If the Spice Girls were so disposable, why are we still humming “Wannabe” 25 years later?

On July 8, 1996, the Spice Girls released their debut single, “Wannabe,” and turned the world of pop music upside down. Quicker than you can say “spice up your life,” the girl group became the most ubiquitous pop act in the world. Their faces were everywhere: from your TV set to the big screen to the counter of your local corner store (remember the Spice Girls gum that came with stickers and tattoos?). 

“Wannabe” was a bombastic debut single that shot to number one in more than 20 countries, including the United States and the group’s home country, the United Kingdom. It was arguably the single’s fresh, effortlessly stylish video that made the song such a smash and introduced the world to five energetic instant superstars: Geri Halliwell, Melanie Chisholm, Victoria Adams (later Beckham), Melanie Brown and Emma Bunton—we’d come to know them under the pop moniquers of Ginger Spice, Sporty Spice, Posh Spice, Scary Spice and Baby Spice, respectively. 

Like the band itself, brought together by a father-son music management team, “Wannabe” had one-hit wonder written all over it. But their brilliant debut album, Spice, was packed with hits waiting to be unleashed: “Say You’ll Be There,” “2 Become 1” and “Who Do You Think You Are?” all went to number on the U.K. charts, each accompanied by a video that added to the iconography and commerciality of the girls as a super brand. In just two short years they managed to rack up seven U.K. number-one hits, sell more than 35 million albums, make a feature film (the cult classic Spice World) and embark on a world tour. 

On May 31, 1998, just two years after the release of “Wannabe,” Geri announced she had left the group, breaking the hearts of millions of fans and essentially ending the Spice Girls. The girls would go on without her and score another two number-one hits—“Goodbye” and “Holler,” which are actually two of the group’s best songs—but the girls disbanded soon after. 

Twenty-five years later, we’re taking a look at the legacy of the Spice Girls. Beyond their astronomical commercial success, the girls managed to create a unique, unbreakable bond with their legions of fans, so many of them queer and female. It’s easy to write them off as a disposable, manufactured group, but that’s actually not true; despite not having released any new music as a group in 20 years, their 2019 stadium tour (sans Posh) attracted almost 700,000 attendees across a mere eight dates, proving that they are anything but disposable.

So many pop groups have come and gone since the mid-20th century, and very few have had the kind of cultural impact of the Spice Girls. What made and makes them so special? Why is the love for them so enduring? How did a group that only lasted for five years manage to maintain relevance and popularity for more than two decades? 

Thomas: I turned 11 during the summer of 1996. I grew up listening to Madonna, Elton John and Quebec’s own Mitsou, and around that time, I became a pop-obsessed tween, paying attention to new musical releases and monitoring the charts (as best as I could in those pre-internet days). Radio and television were still how we accessed music: that July, Céline Dion sang “The Power of the Dream” at the Atlanta Olympics, where my obsession for Lycra was born after seeing Donovan Bailey win gold for Canada in the 100-metre sprint. My favourite one-hit wonder of all time, “I Love You Always Forever” by Donna Lewis, was on heavy rotation in my mom’s emerald Chrysler Neon. And, alas, “Macarena” was about to change wedding playlists forever. But I was still looking for that one act that I could give my full devotion to—and I would soon meet my match.

In the midst of what can only be described as peak 1990s, one song was about to change my life: the Spice Girls’ “Wannabe.” The video made the song. Filmed in what appears to be one shot (it’s actually two) in a hotel in London’s St Pancras, the girls are crashing a soirée in a way that parallels the way they broke through the industry. Ginger, Baby, Sporty (backflipping on a table!), Scary and Posh are introduced with humour and clarity, lip-syncing to the camera, ready to take on the world. Both simple and sophisticated, the video hooked a micro-generation born in the mid ’80s. To this day, every queer person I know who was born between 1985 and 1988 is a Spice Girls stan for life.

Tranna: “Wannabe” was a mammoth hit but—unpopular opinion—it’s honestly my least favourite spice. Last year, Alanis’ Jagged Little Pill celebrated its 25th anniversary, now we’re celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Spice Girls. It’s so weird that the music of our childhood is so old now. These anniversaries make me acutely aware of the passage of time and it’s terrifying because I still feel like that nine-year-old obsessed kid. I remember going to Zellers (RIP) where there was Spice Girls merch everywhere—dolls, VHS tapes, CDs, cassettes, notepads, photo albums. (There’s a great Instagram account called The Doctor Spice Collection, curated by a hardcore Spice collector. It’s amazing to see the amount of products the girls slapped their names on—even frozen cakes!) I wanted all of it, but my mom wouldn’t get me any of it because she thought the Spice Girls were crap. (I’ve since showed her; a few years ago I bought all the Spice Girls dolls on eBay). I think, among grown ups, that was a common mentality at the time. But the Spice Girls’ first two albums have stood the test of time in a way old, good albums do. I know so-called “serious” music fans who admit that “2 Become 1” is fucking brilliant. 

“The song is about prioritizing your chosen family over some quick ‘zig-a-zig, ah.’”

Thomas: It is! But I still believe they wouldn’t have become this global phenomenon without “Wannabe.” The lyrics are so simple that even a francophone tween like me could get the jist of it: 

If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends / Make it last forever, friendship never ends / If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give / Taking is too easy, but that’s the way it is

The girls were telling us that friendship was more important than finding someone to love: the song is literally about prioritizing your chosen family over some quick “zig-a-zig, ah.” Words to live by for a gay tween, let me tell you!

Looking back, “Wannabe” signaled a shift in popular music. Grunge and Kate Moss-style heroin chic were out; epic power ballads à la “I Will Always Love You” felt formulaic. Oasis and Britpop took over the airwaves in the United States. Hip hop was big, but we were still a couple of years before the genre really came to dominate suburbia. As we entered the late ’90s, the world seemed more carefree; we wanted to have fun in the lead up to Y2K. The timing was right for what is still considered the biggest wave ever of boy bands.

In ’96, the Backstreet Boys were already massive in Canada thanks to “Get Down,” their second single (released here, but not in the U.S.). Girls were doing it, too. TLC’s “Waterfalls” had already become one of the biggest songs of the decade, paving the way for both the Spice Girls and Destiny’s Child. And the world was still a more innocent place, having no clue who Justin Timberlake was. “Manufactured pop” was on the rise and creepy Lou Perlman, who managed both the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, was considered a business genius.

“They broke away from that management before they released any music, allegedly stole the recordings and fended for themselves for most of their career.”

Tranna: I think the Spice Girls story is a bit different than BSB and *NSYNC. In the sea of late ’90s “manufactured pop,” the Spice Girls were much more in control than their counterparts. A lot of people still believe the narrative that the Spice Girls was purely machine-made. Yes, that is how things got started—they all responded to an ad placed in The Stage, a U.K. trade paper, by a management team. But they broke away from that management before they ever released any music, allegedly stole the recordings they had made and fended for themselves for most of their career. The band eventually hired Simon Fuller to manage them, and later, in 1997, they fired him and temporarily took over managing themselves. The Spice Girls had agency that most other pop acts at the time did not have. And they were also much more involved creatively than other pop groups: they co-wrote virtually all the songs on the first two albums, which spawned seven number-one hits. I think they deserve more artistic credit than they’ve gotten.

Thomas: Ultimately, I think that’s why millennial queer kids overwhelmingly aligned with the Spice Girls instead of the many boy bands. Even though we knew they were the result of a well-oiled machine, something about them felt more authentic. That attachment, especially from queer and female fans, has endured in ways that no other pop act from that wave has been able to sustain. Just this past month, hundreds of people gathered on an outdoor patio in Toronto to watch their 1997 cult movie, Spice World. 

Tranna: In 2019, the Spice Girls (minus Victoria) reunited for a stadium tour. All the dates sold out. We’re talking 80,000-seat venues. They sold almost 700,000 tickets across eight dates without having put out an album in almost 20 years. Keep in mind that, in their heyday, the Spice Girls were only mega popular for about three years. It’s astounding to me that a group that was popular for a couple of years so long ago have managed to remain as relevant and popular as they have. I can’t think of any other group that’s had a similar trajectory. The enduring love for these girls is a testament to the power of the music and how good they made us feel when we were kids. We’ve all held onto that love. They were so formative for so many young queer millennials; they were our big sisters, and I think they embodied a vision of the future that felt utopian. The Spice Girls made us believe that a future without sexism, racism and homophobia was possible. Obviously that hasn’t been the case, but it felt empowering to believe in that as a child. I went to their 2007/2008 reunion tour and it was one of the best shows I’ve ever been to. What made it so special is that it also felt like an elementary school reunion for the audience; we had all grown up, but for that one night we got to be kids again and it was really beautiful. I lost my voice from singing along so passionately. 

“It felt like the biggest music news since the breakup of The Beatles. Everything changed that day.”

Thomas: I saw that show as well. They opened with “Spice Up Your Life,” and I remember singing and crying uncontrollably because I had waited for more than 10 years to see them (I was devastated to have missed their 1998 North American tour). To see the five of them together was unreal. It’s crazy to think that only 22 months elapsed between the release of “Wannabe” and the day Geri departed the band. At the time, it felt like the biggest music news since the breakup of The Beatles. Everything changed that day: I remember hearing the news, and it was like I lost a family member. The video to the fourth and final single of the Spice World cycle, “Viva Forever,” came out in July 1998, capping off two exhilarating years of Spice Mania. Mel C, Mel B, Victoria and Emma followed with the Forever album in 2000, but things were never the same.

This is why it felt so special to watch the five girls perform together in 2008. They got back together again for the closing ceremony of the London 2012 games; I still get emotional watching that performance, too. The girls riding on top of London taxicabs, screaming “Hai Si Ja / Hold tight” at the top of their lungs—they’re both fearless and ridiculous!

Tranna: At the height of their popularity, there was a debate about whether or not the Spice Girls were a negative influence on their young fans, particularly regarding their “sexually charged” imagery, which is so funny to look back on now— the Spice Girls, even at their most raunchy, were so tame. All the kids at my elementary school were obsessed with their performance of “Naked” at the iconic 1997 Live in Istanbul concert. I remember passionately debating with my classmates whether or not the Spice Girls were really naked during the performance. It’s so obvious now that they were not naked. But that concert was a defining moment for so many kids—and queer kids in particular. It definitely was for me. It amplified the deep desire I had to be a performer. I feel like that whole show was such a celebration of femme power: the girls are so glammed up, they look fucking amazing; the makeup, the costumes, everything is stunning and exciting, but it also felt attainable. The choreography was so easy to learn and we were all recreating it in the schoolyard at recess. They were talented and beautiful, but not extraordinarily so. It felt like we could all really be Spice Girls. They were real, even though there was this massive commercial appeal that resulted in thousands of products. They made it feel like we really could make our wildest dream come true, and I think they were extremely positive role models for young girls and queer folks. They showed us that there was a power in our differences, our individuality and in our femininity. 

Thomas: Absolutely. My dad got me their debut album Spice on CD at Costco in November 1996, right after the “Say You’ll Be There” video hit Musique Plus and MuchMusic. I must have listened to it a thousand times; it was the first album I played from beginning to end, on repeat. So many of us performed basement or living-room shows to their music (dancing for 40 minutes straight to the ten songs off Spice was my favourite workout at the time). To me, the best track was the disco-revival anthem “Who Do You Think You Are?”, which sadly was never released as a single in North America, even though they performed it at the Brits (where Geri wore that iconic Union Jack dress!). I remember lip-syncing to the song at my (Catholic) elementary school’s talent show and the kids were just… confused. But the girls gave me confidence, and with them by my side, I felt I could do anything. 

“Even at their most commercial, you could feel the authenticity of everything they did.”

Tranna: What I think is really interesting is that their success set the stage for Britney and Christina and all the pop girls of the early 2000s. But none of those girls (perhaps with the exception of Christina during the Stripped era, although there’s a debate to be had about this) really represented any kind of empowerment. They were all packaged and produced by men and were visually represented in a way that was extremely misogynistic and, in hindsight, harmful to both the artists and their audiences. I haven’t seen it yet, but there’s a new show called Girls5eva that is about former members of a popular girl group who reunite after 20 years. It looks so good. From what I saw in the trailer, the show highlights the difference between pop in the ’90s and early aughts. Girls5eva reminds me much more of Dream than the Spice Girls because the pop of that later era was devoid of any kind of depth or authenticity. When you look at Dream’s “He Loves U Not” video, or almost any female teen pop video from between 2000 and 2002, it’s so cold and vacuous, so obviously made for the male gaze. With the Spice Girls, even at their most commercial, you could feel the authenticity of everything they did. Maybe that has to do with the fact that they were all in their early twenties, not teenagers, when “Wannabe” came out. Even though there were just a few short years between the rise of the Spice Girls and the rise of Britney and the pop girls, there is a world of difference.   

Thomas: The Spice Girls are still synonymous with “girl power” 25 years after bottling feminism for pop purposes. You are right that many of the acts that followed lacked their drive and, dare I say, authorship. But from Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” to Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies,” their influence remained long after they called it quits. In a way, they were the missing link between the ’80s empowerment of Madonna and Cyndi Lauper and the 21st century brand of capitalist feminism.

“Little Mix really wishes they were the Spice Girls for Gen Z.”

Tranna: There was, of course, a dark side to the Spice Girls that we were not privy to at the time. In the brilliant BBC documentary, Giving You Everything, Mel C talks about her eating disorder and how cruel Mel B was to her. These women have weathered a lot together, and while it wasn’t always a happy experience, there’s an undeniable, unbreakable bond between them, even if it’s complicated. 

Thomas: Some (mostly British) girl bands gave us good moments: as any self-respecting poptimist, I think the Sugababes are underrated and some Girls Aloud members had decent solo careers (I loved Nicola Roberts’ solo music!). Little Mix really wishes they were the Spice Girls for Gen Z. But I find that the Spice Girls’ influence is most apparent (and interesting) in the work of British female singers now in their thirties, who channelled their ethos to prove that female pop authorship is real, valid and important. I don’t think we would have had Adele, Jessie Ware or Marina as we know them without the Spice Girls, who educated a generation of pop music fans to expect more from their idols.

Tranna: I know most people don’t care about the Spice Girls’ solo careers, but I’ve been a fan of all them—especially Mel C. Last year I wrote about her brilliant 2020 self-titled album, and I still listen to it regularly. She was my least favourite back in the day because I hated sports, but Mel C is truly the best, most musically talented Spice Girl. Emma released a brilliant album called Free Me back in 2004. Victoria is the only Spice Girl to not have a solo number one in the U.K., but she has become the most successful of all of them thanks to her fashion brand. Who would have ever guessed that the least talented Spice Girl would become the biggest success? I loved Geri’s early solo career, but what the fuck has happened to her? She’s trying to become some sort of aristocratic woman of the English countryside. If you look at her Instagram account, you’ll see that she only wears white and cream-coloured clothing now. She’s often riding a horse. She’s taken her husband’s last name: Horner. She started a very cringe-y YouTube channel called “Rainbow Woman,” where she documents herself doing rich white lady shit. It’s awful. This is the woman who used to scream “girl power” and once allegedlypinched Prince Charles on the butt. Where did she go? 

Thomas: I’m pretty sure she is still on that boat—you know, the one where she finds a dozen tanned Spanish mermen in black trunks swimming around her in the Mediterranean. That video is responsible for sparking a million queer sexual awakenings and for that, I salute you, Ginger Spice.

Tranna: I really hope that once we are truly on the other side of this pandemic—if that ever happens—we get another reunion tour with all five of them. It’s the only thing that can heal us! We need to recharge our souls in the utopia that is Spice World and tap into the wide-eyed optimism they represented when they burst onto the scene 25 years ago. 

Thomas: Friendship and Spice Girls fandom never ends!

Montreal-based comedians Thomas Leblanc and Tranna Wintour’s podcast Chosen Family streams on CBC, Apple and Google; new episodes drop every other Thursday.