Yes, we know — the Spice Girls technically began back in 1994, but they really blew up in 1996. So it’s the 25 year anniversary of becoming a global phenomenon that we’re celebrating! In April 1997, I was 8 years old and experiencing one of the most memorable family vacations of my childhood. For nearly a month, my parents, my younger sister, and I were in Spain with my dad’s side of the family where for the first time in my life I was speaking more Spanish than English. It was a blast getting to play with cousins my age on this adventurous trip. What I wasn’t expecting was to be introduced to the next huge English phenomenon in pop culture overnight.
In early 1997, the Spice Girls weren’t yet a big deal in the US; but in Europe, they were everywhere and nearly inescapable since blowing up the previous summer. In less than a week, I went from listening to Disney soundtracks to knowing every Spice song available and having a favorite member (Geri Halliwell’s Ginger Spice).
Fortunately for me (and the rest of my family), my sister and most of my little cousins were just as Spice obsessed as I was. We all enjoyed ‘playing’ Spice Girls and mimicking the choreography in their music videos while pretending to be our favorite member. I was the exact demographic band manager Simon Fuller and Virgin Records were hoping would eat up the new music group, and prove their goal to globally revitalize girl groups and boybands would be a success.
Little did I know that at the exact same time I was enjoying this fresh, catchy pop music overseas, the group was also steadily rising in the charts in the States. This meant that while none of my friends had heard of the Spice Girls before I left for my family’s trip, by the time summer hit they were fangirling as much as the kids overseas. Little girls and even some little boys had the fivesome’s 1996 debut album, ‘Spice,’ their behind-the-scenes documentary One Hour of Girl Power (1997), and plenty of dolls, posters, custom candy, photo books, and costumes to fill our bedrooms with.
If there was ever a movement in pop culture that totally recaptured the hype and hysteria of Beatlemania or even Monkeemania, it was definitely Spicemania three decades later. Soon enough, the Spices even had their own knock-off copy of A Hard Day’s Night (1964) with the film vehicle Spice World (1997), and the obligatory second album of the same title. Before 1996, probably the closest thing to a girl group you could find as a ‘90s kid was female rock bands like Hole and Bikini Kill. You would be hard-pressed to see any commercial or mainstream appeal of either band for family marketing, even if Courtney Love and Kathleen Hanna were preaching more about feminism than ‘sex, drugs and rock & roll.’ There were hip-hop trios like Salt ‘n’ Pepa and TLC, but again, those ladies were targeting 20-somethings their own age rather than tweens.
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The Spice Girls really had the perfect blend for a universally successful all-girl music act. There was the traditional vocal harmony of classic pop groups like the Supremes and the Ronettes, now on a more excitable level persona-wise; and the fun rowdiness of female rockers as the Runaways and the Go-Go’s had, but not as off-putting aesthetically to parents. Giving the girls alter-egos like ‘Ginger Spice,’ ‘Posh Spice,’ ‘Baby Spice, ‘Scary Spice’ and ‘Sporty Spice’ made them not only singers but characters, similar to how Paul McCartney and Davy Jones were referred to as ‘the cute one’ in their bands.
But like most things in entertainment history, life can come at you pretty fast. Within only a year and a half of me revolving my little 3rd to 4th-grade life around all things Spice, other pop acts followed and quickly rose to stardom. Backstreet Boys, ‘N Sync and 98° were the next boyband sensations while teen, bubblegum pop would also have solo acts with Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, and Mandy Moore by 1998. Beyonce’s original source of fame, Destiny’s Child, would debut at the same time as well. Four months before Britney would take over the charts with ‘…Baby One More Time,’ Geri Halliwell announced she was leaving the Spice Girls for a solo career. This would be a ‘devastating’ moment in many childhoods, but surprisingly, my fave Spice Girl quitting barely had an effect on me. By that point, I was already feeling ready to move on in favor of Brit and Xtina.
When I was in middle school and high school, I went through my ‘too cool for pop’ period and preferred singer-songwriters like Avril Lavigne, Vanessa Carlton and Michelle Branch, and alt-rock like the White Stripes and Fall Out Boy. I even went as far as to act like my months of Spice fangirling didn’t exist.
By the time I was in college, now a classic rock aficionado, I one day randomly decided to click on some Spice videos while browsing YouTube. And you know what? Millions of kids in 1997 weren’t wrong. The Spicemania wasn’t just a gimmick, but instead the result of genuinely quality pop songs. It’s no wonder no. 1 hit like ‘Wannabe,’ ‘Say You’ll Be There,’ ‘Spice Up Your Life’ and ‘Who Do You Think You Are’ are still played on retro ‘90s stations and playlists; and ‘2 Become 1’ and ‘Too Much’ hold up as love ballads 25 years later. The concept of ‘girl power’ is a bit silly through adult eyes, as posing with a peace sign in group photos with your friends does hardly anything for women’s rights. But at the same time, it is also the easiest and maybe best way to introduce a little girl to the concept of female empowerment. Here’s to another 25 years of good tunes and having a fun time.
Were you a Spice Girls fanatic as a kid? Do you still like their music as an adult? Let us know in the comments!
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