Spice Girls
Spice Girls is the name of a vocal group of British pop formed in 1994, originally composed of five singers and dancers: Victoria Beckham, Melanie Brown (known as Mel B), Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm (known as Mel C) and Geri Halliwell. From 1996 to 1998, when Halliwell has chosen to leave the training, the group experienced a phenomenal success, which earned him often being compared to the Beatles. In 2001, after recording only one album to four, the remaining members have decided to take a break to focus on their respective solo careers. In 2007, the five Spice Girls announced their reunion for a major world tour. With over 76 million records sold, they remain to this day the girls band which has met with more success.
1994-1995: Formation of the group
By 1994, 5 British cross and knowledge are different during auditions for movies and musicals (Cats, Tank Girl, etc.). [Ref. necessary], until the 1994 publication of an advertisement in The Stage, about a casting to form a female group.
The group, initially called "Touch" was formed in March 1994 following a casting by small ad in the newspaper The Stage. About 400 candidates are interviewed.
Among them are retained: Victoria Adams (later after her marriage Victoria Beckham), Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell and Michelle Stephenson. The five young women will attend courses of song and dance, to record a first album. After a few months, Michelle Stephenson left the group. Indeed, his mother was suffering from a serious illness, she prefers to return to his studies to dedicate himself to her. We learn later, according to Chris Herbert, the first manager of the group, that alchemy communication between the other girls had not taken with Michelle, which remained somewhat at variance.
After the departure of Michelle Stephenson, their voice teacher, Pepi Lemer, presented one of his students, who immediately becomes his successor: Emma Bunton.
To facilitate the work and cultivate a group, girls move in the same house where they all live and repeated several months. The group soon changed its name to be baptized "Spice" then "Spice Girls" (an American rapper already bearing the name "Spice" at the time).
Dissatisfied with the direction taken by their first manager (identical clothing, songs eau-de-rose ...), the Spice Girls decide to switch services Chris Herbert, and to find another: this is Simon Fuller, former manager of Annie Lennox. With his help and having knocked on the door several houses of discs, they win a contract with Virgin. In 1995 begins recording their first album, SPICE.
1996-1997: A social phenomenon
In July 1996, after an initial tour of clubs in the UK, the Spice Girls leave their first single, Wannabe, against the will of their own record. Indeed, Virgin Records wanted to emphasize the song Love Thing as the first single but eventually surrendered. When in doubt, only 50,000 copies are first created. To the surprise of Virgin, the song is causing a tidal wave. It rose directly to the third place British charts, then take the top eight weeks time. A total of Wannabe will be number one in over thirty countries. The clip has the same effect: the British broadcast of The Box receives phone calls claiming thousands distribution.
The rise of the Spice Girls is therefore fast. The same year, in November, they leave their first album, Spice, who is also a tremendous success (18 million copies sold within one year; 23 million albums will be sold in total). The group continues tubes (Say You'll Be There, Who Do You Think You Are?, 2 Become 1 ...) and move the crowds around the world. The Spice Girls are quickly the subject of numerous products, whose sales are colossal. Their success makes the proportions of a genuine social phenomenon, which has been called the Spicemania and leads them to meet people like Prince Charles or Nelson Mandela.
The media seized on the phenomenon. The British music magazine Top Of The Pops is to give each member of nicknames that are immediately adopted by the fans and are rapidly around the world: Emma is renamed "Baby Spice", Victoria became "Posh Spice" , Melanie C, "Sporty Spice" Melanie B "Scary Spice" and Geri "Ginger Spice".
In 1997, at the same time they produce their first film, the Spice Girls record a new album, Spiceworld. Released on the same day in the world, it sells extremely well (7 million copies sold in two weeks, a record), including through tubes Spice Up Your Life and Too Much. In October 1997, the group gave its first live concert in Istanbul, the opportunity to present the new album titles.
Against all odds, shortly before the release of Spiceworld early November, the Spice Girls return suddenly their manager, Simon Fuller. They explain that by following the requirements of their manager, particularly in terms of timing, they agreed they wanted more and take their independence. Geri Halliwell is like the unofficial leader of the group. Furthermore, the Spice Girls play their own role in a feature film, Spice World, the film, released in December 1997. The film, hosted by hard criticism, proved a commercial success, at least in English-speaking countries: number one box office British number 2 of the American box office, the total revenue of approximately 80 million dollars.
However at the Brit Awards ceremony in February 1998, while Spicemania seems fly its full, the Spice Girls suffer competition from All Saints, a band that girls in the media as their rivals and won the prize the best song and best video, the Spice Girls, who had won these awards year (Wannabe and Say You'll Be There), however, leave with a trophy honoring their phenomenal sales of discs ( "Best selling British album act ").
Also in February, they begin a world tour, the Spiceworld Tour, which begins with a concert in Dublin. Almost all tickets were sold in just two weeks. In France, the tour passes in March by two dates at the Zenith de Paris, one in Marseilles, one in Lyon, then two new dates are added at Paris-Bercy in May, given the importance of the application. Although still a member of the Spice Girls, Melanie B recorded a duet with Missy Elliott, I Want You Back, who will become world in the first place British charts.
In late May 1998, when the Spice Girls are in full tour, Geri Halliwell left the group (due to disagreements with other members, tell it) and began a solo career. The remaining Spice Girls finish their four tour, which ends in September 1998 by a concert at Wembley Stadium.
1998-2007: After the departure of Geri Halliwell
Since 1998, the four remaining members recorded discs separately, without leaving the group (Melanie C will include a duet with Bryan Adams) and participate in charity gala "Pavarotti & Friends 1998" (by Luciano Pavarotti].
Part of the media believes that while the Spice Girls will have less success in four and considering the separation of the next group. Nevertheless, in late 1998, the Spice Girls record a new single, Goodbye, which becomes the tube Christmas 1998 in the United Kingdom. After 2 Become 1 in 1996 and Too much in 1997, then the third time in a row they occupy first place the British charts at Christmas (the coveted Christmas number one "), a record they only share with the Beatles.
However, in 1999, the Spicemania seems to be part of the past, the group became more discreet in the media. Although they begin to record some songs for their third album, girls now devoted mainly to their solo projects. Melanie C is preparing its first album, Northern Star, released in late 1999 and will sell more than 800,000 copies in the United Kingdom. Emma Bunton out a single with the group Tin-Tin Out, an Eddie Brickell entitled What I Am As for Victoria, today is particularly polarized around her marriage to footballer David Beckham who made the front of the press UK. The couple Beckham has become the focus of all tabloids.
In February 2000, the Spice Girls to receive the Brit Awards ceremony a trophy honoring their contribution to the British recording industry ( "Outstanding contribution to the music industry"). The media are waiting for a possible return of Geri Halliwell in the group to mark the occasion, but the Spice Girls appear on stage without her and thank officially. "Without it we would not be here today," said Melanie B.
Emma, Melanie B, Melanie C and Victoria finish recording their third album, Forever, released early last November. The first single, "Holler" (released in some countries by double-face with the title "Let Love Lead the Way") directly between No. 1 British charts. This is the ninth single of the Spice Girls to take the lead. Yet, the album will not have the success of the two recorded with Geri opus. Girls rarely appear together and separately gave few interviews to promote the disc. We learn later that the group (including Melanie C, itself solo tour at the same time) was no longer show as much motivation. The solo careers become clear priority over the group. Meanwhile, barely a month before the release of Forever, Melanie B fate also a solo album entitled Hot.
Beginning in 2001, the Spice Girls decide to put their careers in brackets as a group, but not formally separate. We do not review all the years before 2007. Alone, they published them five twelve albums and singles over fifty, who met with varying degrees of success in the UK and the rest of Europe, but without comparison with the phenomenal success of the group.
Since 2004, rumors about an end of the lunch group and a return of Geri have been constantly relayed by the British press. They all denied until June 2007 when Melanie C, refractory last to return, finally accepts the idea.
2007-2008: The return of the Spice Girls
The five Spice Girls officially announced on Thursday, 28 June 2007 renewed for a world tour. Their tour to begin in Vancouver on December 2. In addition, a Greatest Hits will emerge by the end of the year.
The tour, including all dates have not yet been arrested, will step including New York, London, Beijing, Madrid, Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires, but none seems planned concert in France.
They will also appear in Toronto, Canada, which was named the Spice City thanks to the votes of all its fans.
The tour is a "thank you" to fans, as clarified by the Spice Girls for whom it is mostly a "Celebrating the Past" or "so that our children we see Spice Girls, Victoria Beckham dixit. It is true that four of the Spice Girls are now mothers (Victoria and Mel B, Emma and Geri). Yet few details have filtered about the show is always that it is Jamie King who was chosen as a director and choreographer. The latter has worked with Madonna on her tour Confessions Tour and recently said: "Collaborating with the Spice Girls is a unique opportunity to create a truly iconic live show. The reintroduce the world will undoubtedly be unforgettable." One million copies of their Greatest Hits album has sold in five days [ref. necessary]. 750 000 tickets have been sold to date in December for their world tour "The Return Of The Spice Girls, dated 2 December 2007 to 26 February 2008.
A two-hour documentary directed by Bob Smeaton (including the origin of the documentary "The Beatles Anthology"), recounting the career of any group, was released in December 2007 on the Australian and British television.
Success never seen a female
The group is the 21st in the ranking of best selling music world, with 76 million records sold (the former are the Beatles). They are the singers who sold the most records for a small number of albums released, three; for comparison, Madonna has sold 250 million discs with 17 albums published.
The first single of the Spice Girls, Wannabe, published in 1996, ranked number one in over 30 countries. The song also ranks eleventh directly to the American hit parade, no non-American group and beginner had directly reached this level since the Beatles, whose song I Want To Hold Your Hand was ranked in twelfth position in the charts 1963. The first album of the Spice Girls, Spice, published in 1996, has sold 18 million copies in one year (but their record was later beaten by the soundtrack of the film Titanic, composed by James Horner). Other record, the Spiceworld album has sold seven million copies within two weeks.
The group may also rely on tours around the world displaying complete two albums head of global sales, 10 singles at the head of sales and be responsible for a wide range of products: 50 000 pairs of platform-shoes (heel shoes offset) sold 100 000 clothes, Barbie dolls, deodorant, soda, cameras, a video game, lollies, perfume, chocolate to their effigy, and a film (Spice World, the film, directed by Bob Spiers).
In addition, the Spice Girls are perhaps not the first girls band (in the 1980s, there were already Bananarama, even if we did not yet have "girls band"), but they have put in Popular such training: Since the Spice Girls emerged the All Saints, Destiny's Child, Atomic Kitten and many other similar groups.
Success mounted from scratch?
The Spice Girls have often been accused in the media as a group without real talent, whose extraordinary success can be explained by an extremely well-oiled promotion. They were particularly criticized for not being musicians training (they themselves wrote the lyrics of their songs, but not composed the music) and have been largely recruited casting (some more for their physical and their artistic talents), before we make them take courses in song and dance. For these reasons, the Spice Girls were often qualified by their detractors "prefabricated group."
Since then, the global disk went much further in the "prefabrication", taking advantage of the wave of famous TV musical "(type Popstars) in an attempt to create" new Spice Girls. " Yet no group ever from this type of program will meet a success comparable to that of their elders, which suggests that certain ingredients are indeed not "manufacture", or at least that the public is less attracted by this type of training in recent years.
"Girl Power!"
The Spice Girls are wanted feminists: they had the slogan "Girl Power" ( "power girls"), and showed the Girl Power as a new way of thinking feminist, that a woman can be independent and liberated while s' dressing so sensual, or even dress at all: when the tour Spice World Tour, the Spice Girls will go to interpret the song Naked naked, hiding their private parts just in the eyes of the public behind a chair back. According to members of the group, a woman can be aguiche while being released: it's all to please themselves, not to please men.
In addition, the texts of several of their songs like Wannabe and Who Do You Think You Are?, Sounding like appeals to women so that they can not be dominated by men. The Girl Power as the Spice Girls is associated with a taste for provocation whatsoever to the money men (under the clip of the song Say You'll Be There, one man tied to the ground in a position submission to women around him) or to codes of propriety (for example, the first meeting of the Spice Girls with Prince Charles, when Geri Halliwell has touched the buttocks of the latter, before the television cameras).
However, critics of the Spice Girls argue that the texts of their songs (they consider childish and without real political) and their clothing does not plead for the cause of women, and not see the "Girl Power" a pseudo-feminism.
"Be yourself!"
The Spice Girls are also wanted singers of a certain conception of freedom of expression and action can be summarized by the phrase "Be yourself". In their interviews, they proclaim loudly and clearly have their own personality, their clothes were meant to reflect: Mel C was the sporty tomboy, often in tracksuits and sneakers, hence its nickname "Sporty Spice" Victoria was not the bourgeois dressing that Gucci, which earned him the nickname "Posh Spice" (meaning Posh "snob"); Emma, the youngest member of the group, was the woman-child, "Baby Spice "Geri was naughty," Ginger Spice "(meaning ginger" ginger ", compared with its red hair and his provocative personality," pungent ") and Mel B was the extravagant" Scary Spice "(Scary wanting say "scary"). Their young female fans and could quite easily identify a Spice Girl in particular rather than others, while young male fans could easily find one that drew them.
Through this approach, the Spice Girls were demarcated of most bands boys and girls bands then, all of whose members were dressed in the same way in their music videos or in concert.(W3C)
Read also Scorpions
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