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by Christopher Barrett
Back in May 1996, with the five fledgling pop princesses' debut single yet to be released, Music Week was the first music title to run a piece on the Spice Girls. Eleven years and 55m record sales later, as the Spice Girls prepare for a high-profile international reunion campaign, Music Week charts the act's rise to fame
"We feel as though we're breaking down the barriers, as women going up against the boy groups and against people's expectations," a young and astonishingly ambitious Geri Halliwell told Music Week back in 1996.
With all-girl acts including the Sugababes and Girls Aloud now regular fixtures in the higher echelons of the charts, pop music and brand synergy practically a pre-requisite and the pre-teen market actively engaged by acts such as Hannah Montana, the impact of the Spice Girls on the modern music industry has been remarkable.
In May 1993, when the first auditions for the five-girl pop outfit Touch began, girl bands simply did not sell albums in significant numbers, brand sponsorship of new acts was all but unheard of and few artists targeted the very young.
Although to the casual observer the Spice Girls appeared to be an overnight success back in July 1996, with their debut single Wannabe seemingly coming from nowhere to claim the number one spot on the UK singles chart for seven weeks, it was the result of three years of hard work and the assembling of a crack management and label team.
In a move that would later be widely adopted by reality TV talent contests, Victoria Adams, Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell were given the keys to an unremarkable rented house at 58 Boyn Hill Road, near Maidenhead. From July 1993 to March 1994 it would become their home, with manager Chris Herbert bringing them together to bond and work on their songs and dance routines.
But it was not long before the girls' strong personalities meant that a break with Herbert, who wanted them to dress identically and sing cover versions, was inevitable.
Following an industry showcase at Nomis Studios in West London where the quintet met their soon-to-be songwriting team Richard "Biff" Stannard and his partner Matt Rowe, they were...