May 24, 1997 – the Spice Girls went to No. 1 on the US album charts, the third all-girl group to do so.
The Spice Girls were a pop confection unlike anything else in the ‘90s: peppy and melodic, with war cries of "Girl Power!" punctuating every sassy verse. Their success, however, was serious business: when their album Spice topped the U.S. album charts, they became the third all-girl group ever to do so behind the Supremes and the Go-Gos.
Spice, their late 1996 debut, was a massive hit worldwide. The first single, "Wannabe", topped the charts in 31 countries, and the next two singles, "Say You'll Be There" and "2 Become 1", hit No. 1 in 53 countries. America was quick to embrace Spicemania and the record want 8 times platinum in the States; overall, the album sold 23 million copies worldwide, handily becoming the top-selling album by a girl group in music history and one of the best-selling albums of all time.
Credited often as the predecessors of the late-‘90s teen pop explosion (see: Britney, Backstreet Boys), the Spice Girls were managed by music heavyweight Simon Fuller (creator of the "Idol" franchise) in England. Members Victoria Beckham (née Adams), Geri Halliwell, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm, and Emma Bunton released two albums together---Spice and 1997’s Spiceworld—as well as a successful movie tied into the latter before Halliwell left the group in 1998. Their third album, 2000’s Forever, was their last, but paved the way for the astronomical ticket sales of their 2007 reunion tour…and more than a few Union Jack baby tees still hanging in closets today.
Source : Rollingstone
Source : Rollingstone
