The Spice Girls were a British vocal girl band. They enjoyed substantial commercial success through the late 1990s and are currently the biggest selling girl group of all time, having sold in excess of 45 million albums and 30 million singles. They are also famous for popularizing the term "Girl Power".
The group was formed in 1994 when Bob Herbert and his son advertised through The Stage newspaper. Of those who responded to the advertisement, five girls were picked: Geri Halliwell, Victoria Adams (later to become Victoria Beckham), Melanie Chisholm, Melanie Brown, and Michelle Stephenson. They formed a group called Touch. Later, Michelle Stephenson left to pursue her education and was replaced by Emma Bunton.
The five girls were placed in a house together so they could become friends before they would hopefully go on and become a successful girl group. Times became tough, as many arguments broke out and the tension was only further increased by the hanging promises of a record contract that never seemed to come true. Despite constant rehearsals and even a visit from a few record executives, the girls were still never given a contract and one night eventually walked out with no money. They hoped to find a record contract.
After some convincing, the girls were able to show record producer and successful manager of various groups Simon Fuller their talent. They managed to win him over and later they were signed to Virgin Records.
