre very happy to have been back together in the studio,ΓÇ¥ Melanie C said of their upcoming release. ΓÇ£This strength will show on this new album, which I think is our best yet.ΓÇ¥
Stand by for the next installment in Spiceworld…and the next!
