14 Things You Need To Know About The Spice Girls
Okay, let's face it - if you grew up in a certain time period (the 1990s) and you were a girl, chances are, you absolutely idolized the Spice Girls. Sure, they likely had their fair share of male fans as well, but their whole 'girl power' message meant that girls in particular wanted to be a part of the fun, independent movement they were pushing. It also doesn't hurt that the girls branded themselves, in a sense, so that there was sure to be one Spice Girl for every fan to relate with. A budding fashionista who loved nothing more than getting the latest glossy magazine? Posh Spice was your spirit animal. A total tomboy who was most at home on the soccer field? Sporty Spice was your girl. Whether you were wild and crazy or sweet and meek, there was someone in the group you could identify with.
Plus, let's not even talk about all the swag. There were Spice Girls dolls, there was the beloved guilty pleasure movie, and, as Victoria Beckham demonstrated recently when she shared a frozen memory from her mother's freezer, there was even Spice Girls pizza! They were an international phenomenon, and we're betting that women around the world will continue to blast “Wannabe” when they need a little boost of girl power attitude for decades to come.
However, how much do you really know about the Spice Girls (beyond every single lyric to every single one of their songs, courtesy of all that repeat play)? Here are 14 things you need to know about the Spice Girls.
14 The group was formed from a magazine classified
Most of the groups that are big nowadays - from One Direction to Little Mix and Fifth Harmony - are formed on big television talent shows. Many of them audition separately, and are later placed into a super group based on the opinions of the judges. However, the Spice Girls formed in an entirely more 90s fashion. Their soon-to-be first managers placed an advertisement in a magazine way back in 1993 that read “R.U. 18 - 23 with the ability to sing/dance. R.U. streetwise, outgoing, ambitious and dedicated? Somehow, that simple ad got four of the girls out to a casting call where they were selected to join the group (Emma was drafted in later, when one of the original girls didn't work out).
13 They were total #girlbosses
Let's face it -girl groups have a bit of a stereotype of being simply beautiful women who know how to lip sync and look good on stage, or who simply perform the songs that others have written for them. The Spice Girls, however, were huge #girlbosses. The managers they first worked with wanted them to be a group of singing clones, wearing similar outfits and singing the songs that were provided to them with no feedback or opinion. Even though they knew it might jeopardize their big break, they decided to pay off the managers (taking out a loan to do so) and put together their own showcase to find a new record label that better suited them. That's how they ended up meeting Simon Fuller, their second manager.
12 They didn't come up with their nicknames (and neither did the record label)
The Spice Girls were very cleverly branded - every girl debated whether they were more of a Sporty Spice or a Posh Spice. However, it wasn't the girls themselves that came up with those nicknames - and it also wasn't some clever marketing whiz at their record label. The names were actually thought up by a writer at Top of the Pops magazine, who used the cheeky nicknames in a story. As you probably know, the names - Posh, Baby, Sporty, Ginger, and Scary - ended up sticking with the girls.
11 “Wannabe” was written in 20-30 minutes and the video was shot in just one take
You might think that crafting a mega hit single would be difficult and time-consuming - not when you're the Spice Girls. Their smash hit “Wannabe,” which enchanted audiences around the world with its message of girl power and catchy chorus, was written in about 20 to 30 minutes. As if that weren't enough, the beloved video for the hit (which won an MTV VMA award back in 1997 after its release) was shot in a single take. The reason for that is a bit less glamorous - apparently, it was absolutely freezing inside the Midland Grand Hotel where they were shooting, and even though the record label wasn't crazy about the video, they refused to freeze any longer than necessary.
10 Ginger Spice's famous Union Jack dress was a tea towel
From Baby Spice's girly pastel dresses to Scary Spice's leopard print bodysuits, all the Spice Girls had certain colours or silhouettes that they were frequently drawn to. However, no single dress was more iconic and memorable than Ginger Spice's patriotic Union Jack dress, which she wore at a Brit Awards appearance. However, the dress wasn't a designer creation - it was something that Geri's sister helped embellish. You see, Geri was sent a chic Gucci LBD, but she felt like it was a little drab in comparison to her previous Brit Awards outfit (a show-stopping sparkly green dress). So, she got her sister to sew a union jack tea towel to the front of the dress, and the rest is history. That DIY dress later ended up selling at a charity auction for tens of thousands of dollars.
9 Nelson Mandela was a huge fan
The Spice Girls had fans around the world, not just in their native UK, but there was one fan in particular who might surprise you - Nelson Mandela. That's right - in addition to hugely impacting politics and international discussions of peace, and, you know, being the president of South Africa for awhile, Mandela also apparently jammed out to “Wannabe” in his spare time. When he met them in 1997, he called the girl group “heroines” and stated that “this is one of the greatest moments of my life.” Coming from Nelson Mandela, that's quite the compliment! And he wasn't just a fickle fan who appreciated them at their prime - ten years later, around the time the girls were doing their reunion circuit, he tried to invite them to perform at his 89th and 90th birthday parties.
8 Beyoncé covered a Posh Spice original
It's no secret that, amongst the Spice Girls, Posh Spice (Victoria Beckham) was perhaps the least vocally gifted. She was impossibly chic, and it really makes sense that she's gone on to a successful career in fashion while most of the other girls have remained involved in the entertainment industry. However, even Posh had a solo album released after the group had split, almost as a right of passage - and while it wasn't particularly well received, there was one song that caught the eye of a huge star. Victoria recorded the ballad “Resentment” for her album, and Beyoncé ended up covering the song on her albumB'Day.
7 One girl got cut before things even kicked off
Everyone knows the story of Destiny's Child's earlier days, where you had to be cut if you didn't quite gel with the rest of the group, but did you know that the Spice Girls weren't always the same five that the world knew and loved? Initially, the group was comprised of Mel B., Mel C., Victoria, Geri, and… Michelle Stephenson. Not many know the fifth Spice Girl's name, because she wasn't ever really a Spice Girl - she decided to bow out right when the group as getting started to go to college, and Emma Bunton was brought in to replace her.
6 At one point, the five lived together
Nowadays, all of the Spice Girls are living in their comfortable homes, but back when they were just 20-something aspiring stars trying to make it big, they actually lived together for a period in a house in the small British town of Maidenhead. The girls spent time together, sang together, worked on songs together, and basically just formed tight bonds that would help them stick together through thick and thin.
5 All the girls put family first once they made it big
Many aspiring stars dream of being able to afford a big house or fancy car for themselves, or even just a wardrobe stuffed with designer goods, once they make it big. The Spice Girls definitely reached that point in their career eventually, but when they were just getting started, they took their first big chunk of change and helped out their families. Emma bought her mother a house with a garden, Mel C. bought a house for her mom as well as a car for her brother, and Victoria bought a house for her sister.
4 They literally pulled a runner from their second label
One of the reasons that the Spice Girls were as successful as they were was that they knew what was right for them - and they knew when something wasn't working out. I mean, the proof is in their actions - when they felt their first label wasn't working out, they found the money to buy out their contract and go their own way, back when their success wasn't guaranteed and they really didn't have much money to work with. When it became obvious that Simon Fuller was no longer working out, they didn't formulate a long, calculated plan. Instead, the girls apparently stuffed all of their things in garbage bags, threw them into the trunk of Geri's car, and just peeled out.
3 David and Victoria Beckham met at, where else, a charity soccer game
Victoria Beckham isn't the only Spice Girl who has dated a celebrity, but let's face it - Posh and Becks are basically Britain's royal couple. While other professional athletes manage to hang onto their wives for a few years at most, David and Victoria have been going strong for nearly twenty years, and have four adorable children. He simply gets better with age and she simply gets more chic every year. However, back when they were both young rising stars, it wasn't Victoria who asked to meet the famous David Beckham - it was David who wanted to meet Posh Spice! Becks requested a meeting with her at a charity game they were both attending, and the rest, as they say, is history.
2 Some of the Spice Girls became Spice Moms at roughly the same time
At this point, every single one of the Spice Girls has at least one child. However, their journeys towards motherhood were even more entwined than you might think. Mel B and Victoria Beckham were the first two to have children (their respective children are now teenagers - just let that sink in), and they actually found out they were pregnant on their final tour of the United States (during peak Spice Girls years; we're not talking about the reunion tour). While Geri deciding to leave effectively put a stop to the true Spice Girls, we can't help but wonder if the fact that two of the girls were facing motherhood had something to do with it as well.
1 They broke records at the Olympics
Over the course of their music careers, the Spice Girls shattered countless records as their hits tore up the charts. However, there's another type of record that they broke - and it had something to do with the Olympics. No, none of the Spice Girls are secret superstar athletes. However, amongst all the fanfare of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the Spice Girls' performance at the closing ceremony was the most tweeted about moment. That's right - the public cared more about the Spice Girls than the multitude of athletes winning medals. Hintv.com estimates that there were about 116,000 Spice Girls related tweets per minute while they took the stage, from the moment they emerged from those cars to the final notes.
