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As many of you know Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice) has left the group because of differences between them.She did state she would be back. Lets hope so. More information on this: Later. London - The Spice Girl who put the phrase "girl power" on the lips of pre-teens around the world - and pinched Prince Charles's bottom in the bargain - announced Sunday she's hanging up her platform sneakers. Geri Halliwell - aka Ginger Spice - confirmed she has quit the Spice Girls over undisclosed "differences" with Spicemates Emma Bunton (Baby), Mel Brown (Scary), Victoria Adams (Posh) and Mel Chisholm (Sporty). The remaining members of the most successful all-girl group since the Supremes promised to carry on and fulfil a two-month concert tour in the United States and Canada that begins in mid-June. But industry insiders are already predicting the manufactured band that made millions on merchandising and advertising contracts before ever playing a live gig is nearing the end of its 15 minutes of fame. British newspapers have been reporting since the middle of last week that the vivacious, curvaceous Halliwell - called Ginger because of her red hair - had a falling out with the rest of the band, who tried to paper over her absence at two concerts in Norway by saying she was suffering from stomach flu. "Sadly, I would like to confirm that I have left the Spice Girls," Halliwell, 25, announced Sunday in a statement to her fans read by lawyer Julian Turton. "This is because of differences between us. I'm sure the group will continue to be successful and I wish them all the best. I have no immediate plans. I wish to apologize to all the fans and to thank them and everyone who's been there. Lots of love, Geri. PS: I'll be back." A spokesman for the remaining Spices said Halliwell's departure will not precipitate the breakup of the band. "The Spice Girls are here to stay. See you at the stadiums," they said in a statement read by Alan Edwards. The four said they were "upset and saddened" by Halliwell's decision and apologized to Spice Girl fans - legends to mainly pre-teens - "for having to go through all of this." The statement ended with the line "Friendship never ends!" taken from the lyrics of the song that propelled them to international stardom, Wannabe. Wannabe was the first in a succession of six No. 1 hits for the group, which also scored with the release of Spiceworld, The Movie, late last year. Edwards insisted the North American tour, set to start June 14, will go ahead as planned. Reviews of the Norwegian concerts suggest the remaining Spice Girls had little difficulty filling in the gaps left by Ginger Spice. "As popular as they are, they are a lightweight group," noted Da Wigg, music writer for the Mirror newspaper. "We're not talking about serious musicianship here. So what's the difference between five and four?" Though she was the Spice Girls's de-facto frontwoman and business brain, Halliwell was generally viewed as the least-talented singer and dancer of the group, which built its success on image and glitzy production numbers, rather than musical talent. "We're not five Mariah Careys," Halliwell admitted last year in a profile of the Spice Girls in Rolling Stone magazine. As Halliwell went into seclusion last week, Britain's tabloid press went into a frenzy. Some suggested she was on the verge of a breakdown, caused by the pressure of touring and simultaneously trying to fill the shoes of manager Simon Fuller, fired by the group last year. Others reported Halliwell was worn down by constant sniping from Mel (Scary) Brown, who was said to resent Halliwell's higher profile. Others suggested Halliwell - known to have recently met with the head of Virgin Radio, Chris Evans - is interested in launching a solo career while her star is still high. "Let's face it, she's not the best dancer in the world and she's not the best singer," said Martin Collins, a DJ with London's Capital Radio, commenting on her prospects. "I think her career will be in TV." Despite promises they will stay together, industry observers are already predicting the North American tour might be the Spice Girls's swan song. There were reports Sunday that Scary is also plotting a solo career. Posh Spice was engaged to to Manchester United soccer star David Beckham earlier this year. They are to marry next summer. "The rot has definitely set in," Wigg said, predicting a gradual breakup of the group. "This is the demise of the Spice Girls." WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.WHEN Geri "Ginger" Halliwell quit the Spice Girls on the eve of their highly anticipated American tour, many speculated her departure from the Spice rack would flip off the switch on "girl power." Last night at the Coral Sky Amphitheatre in steamy hot West Palm Beach, Florida, the Spice Girls assured the world that they are still cool with each other and cohesive as a band. There, at the out-of-doors arena, the remaining four members of the band managed to splice together a terrific 2-hour, 10-minute concert that thrilled an audience mostly made up of screaming preteen girls. Considering that lead singer Ginger quit the very popular band, the Girls' reception could have been pretty sour. Yet at the band's 40-city, American tour opener Scary, Posh, Baby and Sporty Spice presented a united front, and deftly adapted the band's song-and-dance routines to fit their new quartet formation. Geri was gone and seemingly forgotten by her bandmates, yet the keen eye could spot her in a number of the videos that backed the band as they sang. She was most noticable during the "Stop" number. The concert was 19 songs long including the encore set. Every tune featured the Girls in fresh costumes and different dance routines, each filled with poses and all slightly provocative - but almost always within the bounds of good taste. The evening was designed as rock spectacle, with elegant camera work that made the video-come-to-life antics on stage large enough so they could be enjoyed even in the most remote corner of the theater. As a four-girl package, the Spice Girls are a high-powered eye candy, but Posh Spice, born Victoria Adams, easily won the fashion contest for her very sexy collection of duds, which included a paint-it-on leather bodysuit, a golden minidress that moved on her body as if it were liquid, and an elegant Jean Harlow floor-length gown. Fans speculated that Scary Spice (Melanie Brown) was destined to be the chief Spice in the girl stew, yet at this show Baby (Emma Bunton) took the lion's share of the leads and even soloed on the Supremes classic "Where Did Our Love Go" - a song automatically personalized for Bunton in its introduction: "Baby, baby." The show had a sense of humor that included the Spice Boy dancers, whose costumes were often coordinated with the Spice Girls' duds. The Girls rode the Boys as if they were mules in one number, and were carried around by the fellas in other tunes. Sexy quick-change costumes were the evening's signature, yet it was during the tune "Naked" when the Spice Girls rewarded all those dads who brought them to the show. In that piece, the Girls sported micro-bathing suits and performed sitting in high-backed chairs that were turned around - giving the illusion that they were au natural. The performance of "Wannabe" was a huge hit, but, not so surprisingly, the Girls' version of the Latin-flavored "Spice Up Your Life" was an even bigger crowd-pleaser in South Florida. The fast, upbeat tunes, such as "Move Over," "Two Become One" and the final encore piece, "We Are Family," ranked as the best of the evening, while the slower ballads (especially the one featuring Sporty were a bit of a yawn. The evening's biggest oddity wasn't the music at all, but that the entire concert was translated into sign language and projected into a small circle on the video screen for the hearing impaired. I guess the deaf were all of us adults whose ears were pierced by the night-long assault of delighted shrieks by the shorty Spice wannabes that peppered the audience. Ultimately the appeal of the Spice Girls with little girls is as clear as kids' love of Barbies. Us grown-ups might not get it beyond the Spice Girl obvious song and dance talents that are part Las Vegas part rock 'n' roll. The Spice Girls pepper the New York area with three upcoming concerts. The first is at the PNC Arts Center in New Jersey on June 25, followed by a concert at the Jones Beach Amphitheatre June 29, and a show at Madison Square Garden July 1. All three local shows are sold out. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Emma Bunton (Baby Spice), Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice), Victoria Addams (Posh Spice), Melanie Brown (Scary Spice), Melanie Chrisholm (Sporty Spice) They are...... The Spice Girls! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Want to Know more about the Girls? Read on... Profiles Full Name: Melanie Janine Brown Nick Name: Scary Spice Date Of Birth: 29th May 1975 (Age 22) Star sign: Gemini Place Of Birth: Leeds, England Height: 5ft 5in Eyes: Brown Brief History Born in Leeds, "Scary Spice" Melanie B went on to attend music college before going to London in search of fame and fortune, only to end up selling ads over the phone for newspapers - except when the panto season came around when she gained employment as a singer or dancer. What many people do not know is that Mel B appeared in TV soap Coronation Street. Full Name: Victoria Addams Nick Name: Posh Spice Date Of Birth: 7th April 1974 (Age 23) Star Sign: Aries Place Of Birth: Hertfordshire, England Height: 5ft 6ins Eyes: Brown Brief History "Posh Spice" Victoria Addams survived the embarrassment of her top falling down on stage in the middle of a dance routine to pursue her showbiz ambitions. Victoria had previously been in another band before the Spice Girls, but was ready and willing to bring her posh wardrobe to the group. Full Name: Geri Estelle Halliwell Nick Name: Ginger Spice Date Of Birth: 6th August 1972 (Age 24) Star Sign: Leo. Place Of Birth: Watford, England Height: 5ft 2ins Eyes: Green Brief History With Spanish and Swedish parents, Geri has a rather more exotic background than the others. Unlike Mel C who says her school nickname was Holland, because it's flat - she had the kind of shape that gave her a chance to try out as a Page Three girl. Her exhibitionism sees her at the center of most things spicy. Full Name: Melanie Jayne Chisholm Nick Name: Sporty Spice Date Of Birth: 12th January 1974 (Age 23) Star Sign: Capricorn Place Of Birth: Widnes, near Liverpool, England Height: 5ft 6ins Eyes: Hazel Brief History As a teenage Neneh Cherry fan, Mel C lived in Lancashire before moving South. Thin, slim and well toned, she tried ballet dancing and session singing before linking up with the others. Womens football was the big passion in her life, putting those hours of aerobics training to good use. Not many people know, but she worked in a chip shop for a while. Full Name: Emma Lee Bunton Nick Name: Baby Spice Date Of Birth: 21st January 1976 (Age 21) Star Sign: Aquarius Place Of Birth: Barnet, England Height: 5ft 2ins Eyes: Baby Blue Brief History The smallest and youngest of the group, "Baby Spice" Emma Bunton went to stage school but the Spice Girls was her first 'proper' job. Her mother is a Martial Arts instructor, so beware, although she looks cute, she knows how to get her way. She also modelled for Mothercare (Baby clothes) catalogue when she was still a toddler and later in life she auditioned to play Bianca in TV soap Eastenders and got through to the last 6! There: Now I hope you know these girls better! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
From left to right:Melanie Chrisholm, Emma Bunton, Melanie Brown,Victoria Addams and Geri Halliwell | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tatler: Victoria Interview
How absolutely fabulous it is to be a Spice Girl. To wear the Spice Girl ring from Tiffany's ('It was Geri's
idea: they've got "Spice" engraved on one side and "One of Five" on the other')! To be globally acclaimed
in your 20s (Brit Awards)! To be rich (�80,000 a week) and famous (tabloid column inches day after day)!
To be a role model (Girl Power), and a representative of your generation (Youth Vote)! If you're a Spice
Girl, princes dote on you. Politicians fawn on you. Paparazzi depend on you. Primary schoolchildren
want to be you.
And of the five little Spice Girls, how even more absolutely fabulous to be Victoria Adams: numero uno in
the Spice Girl popularity polls. She has the best nickname (Posh), the best car (Mercedes SLK) and the
best boyfriend (David Beckham), from the best team (Manchester United). Becks is a joy to behold as he
displays the best right foot in the Premier League, not to mention all his other physical attributes, plus he
doesn't kiss and tell, plus he buys her fabulous presents from the best shops (a silver and gold Catier
Tank watch to match his own).
Other Spice Girls have problems, worrying little niggles which they have to circumvent or rise above.
Victoria doesn't. She doesn't have a past, like Ginger Spice, so there are no nude pictures popping up.
She doesn't have a horrible tongue screw clanking around her mouth, like Scary. She doesn't have 'the
bum of a 41-year-old' (Daily Mail), like Baby, or a wardrobe full of dreary nylon trackie bottoms with
Adidas written all over them, like Sporty. She doesn't - it's true - have the dazzling smile displayed by all
the other Spice Girls, which shows off their brilliant white teeth and faultless orthodontics, but what the
hell? Victoria's learned to pout for her publicity pictures like a moody supermodel, smouldering away with
mouth closed.
Anyway, smiling or unsmiling, Posh Spice has all the best clothes. 'Prada and Gucci! Prada and Gucci!'
she says, as though they were joined at the hip like Dolce & Gabbana. She's leaning back on the sofa in
the Abbey Road studios, looking utterly sweet and half-naked after the prevailing fashion this summer, in
a black jacket (Gucci), a red microslip (high street: 'I wanted a nightie dress'), no bra and a G-string ('I
always wear G-strings'). She wears very heavy make-up for a girl in her 20s, right down to the brown
cheek contouring and bronzing powder.
She did a fashion flounce for me, removing her stiletto (patent pewter Gucci with steel spikes for heels)
and raising her foot waist-high, so I could check out her painted toenails. 'Black's the colour, dahling!' As
she was being fitted into couture gowns at the Ritz in Paris, Tatler's stylists had told her nail polish 'must
be black, silver, gold or blood-red). Her toenails were none of these. 'Ooh, I'm breaking the Tatler rule
today. This is a very, very dark brown. But you can say it was black.'
Karl's people had organised a seat for her at the Chanel couture show. 'It was right in the front row, and it
had a little gold thing on it saying "Posh"!' she said, eyes sparkling. She'd been dying to sit in it, on client
side, among the ageing millionaires' widows with their taut skin and hard eyes. Young clients are a rarity
in couture: especially young clients with enough purchasing power of their own to buy the hand-built
couture artworks at �30,000 a pop. But alas, she didn't make the show. Didn't have the time. Eight hours
in the Ritz being fitted into John Galliano's Dior corsets and Lacroix's sumptuous gowns eats into your
busy Spice Girl life. She was amazed by the corsets and awed by the runway models' resilience and
professionalism. So much underpinning, so many layers. 'I felt about 50 stone with all them layers on,'
she said, spraying around her Hertfordshire vowels and her north London syntax with feeling.
Let's get this Posh thing out of the way, shall we? Victoria Adams may well be 'posh' so far as the
tabloids are concerned (big house in Cheshunt, swimming-pool, Dad did the school run in his Roller,
siblings are equally smartly named Louise and Christian), but her speech rhythms are not what you'd call
Sloaney. A few examples. Victoria on the Spice Girl chemistry: 'It's a vibe thing. When we get in the
studio we all vibe off each other.' Victoria on the media: 'I never read that piece in The Spectator. I don't
ready hardly anything.' Victoria on the Prince of Wales: 'When we met Charles we was all really, like,
cheeky with him. And at the end of the day, prince or no prince, he really does sit on the toilet like
everybody else. You just got to picture him with nothing on.'
She rolls her eyes. 'Everybody meets me and they say, "Why are you called Posh Spice?" And I say,
"Listen, I don't speak that badly! It's only 'cos I'm tired, for a start"' She was brought up in Hertfordshire by
her parents, Jackie and Tony. Her dad runs an electrical distribution company (Distributing what? 'Oh, all
sorts of electrical bits. Lightbulbs. Computers. All over the world'). He bought his Rolls-Royce once he
made his money and famously took Victoria to school in it, though she begged him to take her in the van
instead (He just said, "Oh, get in the car." Now of course, I'd want him to take me right up to the front
door').
She was picked on at her local school, and not just because of the Roller. She was well-behaved and
smartly turned-out by an affectionate and aspirational mother who arranged after-school Brownies and
ballet classes for Victoria to shine in. 'I used to get on with my work. I used to be at school on time. I
wasn't round the back of the school sheds having a fag or drinking or having loads of boyfriends - I didn't
even have a boyfriend then. I was really well-behaved and that isn't the cool thing to be. I was totally
straight.'
In so far as she has a home at all - apart from the first-class hotels and rented Spice Girls houses and
the looming possibility of overseas tax shelters - it's still in Cheshunt among her tightly-knit family ('My
sister's best friend, and my brother is too'). Her mum keeps her vast scrapbooks and deals with fans. 'My
mum said, "I've given you a nice name and I don't want it shortened", and I think you take over your
parents' values, don't you? Even the way they vote [Conservative].' She said that sometimes, at home,
she was called Tor by her family. 'But that's very posh,' I say, thinking of all the Sloaney Tors I meet, and
she asks excitedly, 'Is it? My boyfriend calls me Tor as well, Is that posh?'
The two stories that all the tabloids would kill for are 'Spice Girls Break Up' and 'Posh Spice Marries
ManU Star', so I did my best, but she spent the entire interview fending off, with practised ease, the
slightest hint of either one. The Spice Girl gang is notoriously outrageous and naughtily behaved when
their Girl Power is five against one and they can smear princes with lipstick and pinch their bottoms and
('It's easy when there's five of you'). So do Spice Girls row, and bitch at each other? Do they fight? Oh but
of course they do. 'Everybody wants to write, everybody wants to have a go at singing, everybody wants
to have an opinion. We're all different and we've got different tastes musically. We have flaming rows
about tiny things, bits of words that we want to put in lyrically.' But Spice Girls know how to kiss and
make up. 'Right from day one we've had an American attitude. If there's something wrong, we're just open
about it. It sounds disgustingly sick,' she says composedly, 'but we're more like sisters than anything.
We've travelled all over the world together, we've lived together, we've written songs together: you become
so close with one another.'
She's on a sugar-and-spice roll here: 'At the end of the day, it's all about respect. Five heads are better
than one,' she begins. 'Five heads are better than two...' but I nip in with a Beckham question before we
have to plod through the rest of the maths. Is she looking forward to being a football wife? She gives me a
scornful look and says: 'Well I don't intend to dye my hair blonde.' She says: 'Some reporter came round
to our house and asked me about being a football wife - he was comparing me to Sheryl Gascoigne. I
couldn't believe it.'
But what was all that wedding-dress business in the newspapers? 'Oh!' she said. 'I'd bought a dress for a
show I was doing, and I needed it altered. So I took it to my mum's friend's shop, which is a bridal shop.'
So, Victoria exits a bridal shop, a quick paprazzo takes a picture, and lo - 'Posh Spice Marries David
Beckham' exclusives roll through the presses. She was somewhat miffed. 'What made me most upset is
I thought, "My goodness - if I was going to get married, if I was buying a wedding dress...' She's too polite
to finish the sentence, so I will: 'I wouldn't buy one from the local high street.' Instead she says: 'I mean,
no disrespect - but... you know!' Yes, we know, Victoria. Miuccia Prada and Tom Ford would be on the
line in seconds, not to mention your new best friends Christian and Karl and John.
A football wife maybe - but she'll never become a football fan. The Theatre of Dreams passes Victoria
completely by, and she'd have a hard time comparing notes with United diehards on, say, Beckham's
60-yard Goal of season Kick from his own half at Selhurst Park. 'I call what he does football
competitions. I can never remember what they're supposed to be. Football games? Football matches. Oh
well, it's all a performance, innit?' She laughs and puts a luvvie voice on: 'You got a show tonight?
Performing tonight?'
She says: 'I like him for him and I don't care what he does as long as it makes him happy.' So she isn't
thinking of moving to Manchester? She pulls a face. 'Not many nice shops in Manchester. No Prada and
Gucci in Manchester.' Maybe Becks should move to Celtic, then, and she could shop in Glasgow? She
pulls another face (and who would blame her?) and says silkily, 'Or Italy.' Oh, now you're talking. Ecco! -
Prada and Gucci. Posh's dark eyes go dreamy for a second, the way they do when the words 'Prada' and
'Gucci' come to mind, which they clearly do a hundred times a day, and they suddenly focus into shock
and she leaps to her feet yelling 'Oww! Naoww!' like Eliza Doolittle. 'What? What?' I ask, startled, and
she howls aloud: 'Don't put that. Leave it out. Promise me you'll leave that out. Hate-mail. I'll get such
hate-mail from all those Manchester United fans. Oww!' She really, really means it. 'I get enough as it is!
If they think I'm persuading him to move to Italy. 'I'll get sacks of hate-mail.'
By this time, I am laughing fit to bust at her consternation, but then she gives out another anguished yell
as an even more horrible thought strikes. 'Even Alex Ferguson'll start sending me hate-mail,' she says,
and we both go quiet.
Poor little Posh. She shouldn't have a care in the world. She's young, rich, successful, famous and
gorgeous. She's beloved by Becks, adored by fans, cover-starred by Tatler and clothed from head to toe
by Prada and Gucci - and what's her problem? She's haunted, like every football manager in Britain, by
the terrifying spectre of Manchester United's Alex Ferguson.
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