80 Fun Facts About Spice Girls

Which nickname did the British press give Emma Bunton?

The Top of the Pops magazine staff picked it because she turned up in pigtails sucking a lollipop.

Mel B, famous for her leopard print and Leeds accent, was known by which nickname?

Staff writer Jennifer Cawthron said she chose the name simply because Mel B was so shouty.

What is Sporty Spice's real name?

She earned the tag by leaping around in a tracksuit during the magazine lunch that produced the nicknames.

Which member was originally dubbed 'Sexy Spice' before the nickname was softened?

The media and the group's own collaborators also identified her as the band's leader.

The staff of which magazine coined the five 'Spice' nicknames after a lunch with the group in 1996?

Editor Peter Loraine said the names were never meant to be adopted globally; other outlets soon rang asking permission to use them.

In 1994, Heart Management placed the audition advert that created the group in which trade paper?

Roughly 400 women turned up to the audition at Danceworks studios in London on 4 March 1994.

What was the group's original name before they became Spice?

They renamed themselves after writing a song called 'Sugar and Spice' with Tim Hawes during songwriting lessons.

Which original member was fired from the line-up in 1994, opening the spot later filled by Emma Bunton?

The group's vocal coach Pepi Lemer then recommended her former pupil Emma Bunton as the replacement.

The father-and-son team behind Heart Management, who first assembled the group, shared which surname?

Financier Chic Murphy backed them, and the brief was 'five strikingly different girls' who would each appeal to a different audience.

In which Berkshire town did the five share a three-bedroom house while rehearsing in 1994?

They spent most of that year practising songs written for them by John Thirkell and Erwin Keiles, none of which were ever used.

Who managed the group from 1995 until they sacked him in November 1997?

He went on to create Pop Idol and American Idol, and later persuaded ABBA to reunite for the ABBA Voyage project.

After a bidding war, which label signed the group to a five-album deal in July 1995?

The name was changed to the Spice Girls around then because a rapper was already using the name Spice.

'Wannabe' reached number one in how many countries?

It became not just the best-selling debut single by an all-female group but the best-selling single by one, full stop.

How many weeks did 'Wannabe' spend at number one on the UK Singles Chart?

It entered the chart at number three before starting its run at the top.

'Wannabe' debuted at 11 on the Hot 100 in 1997, beating the previous best US debut by a non-American act, held by whom?

It also tied Alanis Morissette's 'Ironic' as the joint highest entry for a debut act, then went on to spend four weeks at number one.

The 'Wannabe' video was shot in one cold night at which London building?

Director Johan Camitz had planned to shoot at a building in Barcelona but lost permission days before filming.

Roughly how long did it take the group, Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard to write 'Wannabe'?

Mel B described it as a 'sudden creative frenzy'; she and Emma Bunton suggested the rap near the end.

After Dave Way's 'Wannabe' remix was rejected, whose six-hour remix was released?

Stent thought it was a 'weird pop record' and described his job as tightening it up and getting the vocals sounding good.

What nationality was Johan Camitz, director of the 'Wannabe' video?

Virgin executives were horrified by the finished video and discussed a reshoot, but the group refused.

Judd Lander plays a solo on 'Say You'll Be There'. On which instrument?

Virgin once considered the song as the group's debut single before 'Wannabe' won out.

The '2 Become 1' video shows the group performing against time-lapse footage of which landmark?

The whole thing was shot against a blue screen in a London studio and the backdrop was superimposed later.

Starting with '2 Become 1' in 1996, how many consecutive UK Christmas number ones did the group score?

'Too Much' and 'Goodbye' followed, equalling a record that had stood since the 1960s.

The double A-side 'Mama' / 'Who Do You Think You Are' was the official 1997 single for which charity?

A companion video starred the Sugar Lumps, a satirical version of the group, to raise money for the cause.

Which 1998 single ended the group's run of consecutive UK number ones by peaking at number two?

It was held off the top by Run-DMC vs Jason Nevins' 'It's Like That'.

How many UK number-one singles did the group score in total?

The ninth, 'Holler' / 'Let Love Lead the Way', set a record for the most UK number ones by a girl group.

At the 1997 Brit Awards, the group opened the show in the Union Jack dress moment. Which song did they perform?

That night they also won Best British Video and Best British Single.

Halliwell's Union Jack dress later sold at charity auction to the Hard Rock Cafe for how much?

That price earned her the Guinness World Record at the time for the most expensive piece of pop star clothing ever sold.

Spice sold more than how many copies worldwide, making it the best-selling album ever by a girl group?

In the UK it went ten times platinum and topped the chart for fifteen non-consecutive weeks.

Spiceworld set a record as the fastest-selling album by shipping how many copies in two weeks?

The album arrived just nine months after Spice hit America, giving the group two Top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 at once.

Which is the only track on Spiceworld that does not appear in the film Spice World?

A live version, 'Move Over (Generation Next)', had been given away through a Pepsi promotion before the album came out.

Forever (2000) peaked at number two in the UK behind which boy band's album, released the same week?

The chart battle with Coast to Coast was widely reported, and Forever became the group's only studio album not to top the UK chart.

Which producer nicknamed 'Darkchild' produced 'Holler', the lead single from Forever?

Critics thought the R&B track sounded too much like Destiny's Child and TLC, and it missed the US Hot 100 entirely.

In 1999 the group recorded 'My Strongest Suit' for which Elton John and Tim Rice concept album?

The concept album became the Broadway musical of the same name.

Who played Clifford, the group's harried manager, in Spice World?

Screenwriter Kim Fuller kept revising the script to squeeze in the growing number of celebrities who wanted cameos.

Which former James Bond actor played 'the Chief', head of the record label, in Spice World?

Director Bob Spiers had never heard of the group when offered the job; his friend Jennifer Saunders told him to take it.

Who drove the Spice Bus in Spice World?

Frank Bruno was originally cast as the driver but walked after a security guard stopped his son getting an on-set photo with the group.

Since 2014 the Spice Bus from the film has been on permanent display where?

It sits at Island Harbour Marina; toy versions of the bus were sold when the film came out.

Spice World was consciously modelled on which 1964 film starring John, Paul, George and Ringo?

Both follow a band through a chaotic run-up to a big show, in this case a concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

At the 1999 Golden Raspberry Awards, the five members collectively won which prize for Spice World?

Despite the panning, it remains the highest-grossing film ever made by a musical group.

Spice World's record Super Bowl weekend opening in January 1998 took roughly how much?

Roger Ebert declared, only three weeks into 1998, that he had already seen the worst film of the year.

On what date in 1998 did Halliwell announce, through her solicitor, that she was leaving the group?

Days of frenzied speculation preceded it after she missed two concerts in Norway and a National Lottery show.

Which 1998 ballad was the group's first single recorded without Halliwell's vocals?

Its video was filmed at Mentmore Towers while Mel B and Victoria were both pregnant.

Which studio's Steve Box directed the Spice Girls' stop-motion 'Viva Forever' video?

Box, later an Oscar winner for Wallace and Gromit, imagined the group as tin-toy fairies; the video took five months to make.

Which Weather Girls hit did Halliwell take to UK number one in 2001 for the Bridget Jones's Diary soundtrack?

It became her biggest solo hit, reaching the top 10 in more than 27 countries.

Sporty Spice's first solo release, in late 1998, was a duet with which Canadian singer?

'When You're Gone' came out a year before her debut album Northern Star, which produced two UK number ones.

Which member is a Liverpool supporter who named her label Red Girl Records after the club's colours?

She founded it after leaving Virgin in 2003 and is also an amateur triathlete who has finished the London Triathlon twice.

Mel B's 1998 solo debut single went straight to UK number one. What was it called?

Her first album, Hot, did far worse, selling 7,419 copies in its first week and peaking at number 28.

Mel B finished second on which US television competition in 2007?

Her professional partner was Maksim Chmerkovskiy; she later became a long-running judge on America's Got Talent.

Emma Bunton's debut solo single entered the UK chart at number one in 2001. Which song?

Her album A Girl Like Me went gold in the UK, but her later hits 'Free Me' and 'Maybe' came out on Fuller's 19 Recordings.

From 2013 to 2018, Emma Bunton co-hosted the London breakfast show on which radio station?

Her co-host was Jamie Theakston, and she still presents a Sunday-evening show for the station.

Which singer fronted the Spiller track that beat Posh Spice's 2000 solo debut in the 'Posh vs Posher' chart battle?

The Spiller song was 'Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)'; her own single had debuted live in front of 100,000 people in Hyde Park.

Halliwell became a Goodwill Ambassador in 1998 for which United Nations agency?

In that role she visited Nepal in 2009 to help launch a campaign against violence towards women.

In 2015 Halliwell married which Red Bull Racing team principal?

They began dating in February 2014, when he was running the Red Bull Racing team.

Tickets for the first London date of the 2007 reunion tour sold out in how long?

Sixteen extra London dates were added and all sold out within a minute; more than a million people had signed up for the UK ballot.

The Return of the Spice Girls Tour opened on 2 December 2007 in which city?

The opening night ran to 20 songs and eight costume changes in front of 15,000 fans.

The 2007 comeback single 'Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)' supported which charity appeal?

It peaked at number 11 in the UK, the group's first single to miss the top ten.

At the London 2012 Olympics closing ceremony, the five arrived on stage aboard what?

Each vehicle was decorated in a member's trademark, from leopard print for Scary to the Union Flag for Ginger.

The 2012 Olympics performance was the most-tweeted moment of the Games, with roughly how many tweets per minute?

The group had reportedly been reluctant to appear until their manager talked them round.

Which member sat out the 2019 Spice World stadium tour?

She declined because of commitments to her fashion label; the other four were reportedly paid £12 million each.

The 2019 tour opened at Croke Park, a 74,000-capacity stadium in which city?

It was the group's first Irish show in 21 years, and the closing three-night Wembley run won a Billboard award for the year's top boxscore.

The slogan 'girl power' was originally coined in 1991 by which American punk band?

The Spice Girls took the phrase mainstream in 1996 and it eventually made it into the Oxford English Dictionary.

Geri Halliwell said she first met the phrase 'girl power' in a 1996 single by which British pop duo?

Halliwell, most associated with the slogan, once called Margaret Thatcher 'the pioneer of our ideology'.

Which soft-drink brand sponsored the group and organised their first major live concerts in October 1997?

Fans could also get the CD single 'Step to Me' by collecting enough of the brand's ring pulls.

The group's first major live concert, in October 1997, took place in which city?

Highlights aired on ITV on Christmas Day 1997 under the title Spice Up Your Christmas!

How large was the initial print run of the Spice Girls' book Girl Power!, which sold out in a day?

It was eventually translated into more than 20 languages.

For the 2007 reunion, the group licensed their name and image to which UK supermarket chain?

Their 1990s deals with Pepsi, Walkers, Impulse, Cadbury and Polaroid had already made them the most merchandised group in music history.

Alongside the 2019 tour, the group produced books, cups and bags with which children's book franchise?

The 2019 dates drew 700,000 fans and $78.2 million in ticket sales across 13 shows.

By May 1998, the group's endorsement deals and merchandise had generated an estimated income of how much?

The Guardian's Sylvia Patterson called them 'the original pioneers of the band as brand'.

Which world leader declared 'These are my heroes' after meeting the group in 1997?

Prince Charles, who arranged the meeting, quipped that it was only the second greatest moment of his life.

A 2000 study found the group the world's second-best-known Britons, behind whom?

The same study found they were the best-known Britons in Asia.

In 2000 the group became the youngest ever recipients of which Brit Award?

Halliwell attended the ceremony but did not join her former bandmates on stage.

At a 1997 Prince's Trust concert, Mel B and Geri breached royal protocol by doing what to Prince Charles?

They also pinched his bottom; he later sent Halliwell a letter 'with lots of love' when she quit the group.

The billboard-covered dystopia of the 'Spice Up Your Life' video was inspired by which 1982 film?

The ad-plastered cityscape was a knowing parody of the group's own oversaturation.

About how many people attended the Spice Girls' 1998 Spiceworld Tour?

It was then the highest-grossing tour by a female group, running to 97 shows across the UK, Europe and North America; Halliwell walked out partway through.

How many members were in the classic line-up of the group?

The concept from the start was 'five strikingly different girls' who would each appeal to a different audience.

Which member married the footballer David Beckham in 1999?

The couple were dubbed 'Posh and Becks' and married at Luttrellstown Castle in Ireland on 4 July 1999.

Ginger Spice got her nickname from her hair, which was famously what colour?

Staff writer Jennifer Cawthron admitted 'not much thought went into that one'.

In which decade was the group formed?

The auditions were held in London in March 1994 and the debut single followed in 1996.

Which of these singers was never a member of the group?

Nicole Appleton joined All Saints with her sister Natalie in 1996, one of the many girl groups that rode the wave the Spice Girls started.

The group's first UK Christmas number one, '2 Become 1', topped the chart in which year?

It sold 462,000 copies in its first week, the fastest-selling single of that year.