The Spice Girls, an English pop girl group formed in 1994, have left an indelible mark on pop culture. The group comprises Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B (“Scary Spice“), Melanie Chisholm, also known as Mel C (“Sporty Spice“), Emma Bunton (“Baby Spice“), Geri Halliwell (“Ginger Spice“), and Victoria Beckham (“Posh Spice“). With hits like "Wannabe" and albums like "Spice" and "Spiceworld," they achieved global success, selling 85 million records worldwide and becoming the best-selling girl group of all time.
The Spice Girls at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2018
The Spice Girls embraced merchandising and became a regular feature of the British and global press under the guidance of their mentor and manager Simon Fuller. With the “girl power” label, the Spice Girls were popular cultural icons of the 1990s.
The Iconic "Wannabe" and Rise to Fame
On 7 July 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut single “Wannabe” in the United Kingdom. The video was an instant hit, and was aired up to seventy times a week at its peak. The song entered the UK Singles Chart at number three before moving up to number one the following week and staying there for seven weeks.
In October 1997, the Spice Girls released the first single from Spiceworld, “Spice Up Your Life“. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number one on 19 October 1997, making it the group’s fifth consecutive number-one single.
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Meeting Nelson Mandela in South Africa
Later in October 1997, the Spice Girls launched The Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal, then travelled to South Africa to meet Nelson Mandela, who announced, “These are my heroes.” The royals and the pop stars also met with Nelson Mandela, who was the president of South Africa at the time. This was the year when the Spice Girls reached the height of their career.
The Spice Girls meet Nelson Mandela in South Africa
Geri Halliwell (a.k.a. Ginger Spice) later told the BBC, “There’s a speech that Nelson Mandela did … in which he mentions, ‘Never suppress yourself, never make yourself feel small,’ and that’s what girl power is all about."
That same month, Simon Fuller took the Spice Girls east to perform their first live major concert to 40,000 fans in Istanbul, Turkey.
Prince Harry's Recollections: A Trip to South Africa
Prince Harry has made endless headlines over the past week following, and prior, to the release of his autobiography, Spare. Aside from the controversial comments about the Royal Family, another moment in the book which surprised many people was Meghan Markle's husband quoting Spice Girls.
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Within the book, Harry writes about a trip he took to South Africa with his father, King Charles, in 1997 where the pair met the iconic girlband. Speaking about visiting South Africa with Charles, shortly after the death of his mother Princess Diana, Harry writes in the book: "The truth was, Pa's staff hoped a photo of him standing alongside the world's most revered political leader and the world's most popular female musical act would earn him some positive headlines, which he sorely needed.
Harry goes on: "I remember stepping on to the red carpet, screwing a smile on my face, suddenly wishing I was in my bed at St James' Palace. Beside me was Baby Spice, wearing white plastic shoes with chunky twelve-inch platform heels."I fixated on those heels while she fixated on my cheeks. She kept pinching them. So chubby! So cute! Then Posh Spice surged forward and clutched my hand."Further down the line I spied Ginger Spice, the only Spice with whom I felt a real connection - a fellow ginger."
Charles kissing Spice Girl on the cheek. Spice Girl embraced by Nelson Mandela.
Emma Bunton's Hilarious Reaction
Mel B reacts to "Emma Bunton" on the masked singer
Prince Harry directly quotes two lines from Spice Girls' hit song Wannabe, released in 1996: "If you want man future, forget my past. Now, Baby Spice herself, Emma Bunton, has reacted to the band's lyrics being used.
Speaking on her Heart show on Sunday, she said: "Prince Harry quotes the Spice Girls in his new book and ends up doing his best Spice Girl impression in the audio version", before playing the clip.
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The Spice Girls' Continued Impact
Two decades later, there was speculation that the Spice Girls were set to perform at Harry and his fiancée Meghan Markle’s May 19 wedding. The Spice Girls reunited at Halliwell’s home in London with their manager Simon Fuller on February 2.
In November, the Spice Girls released their second album, Spiceworld. The album was a global best seller. It set a new record for the fastest-selling album when it shipped seven million copies over the course of two weeks. Gaining favourable reviews, the album went on to sell over 10 million copies in Europe, Canada, and the United States combined, and 20 million copies worldwide.
A Shift in Management
On 7 November 1997, the group performed “Spice Up Your Life” in the 1997 MTV Europe Music Awards. After this performance, the Spice Girls made the decision to take over the running of the group themselves, and fired their manager Simon Fuller. The firing was front-page news around the world. Many commentators speculated that Fuller had been the true mastermind behind the group, and that this was the moment when the band lost their impetus and direction.
Later that month, the Spice Girls became the first pop group to host ITV’s An Audience with…; their show was watched by 11.8 million viewers in the UK, one fifth of the population.
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