#TBT: Spice Girls Spice Up Your Life

March is Women’s History Month so here at Pop Culturalist, we’re going to spend each #TBT in March honoring strong women. To kick it off, we have one of the greatest girl groups of all-time: the Spice Girls.

The Spice Girls began in England back in 1994, but were launched onto the world stage with their hit single, “Wannabe” (released in 1996). The song is an anthem for female friendship, and hit the top of the charts across the world.

After that, they became the bestselling female group of all time. Each of the ladies had genius monikers—Scary (Mel B), Sporty (Mel C), Baby (Emma Bunton), Ginger (Gari Halliwell), and Posh (Victoria Beckham)—and they embodied their “Girl Power” philosophy. They were all friends with each other. They had catchy pop songs. They inspired fashion trends. They even wowed the royals of England. Every girl wanted to be a Spice Girl (I wanted very badly to be Baby Spice), and, to this day, you’ll most likely see a group of friends dressed as the Spice Girls on Halloween.

Aside from their three studio albums, the Spice Girls also created/inspired movies (Spice World*), television specials, and even a musical on the West End in London (Viva Forever: The Musical).

*One of the group’s hits was written at the same time as when they were filming Spice World. “Spice Up Your Life” became the group’s fifth number one hit in the UK making them the first group to reach number one with their first five singles.

After the group disbanded in the early 2000s, everyone was rejoiced to see them perform together again a few years back. Their performance at the 2012 London Olympics was one of the most buzzed-about acts during the Closing Ceremony. Rumors are currently circulating that there may be a reunion in the works. Fingers crossed!

Photos Credit: Virgin Records