119-1059: Victoria Caroline Beckham ( née Adams ; born 17 April 1974) is an English fashion designer, singer, and television personality. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls , in which she was nicknamed Posh Spice . With over 100 million records sold worldwide, the group became the best-selling female group of all time . After the Spice Girls disbanded in 2001, Beckham signed with Virgin Records , to release her self-titled debut solo album , which produced two UK Top 10 singles. Beckham has also become an internationally recognised style icon and fashion designer. Beckham has starred in five official documentaries and reality shows, including Victoria's Secrets (2000), Being Victoria Beckham (2002), The Real Beckhams (2003), Victoria Beckham – A Mile In Their Shoes (2004), and Victoria Beckham: Coming to America (2007). She
238-416: A chorus —check this out'. Then they were throwing lines at us. 10 minutes later the song was written. Then you go through and refine it. Then later, as you were recording it you might change a few thing here and there. But pretty much it was a real quick process." Four tracks were composed in that session: "Love Thing", " Say You'll Be There ", " Step to Me " (which was released later) and "Strong Enough". In
357-420: A harmonica solo played by Judd Lander , who also played the harmonica on Culture Club 's " Karma Chameleon ". The other songs produced by Absolute feature different music genres: "Naked" and "Something Kinda Funny" include pop elements with influences of soul music and funk, respectively. " Who Do You Think You Are " is influenced by early-1990s Europop , and incorporates a disco -style beat that resembles
476-445: A British ambassador for Dolce and Gabbana and was briefly the face of Rocawear in 2003. Beckham designed a limited-edition fashion line for Rock & Republic called VB Rocks in 2004, consisting mainly of jeans for the high end of the market, retailing at approximately $ 300 in the US. On 16 January 2006, Beckham walked the runway for Roberto Cavalli at Milan Fashion Week , and was for
595-404: A Rolls-Royce, something she would later dispute. They founded an electronics wholesale business which allowed a comfortable upbringing for Victoria, her sister, Louise, and her brother, Christian Adams. Beckham's great-great-great-grandfather was German artist and revolutionary Carl Heinrich Pfänder and her great-great-great-granduncle was Minnesota politician William Pfaender . After watching
714-602: A bit of fun, so we just off the top of our heads started to come up with a full-on disco backing track, which became ' Who Do You Think You Are '." Wilson said of the song, "The thing is when they wrote it, they were also writing the dance routine, constructing the music video, all at the same time as writing the song. And that's when the penny dropped." The girls went on to write "Something Kinda Funny", "Last Time Lover", "Naked", "Bumper to Bumper", "Take Me Home", "One of These Girls", and "Baby Come Round" with Watkins and Wilson, none of them singles , but all of them tracks which lent
833-623: A book because she was always too busy looking after her children. Beckham's second book, a fashion advice guide titled That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything in Between , was published on 27 October 2006. That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything in Between includes tips from Beckham on fashion, style and beauty, and also contains photography by Mario Testino , Annie Leibovitz and Steven Meisel . The book became another best-seller, and has sold 400,000 copies in Britain alone since it
952-528: A cameo appearance as herself in an episode of the second season of ABC 's TV series Ugly Betty . The episode, " A Nice Day for a Posh Wedding ", aired on 9 November 2007 in the United States and on 23 November in the United Kingdom. Despite her forays into television, Beckham has denied plans to embark upon a Hollywood movie career. In February 2008, it was revealed that Beckham would be the guest judge for
1071-670: A company linked to the Victoria Beckham fashion business, was the best performing brand in the family's three businesses in 2012, coming close to matching turnover in a sister company that promotes the David Beckham brand. In 2010, Beckhams's charity work with Save the Children was nominated for the Do Something With Style Award, an awards show, produced by VH1 . She is an International Goodwill Ambassador for UNAIDS and
1190-595: A half-hour unscripted reality TV series. Despite original plans for six episodes, the show was cut to a one-hour special only as there "just wasn't enough (material) for a series." The show, called Victoria Beckham: Coming to America , aired on 16 July 2007 in the US and Canada. It was heavily scrutinised by the American media and critics, with the New York Post describing it as "an orgy of self-indulgence" and also describing Beckham as "vapid and condescending". The programme
1309-555: A huge impact in Asian countries, selling two million copies in Japan and Southeast Asia by 1997, peaking at number seven in Japan and certified four-times Platinum, with sales of 718,432 copies by March 1997. In the United States, Spice debuted at number six on the Billboard 200 , eventually reaching number one for five weeks and selling 1.46 million in its first 12 weeks of release. It became
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#17328762815301428-453: A lip tint and waterproof lip pencils, was released the following month. Beckham has shot five official documentaries. The first, dated 11 January 2000, was called Victoria's Secrets , a programme only shown in the UK on Channel 4 . It involved Beckham being followed by cameras while also discussing and interviewing other British celebrities, such as Elton John . The second, Being Victoria Beckham ,
1547-473: A more urban sound, she began working with producer Damon Dash the following year on R&B and hip hop influenced tracks for an album tentatively titled Come Together. The Dash-produced track "It's That Simple" featuring M.O.P. premiered on radio stations in July 2003 as a promotional single, generating mixed reviews. Beckham's first single with Telstar, the double A-side " Let Your Head Go " / " This Groove ",
1666-523: A musical. The following year, Judy Craymer teamed up with the Spice Girls and Simon Fuller to start developing a Spice Girls musical titled Viva Forever! . On 26 June 2012, all five Spice Girls were in attendance at a press conference in London to promote the launch of Viva Forever! The musical opened at the West End's Piccadilly Theatre on 11 December 2012. On 12 August 2012, after much speculation, Beckham and
1785-418: A new line for children's wear. In 2018, the collection was presented at London Fashion Week instead of at New York Fashion Week as normal. In 2019, a spokesperson for the brand confirmed that the line would remain fur-free, and announced that as of the autumn/winter collection, it would also be free of any exotic skins. Despite her high social profile, her fashion brand has not been a business success. In 2018
1904-499: A new official website, dvbstyle.com to promote her fashion work. On 14 June 2007, Beckham launched dvb Denim collection in New York at Saks Fifth Avenue , along with unveiling her eyewear range in the United States for the first time. In the same month, Beckham made her first appearance at London's annual Graduate Fashion Week as a judge alongside Glenda Bailey (editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar ) and Lanvin 's Alber Elbaz , to choose
2023-475: A patron of the Elton John AIDS Foundation . Beckham promotes faux/synthetic furs . Her stand against the fur industry generated praise from animal rights organizations , including PETA ; Beckham has stated that she is "supportive of its [PETA's] high-profile anti-fur campaigns", and pledged "never to work with fur in any of her own fashion collections". In February 2013, she was assessed as one of
2142-676: A period exclusively dressed by him for red-carpet and social events. For the March 2006 issue of Harper's Bazaar , Beckham acted as fashion editor when she styled her close friend, Katie Holmes , for a fashion shoot. She has admitted to a personal love of sunglasses, saying "I'm quite obsessed with sunglasses. I collect vintage Guccis and Carreras – they can make virtually any outfit look cool." After Beckham's departure from Rock & Republic, in September 2006, she furthered her fashion ventures by launching her own denim label, dvb Style. Beckham then launched
2261-448: A recording contract with her group label Virgin Records . Her next single as a solo artist, " Not Such An Innocent Girl ", was released on 17 September 2001. Again, she faced competition in another hugely hyped chart battle, this time with Kylie Minogue 's single " Can't Get You Out of My Head ". Despite a huge promotional campaign, Beckham was outsold eight to one, and her single debuted at number 6. Beckham's eponymous debut album , which
2380-680: A ticket to her bi-annual show at New York Fashion Week." Beckham was appointed an OBE in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to the fashion industry. Beckham was born Victoria Caroline Adams on 17 April 1974 at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow , Essex, England, and raised in Goffs Oak , Hertfordshire. She is the eldest of three children of Jacqueline Doreen (née Cannon), a former insurance clerk and hairdresser, and Anthony William Adams, who worked as an electronics engineer, and drove
2499-512: A tip-off to Scotland Yard detectives exposed a plot to kidnap Victoria and Brooklyn Beckham and hold them at a house in Hampstead , London. The family was then moved to a secret location, but no arrests were made. In March of that year, she received a death threat prior to performing at the Brit Awards with the Spice Girls, and at the show's rehearsal, a red laser light appeared on her chest and she
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#17328762815302618-510: A total of 23 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album in music history by a girl group and one of the best-selling albums of all time . Four singles were released from the album. The lead single, " Wannabe ", reached number one in 37 countries, becoming one of the best-selling singles of all time as of 2010 by selling over six million copies worldwide. The next two singles, " Say You'll Be There " and " 2 Become 1 ", reached number one in 53 countries. " Who Do You Think You Are "
2737-581: A touch of classy R&B feel to the Spice album and singles. Absolute also produced all of these songs as well as the three tracks penned with Eliot Kennedy: "Say You'll Be There" "Love Thing" and later "Step to me" giving the duo a guiding hand in six of the ten tracks that eventually ended up on Spice . The tracks that Absolute produced were recorded for the most part at Olympic Studios in Barnes . At this time in 1995, Auto-Tune had not yet come to market and most of
2856-630: A weapon to be deployed along with any other skills that would help to get a result. Released as the group's debut single in July 1996, " Wannabe " topped the UK Singles Chart for seven weeks and received a Platinum certification by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). In January 1997 it was released in the United States, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks. It was the group's only number-one single in that country. By
2975-427: A wish to meet David during a Spice Girls football photo session (by chance, she wore the kit of his club Manchester United for the feature as the group's manager was a supporter). Of their initial meeting, she said, "I didn't really know who he was. I was never into football." Initially, they kept their relationship out of the public eye. The couple announced their engagement in 1998 and were dubbed " Posh and Becks " by
3094-422: A £100,000 pink one. The full collection is estimated to be worth more than £1.5 million. In early 1997 she started dating footballer David Beckham , after they met at a charity football match; prior to this he had watched her music videos and commented to teammates that he was attracted to her, but had been overcome with shyness when they were first introduced. A few months earlier, Victoria had also expressed
3213-558: A £3 million renovation and was subsequently dubbed Beckingham Palace by the media. They sold the property in 2014. Victoria and David have four children: sons Brooklyn (born 1999), Romeo (born 2002) and Cruz (born 2005), and a daughter, Harper (born 2011). Elton John and David Furnish are reportedly the godparents of Brooklyn and another son and their godmother is Elizabeth Hurley . Two children were baptized Catholic at Holy Trinity, Chipping Norton ; among their godparents were Eva Longoria and Marc Anthony . In January 2000,
3332-528: Is the best-selling female group of all time , selling over 80 million records worldwide. After the release of their third album, Forever , which charted at number two in the UK but was far less successful than their previous two albums, the Spice Girls stopped recording, concentrating on their solo careers in regards to their foreseeable future. On 14 August 2000, Beckham released her first solo single, " Out of Your Mind " in collaboration with Dane Bowers and Truesteppers . The week of release coincided with
3451-438: Is about the "fun" the group experienced together, and how it was fate that they came to know each other. The ninth track, "Naked" deals with vulnerability and the step from girls to women and how this process made the group stronger, something they were experiencing at that moment. It received mixed reviews from critics; some described it as "soulful and funky as anything by TLC or Brand New Heavies ", while others considered
3570-406: Is about the presumptuous superstar life and how someone can get trapped in the world of fame. The inspiration for this song came from some of the people the group met in the music industry. It was well received by critics, who thought that the song was one of the group's "strongest and underrated songs" and that it "still feels relevant today". "Something Kinda Funny", the eighth track of the album,
3689-408: Is an uptempo pop song with elements of white hip–hop, rap and dance music. Two of the three ballads of the album, " 2 Become 1 " and " Mama ", were co–written and produced by Stannard and Rowe, and both feature the use of keyboards, guitars, string arrangements and backing vocals. Production duo Absolute incorporated a mix of dance-pop, funk and R&B on " Say You'll Be There ", which includes
Victoria Beckham - Misplaced Pages Continue
3808-415: Is married to former association football player David Beckham , and they have four children, including Brooklyn and Romeo . As of May 2019, the couple's joint wealth is estimated at £355 million. Following high-profile collaborations with other brands, Beckham launched an eponymous label in 2008, and a lower-priced ( diffusion ) label in 2011. The Victoria Beckham label was named designer brand of
3927-503: Is the name given to a person upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname , the given name , or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth register may by that fact alone become the person's legal name . The assumption in the Western world is often that the name from birth (or perhaps from baptism or brit milah ) will persist to adulthood in
4046-461: Is the masculine form. The term née , having feminine grammatical gender , can be used to denote a woman's surname at birth that has been replaced or changed. In most English-speaking cultures, it is specifically applied to a woman's maiden name after her surname has changed due to marriage. The term né can be used to denote a man's surname at birth that has subsequently been replaced or changed. The diacritic mark (the acute accent ) over
4165-540: The Los Angeles Times found the group's music and image "shamelessly one-dimensional", while Christina Kelly from Rolling Stone dismissed them as another " bubblegum-pop " group who "offer a watered-down mix of hip-hop and cheesy pop balladry", stating that "despite their pro-woman posing, the Girls don't get bogged down by anything deeper than mugging for promo shots and giving out tips on getting boys in bed." Spice
4284-494: The 2017 New Year Honours ' official publication, she was criticised for the "betrayal of etiquette" by the Conservative MP Peter Bone . Beckham was engaged to electrician Mark Wood with whom she was in a relationship from 1988 to 1994. She then had a relationship with Canadian actor Corey Haim in 1995, which ended on mutual terms. She collects handbags , and owns over 100 Birkin bags , made by Hermès , including
4403-431: The Spice Girls performed a medley of "Wannabe" and "Spice Up Your Life" at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony , reuniting solely for the event. Their performance was the most tweeted moment of Olympics closing ceremony with over 116,000 tweets on Twitter per minute. The band reunited again for a 2019 tour , however Beckham opted not to participate in the reunion choosing to focus on her fashion label instead. When
4522-456: The e is considered significant to its spelling, and ultimately its meaning, but is sometimes omitted. According to Oxford University 's Dictionary of Modern English Usage , the terms are typically placed after the current surname (e.g., " Margaret Thatcher , née Roberts" or " Bill Clinton , né Blythe"). Since they are terms adopted into English (from French), they do not have to be italicized , but they often are. In Polish tradition ,
4641-710: The 100 most powerful women in the UK in the fashion category by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4 . In 2014, Beckham joined the Ban Bossy campaign as a spokesperson advocating leadership roles for girls. Beckham was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to the fashion industry. She stated she was "delighted and humbled for the recognition," which her husband also received in 2003. However, as recipients of honours are sworn to secrecy, and Beckham had announced her honour before
4760-406: The American television presenter Ellen DeGeneres asked her why she chose not to join with the other Spice Girls for the reunion tour, she said "It just didn't feel like the right thing to do. [But] I'll always be Posh Spice, always." Beckham made a guest appearance on the catwalk for Maria Grachvogel on 17 February 2000, marking her debut as a model at London Fashion Week . Beckham also acted as
4879-456: The Beckhams sitting on golden thrones. Victoria wore a diamond coronet created for her by jewellery designer Slim Barrett . A total of 437 staff were employed for the wedding reception, which was estimated to have cost £500,000 (US$ 823,650). The couple bought what became their most famous home for £2.5 million in 1999; the property, which is set in 24 acres (9.7 ha) of land, was given
Victoria Beckham - Misplaced Pages Continue
4998-453: The Beckhams' move to Madrid from London after David Beckham was signed to Real Madrid . In those years, she suffered a jealousy attack and had a fight in a gym with Ana Obregón because her husband David and Ana had been sending phone messages. It also featured Victoria Beckham re-launching her solo career and showed her mocking the tabloid stories she reads in the paper every day. The special received an audience of 6.10 million viewers and
5117-548: The Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) for shipments of one million copies. The album sold 10 million copies worldwide in its first seven months. In total, Spice has sold 23 million copies worldwide, becoming the biggest-selling album by a girl group in music history and one of the most successful albums of all time . Following the Spice World Tour announcement, Spice re-entered
5236-413: The Spice Girls reformed and announced plans to embark upon a reunion tour , from which they were said to have earned £10 million each (approximately $ 20 million). Beckham had previously stated that she and her former Spice colleagues were enjoying their solo careers in various fields, saying "We're all still doing our own thing." Their Greatest Hits album was released in early-November 2007 and
5355-470: The Spice Girls, her marriage and family life, as well as her career at the time. Learning to Fly became the third best-selling non-fiction title of 2001 and the total UK sales stand at more than 500,000 copies. When the book was first released, it went to Number 1 in the book charts after four weeks of release, relegating Robbie Williams ' book to second place. A high-profile guest appearance on Parkinson , watched by nine million people, helped to promote
5474-477: The Top Three. These were strongly denied at the time. Beckham commented "You know what newspapers are like, they just like to put all the negative stuff in, but as far as I'm concerned and the record company is concerned it is all great." A third single, "I Wish", was promoted but never materialised. The single version was a remix featuring Robbie Craig, and was performed on TV on Friday Night's All Wright . Following
5593-541: The UK Albums Chart at number 94 on 16 November 2018 and at number 84 on 16 June 2019. To mark the 25th anniversary of "Wannabe", an EP of the group's debut single was released in July 2021 that included previously unreleased demos. On 1 September 2021, the Spice Girls announced the re-release of Spice to mark the album's 25th anniversary, titled Spice25 . The deluxe double album was released on 29 October 2021 and contains remixes, demos and unreleased tracks. Also,
5712-923: The United Kingdom. In Europe, the album became the biggest-selling album of 1997 and was certified eight-times Platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for sales in excess of eight million copies. The album reached number one in France and was certified Diamond by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP), triple Gold in Germany by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI), and 10-times Platinum in Spain for one million copies sold. The album also made
5831-511: The United Kingdom. In July 1997, the song was released in the United States, peaking at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 , and receiving a Gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It performed similarly internationally, peaking inside the top 10 on the majority of the charts that it entered. " Mama " and " Who Do You Think You Are " was released as a double A-side single in March 1997 as
5950-494: The act of sex; in addition, the lyrics address the importance of contraception . "Love Thing" is the fourth track; it focuses on relationships and how after many disappointments the girls do not want to know anything about love. The song symbolizes the Girl Power philosophy by showing the support between each other and finding the strength to continue. The fifth track, "Last Time Lover", was originally called "First Time Lover" and
6069-410: The album "a devilishly good pop collection", and Lois Alter Mark from the same magazine described the Spice Girls as " Go-Go's with attitude", while also noting that "with their brash attitudes and rude behavior, the girls may not be ideal role models" for children. LAUNCHcast 's Dev Sherlock called Spice "pure upbeat ear candy" and said that it was "one of the most fun and exciting pop releases of
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#17328762815306188-486: The album as "a consummate state-of-the-art pop record, as good as the mainstream ever gets", with "some of if not the best pop music of the year." AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine deemed it "immaculately crafted pop" that is "infectious" and "irresistible", adding that " Spice doesn't need to be original to be entertaining" and that "none of the girls have great voices, but they do exude personality and charisma ". Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly called
6307-457: The album's last track "If U Can't Dance". In May 1995, the group was introduced to Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins, the songwriters and production duo known as Absolute . Watkins commented about their first meeting, "They played us a few tracks, which we didn't particularly like. So we thought, this is OK. We can work with this." A songwriting session was booked within the next few days at Absolute's studio located on Tagg's Island near Chertsey , but
6426-580: The announcement of Beckham's second pregnancy, the single was shelved. Beckham was reportedly dropped by Virgin Records along with fellow Spice Girls Emma Bunton and Melanie B , but a statement from her publicist denied reports, stating: "No-one has been dropped. The Virgin deal has come to a natural end and both parties have decided not to continue." In 2002, Beckham signed a contract with Telstar Records and 19 Management worth £1.5 million. In 2002, she began recording an electropop-influenced album, tentatively titled Open Your Eyes . However, desiring
6545-515: The beauty brand "Victoria Beckham Beauty". Together with co-founder Sarah Creal, she showcased the brand at London Fashion Week . Secondary packaging of the makeup is made from 100% post-consumer waste , while shipping materials are either recyclable or biodegradable . Beckham has described it as "active and effective, but clean and kind." The brand's first line of products was eye makeup , and included eye liner, individual eye shadows, and an eye shadow palette. A line of lip products, comprising
6664-480: The biggest-selling album of 1997, with 5,302,000 million copies sold by the end of the year. On 19 May 1999, the album was certified seven-times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and as of May 2017, it had sold 7.5 million copies in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan . In Canada, the album topped the Canadian Albums Chart . It was certified 10-times Platinum (Diamond) by
6783-480: The book. Hello! , Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday joined to buy the rights to preview and serialise the book before its publication. The figure paid was thought to be near £1 million. Beckham was quoted by a Spanish journalist in 2005 as saying: "I've never read a book in my life". She later explained this was a mistranslation from the original Spanish in which the interview was printed, saying she actually stated that she never had time to finish reading
6902-452: The business name of Heart Management, placed an advert in The Stage magazine, which asked the question: "Are you street smart, extrovert, ambitious, and able to sing and dance?". The management received hundreds of replies, but eventually reduced their search down to a final group of five girls: Victoria Beckham , Mel B , Melanie C , Geri Halliwell and Michelle Stephenson . The new band
7021-458: The charts in more than 17 countries across the world, and was certified Multi-Platinum in 27 countries, Platinum in 14 countries and Gold in three countries, including 10-times Platinum in the United Kingdom and Canada, eight-times Platinum in Europe, and seven-times Platinum in the United States. It became the world's top-selling album of 1997, selling 19 million copies in over a year. The album has sold
7140-452: The day after the departure from Heart Management and looked for the first phone book they came across; Eliot was the third Kennedy that they called. That evening they went to his house and persuaded him to work with them. The rest of the girls travelled to Sheffield the next day. Kennedy commented about the session: "None of them played instruments, so I was left to do the music and get that vibe together. What I said to them was, 'Look, I've got
7259-480: The end of 1996, "Wannabe" had topped the charts in 22 nations, and by March 1997 this number had climbed to 31. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, who called it "a melodious but disposable tune that typifies this debut's tart bubblegum and packaged sexiness" and found the track as "more a compendium of music styles than an actual song", it became the best-selling single by a female group, selling over six million copies worldwide. " Say You'll Be There "
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#17328762815307378-426: The event itself, where the menu was designed, especially by friend and chef Gordon Ramsay , and the charity auction was hosted by Graham Norton . Ramsay catered for 600 guests, with the aid of 40 chefs and 100 waiting staff. The ITV documentary attracted an average of 7.56 million viewers. To document Victoria Beckham's preparations for her family's move to the US, she signed a deal with NBC for six episodes of
7497-764: The finale of fourth season of Project Runway , which aired on 5 March 2008 in the US. It was reported in October 2007 that Beckham had turned down the opportunity to appear in Sex and the City: The Movie . She stated in an interview: "[I was] asked to be in the Sex and the City film, which I would have loved to have done, but because I am in full-on Spice Girls rehearsal mode, unfortunately, I can't do it." In 2010, Beckham voiced Queen Amphitrite in an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants . She said it
7616-410: The first session with Stannard and Rowe, they wrote "Feed Your Love", a slow, soulful song which was eventually recorded and mastered for the album, but not released because it was considered too rude and racy for their target audience. Having completed that session, the girls wanted to write something more uptempo , so they started to write the song that would be the lead of the album, " Wannabe ", which
7735-564: The following months the group continued to meet with producers, wrote new songs, prepared demos and searched for a new manager. They met again with the writers Stannard and Rowe. They had previously worked with the girls in January 1995 before their departure from Heart Management; that was the group's first professional songwriting session, held at the Strongroom in Curtain Road, east London. In
7854-507: The group and watched the evolution in their singing and writing abilities. Together they composed a song called "Sugar and Spice", which served as the inspiration behind the change of the group's name to "Spice". Eventually the name was changed again to "Spice Girls" due to an American rapper using the name "Spice" at the time. On 3 March 1995, because of the group's frustration at their management's unwillingness to listen to their visions and ideas, they parted from Heart Management. The group stole
7973-523: The group signed a deal with Virgin Records , and continued to write and record tracks for their debut album while touring the west coast of the United States, where they signed a publishing deal with Windswept Pacific in November. The Spice Girls were fully involved in the writing of all the songs. Halliwell in particular was clearly a fund of ideas for songs, arriving at sessions with her book of jottings, notes and miscellaneous scribblings which often produced
8092-597: The group's fourth single. It became the group's fourth consecutive number-one single in the United Kingdom, making them the first act in UK chart history to have its first four singles reach number one. Additionally, it was certified Platinum by the BPI, and performed well internationally, reaching the top 10 in many European countries and New Zealand, and the top 20 in Australia, France, and Norway. Spice received mixed reviews from pop music critics. In NME , Mark Sutherland praised
8211-550: The label was losing £4,000 a day. In November 2019, the BBC reported that "Victoria Beckham's fashion business has posted another annual loss as demand for the former Spice Girl's high end clothes "plateaued". Victoria Beckham Limited, which has not made a profit since it launched in 2008, reported a loss of £12.3m for 2018. Sales slipped 16% to £35m, amid weaker wholesale demand. Chairman Ralph Toledano said sales of clothing and accessories had levelled off after years of growth. "The performance
8330-411: The lead single "Wannabe" makes demands of sincerity and is a feminist message of choosing friends over relationships; "Say You'll Be There" motivates girls to stand up for themselves as individuals, while the focus of "Love Thing" is the symbolic expression of unity as a group; "Something Kinda Funny" deals with the identification of goals in life and "Last Time Lover" encourages the use of sexual charm as
8449-424: The lyrics. But in musical terms it was not a partnership of equals. Rowe commented: "We had to kind of steer it. It was very different for different tracks really. Some of them were when we were all jamming in the room. We'd just put up some drum sounds and start making things up. On other tracks me and Richard [Stannard] would prepare something beforehand and play it to them. We'd have some lyrics and make them write
8568-764: The main fashion line and diffusion range, the Victoria Beckham brand still includes separate denim, eyewear and fragrance lines. In November 2011, Victoria Beckham won Designer Brand of the Year at the British Fashion Awards . In September 2012, Victoria Beckham was the most talked about designer on Twitter during New York Fashion Week , also acquiring 57,000 new followers during the shows according to research by The Whispr Group. Writing in The Independent in February 2014, Alexander Fury described how Victoria Beckham had made
8687-587: The master recordings of their discography from the management offices in order to ensure they kept full control of their own work. The group were supposed to meet with producer Eliot Kennedy the week after they left their former managers, but the meeting was arranged by the Herberts weeks before their departure. But without access to Herbert's address book, they knew nothing of Kennedy's whereabouts other than he lived in Sheffield . Mel B and Halliwell drove to Sheffield
8806-497: The media. On 4 July 1999, Victoria and David were married by the Bishop of Cork, Paul Colton , at Luttrellstown Castle , Ireland. The wedding attracted much media coverage. Beckham's teammate, Gary Neville , was the best man, and the couple's four-month-old son Brooklyn was the ring bearer. Most of the media were kept away from the ceremony as an exclusive deal with OK! magazine had been arranged, but photographs were released showing
8925-497: The music of the late 1970s. "If U Can't Dance", another heavily dance–oriented song, features a rap section performed by Halliwell in Spanish and contains a sample of Digital Underground 's song " The Humpty Dance ". The main concept of the album centred on the idea of Girl Power , embodying a feminist image, as both Madonna and Bananarama had employed before. Every track of the album deals with different aspects of this notion:
9044-401: The musical association between them did not seem to go well at the beginning. Wilson remembered, "When they started to sing it was never quite right: from our point of view. It was very poptastic." Watkins recalled, "After two sessions we phoned our managers and said 'This just ain't happening'." It was at this point that Watkins and Wilson heard " Wannabe " for the first time. When speaking about
9163-498: The musical film Fame in 1980, she decided to pursue a musical career. Jacqueline and Anthony Adams enrolled her at Jason Theatre School. In 1991, Beckham entered Laine Theatre Arts in Epsom, Surrey and studied dance and modelling. Beckham attended St. Mary's High School in Cheshunt , where she was embarrassed by her family's wealth and often begged her father not to drop her off outside
9282-405: The normal course of affairs—either throughout life or until marriage. Some reasons for changes of a person's name include middle names , diminutive forms, changes relating to parental status (due to one's parents' divorce or adoption by different parents), and gender transition . The French and English-adopted née is the feminine past participle of naître , which means "to be born". Né
9401-414: The production duo Absolute . Spice is a pop album that incorporates styles such as dance , R&B and hip hop . It is considered to be the record that brought teen pop back, opening the doors for a wave of teen pop artists. Conceptually, the album centered on the idea of Girl Power , and the hype surrounding the group was compared to Beatlemania . A worldwide commercial success, Spice topped
9520-457: The release of " Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) " by Spiller featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor , resulting in a chart battle dubbed 'Posh vs. Posher' by the tabloids. Before the single's release, on 8 July 2000, Beckham made her public solo debut at London's Hyde Park at a concert to raise money for the Prince's Trust charity. She sang "Out of Your Mind" to a 100,000-strong audience. Beckham then signed
9639-448: The school in their Rolls-Royce . Eventually, she became a member of a band called Persuasion. Beckham auditioned for a March 1994 advertisement in The Stage which required girls who were "street smart, extrovert[ed], ambitious and able to sing and dance". In 1994, Beckham joined the all-female group, the Spice Girls . In the recordings before her marriage, she is credited with her maiden name as Victoria Adams. The group's first single
9758-500: The second verse." The Spice Girls introduced two key innovations that have had a lasting impact on the way which modern pop acts go about their creative business. Firstly they introduced the idea of songwriting identity. This was a familiar concept in rock bands like Queen or the Sex Pistols , but not in the world of " manufactured pop ", where the credits of songwriting would be divided out strictly in accordance with whoever had written
9877-456: The single version of 2 Become 1 was included as the third track on the album, instead of the original album version. The CDs come in an A5 hardback booklet, with a collection of iconic images and a set of six Spice Girls postcards, while the original album is also available on limited edition vinyl and cassette. The Spice25 reissue saw the album re-enter the UK Albums Chart at number five with 7,798 copies sold, while reaching number three on
9996-415: The song as a "bit of a let down". The last track of the album, "If U Can't Dance", deals with preconceived ideas about people and how sometimes they are totally different from what they appear. Spice is a pop album with a diverse inclusion of musical styles such as dance , R&B , hip hop , soul , rap and funk , which lead some reviewers to call it a pop collection. The lead single, " Wannabe "
10115-463: The song, Wilson said, "We listened to it and we didn't get it at all. It was so different to what we were doing. We thought is this going to work?". The next session was the definite one; either they would continue to work with the group or break up their relationship. Wilson recalled, "Every previous time we'd met up with the girls we had prepared a backing track. This time we had nothing." Watkins also said, "They said they wanted to do something up and
10234-399: The song. The Spice Girls recognised their solidarity as a group, which depended on maintaining parity in all departments, including the songwriting credits and the resulting royalties . They share the songwriting royalties on all the songs irrespective of what any member of the group had or had not contributed to any particular song. The second thing the Spice Girls established from the outset
10353-484: The starting point of a lyric or a song title or just an agenda for the day's work. Watkins commented, "Geri [Halliwell] would come up with the concept for a song. Typically, she'd sing one line and the girls would pick up on it or we'd pick up on it and construct around it and then [Melanie C] and Emma [Bunton] would be very active. They'd really like to sit and sing melodies and go off and come up with little sections." They "conceptualised" and sang bits of melody and wrote
10472-637: The term z domu (literally meaning "of the house", de domo in Latin ) may be used, with rare exceptions, meaning the same as née . Spice (album) Spice is the debut studio album by English girl group the Spice Girls , released in Japan on 19 September 1996 and in the United Kingdom on 4 November 1996 by Virgin Records . The album was recorded between 1995 and 1996 at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London , and Strongroom Studios in Shoreditch, London , by producers Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard , and
10591-431: The things the group had been through together and how they had always been there for each other. It received mixed reviews; some critics praised it as a catchy song, while others dubbed it as merely a bid for credibility, while others described the lyrics as "confusing". The third single " 2 Become 1 " focused upon the bonding of lovers, and how the bond can become so strong that they practically become one entity, through
10710-468: The top five in Canada and peaking at number three in the United States. " 2 Become 1 " was released as the group's third single on 16 December 1996. It was generally well-received by music critics and was a commercial success. It topped the UK Singles Chart for three weeks, becoming the group's third consecutive chart-topper, their second million-selling single, and their first Christmas number-one single in
10829-433: The tour began on 2 December 2007. At its advent, Beckham said "I wanted my children to see that Mummy was a pop star. It was the last opportunity for them to stand in a crowd full of people screaming for the Spice Girls." When Beckham had her hair coloured brown for the tour, she stated that her sons immediately reacted by saying "Oh my goodness, it's Posh Spice. She's back." Film-maker Bob Smeaton directed an official film of
10948-505: The tour titled Spice Girls: Giving You Everything , which was first aired on Fox8 in Australia. It later aired in the UK, on 31 December 2007 on BBC One. As well as their sell-out tour, the Spice Girls were contracted to appear in Tesco advertisements, for which they were paid £1 million each. In October 2009, reports suggested that the Spice Girls were to star in a reality show in which they would cast female actors to play their roles in
11067-467: The transition from novelty to respected designer, citing her recent guest editorship of French Vogue and forthcoming participation in a panel discussion with the dean of Parsons design school in New York. The article concluded that the brand's sales were down to the appeal of the designs themselves, not the celebrity association. In 2017, Beckham's new collection for Target featured a wide range of sizes from XS to 3X for women. Beckham also introduced
11186-411: The vocals were recorded with few adjustments made afterwards. Absolute told Simon Fuller about the group they had worked with and asked whether he would consider managing them. Fuller received a demo of "Something Kinda Funny", one of the songs the group wrote with Absolute. He showed interest in the group, began a relationship and decided to sign them at 19 Management in March 1995. In September 1995
11305-553: The winner of the River Island Gold Award, worth £20,000. In August 2007, Intimately Beckham perfume was launched into US stores, one of more than 20 perfumes she and David Beckham have introduced over the years. In September 2007 her cosmetics line V-Sculpt was launched in Tokyo. In a 2007 appearance at an LA Galaxy press conference, Beckham is credited with having popularised Roland Mouret 's 'moon dress' and his brand, and Beckham
11424-411: The writing process between the group and the duo, Rowe credits Mel B as the one who came up with the song's concept. During the writing process, each member wrote a small verse in a different corner of the recording studio, while the chorus was finished around the piano with a guitar. Then, the producers added a gospel choir filled with the group's harmonies at the end of the song. They also produced
11543-514: The year in the UK in 2011; in 2012 the brand was assessed as the star performer in the Beckham family's business interests. Writing in the Daily Telegraph in 2011, Belinda White noted that the transition from WAG to fashion designer had been more successful than most had predicted, saying: "She has gathered a significant celebrity following and won over the scathing fashion pack who now clamour for
11662-406: The year", finding that the Spice Girls' Girl Power philosophy is "a well-balanced manifesto for young women everywhere that is neither twee nor riot grrrl -angry." In The Guardian , Caroline Sullivan wrote that despite the album's "unbelievably slick" and commercial sound, "all those Girl Power declarations aren't just empty slogans, one feels." Other critics were less receptive. Sara Scribner of
11781-503: Was a straight 50–50 split between them and their various songwriting collaborators. Here they anticipated one of the key developments in the pop industry since the 1990s, namely the increasing importance of publishing royalties as opposed to royalties payments made for the performance of the song on the record. In an interview with Apple Music for the Spice25 release, Melanie C divulged, "We had [a] risqué song called 'C U Next Tuesday', which
11900-415: Was about the loss of virginity, but was discarded and changed to a song full of provocations, where sex is the main issue. The sixth track, " Mama ", was dedicated to the group's mothers, and deals with the difficulties in the relationships between mothers and teenagers that appear during adolescence. Reviewers described the ballad as "glossy" and "corny". The seventh track, " Who Do You Think You Are ",
12019-658: Was also the face of Marc Jacobs for his Spring 2008 collection. Beckham has graced countless fashion magazine covers during her career, including I-D in 2004 and W in 2007. Her first Vogue appearance was the April 2008 British edition . This was followed by Vogue India , Vogue Paris as well as the German, Russian, Australian, Turkish, Taiwanese, Chinese and Spanish editions. Beckham has also graced various international editions of Harper's Bazaar and Elle . On 17 July 2018, Victoria's collection of her Reebok collaboration
12138-544: Was broadcast in March 2002 and saw Beckham discussing her career as a solo artist with the release of her first album, and also showed her at various photo shoots and recording sessions. The documentary attracted a strong audience of 8.83 million, coming top in its timeslot. One critic described her as "so clearly level-headed, happy with her not inconsiderable lot and seemingly unfazed by the madly intrusive nature of her monumentally ridiculous fame". The third, The Real Beckhams , aired on 24 December 2003 on ITV1 and focused on
12257-421: Was called " Wannabe " (1996), and she worked alongside Geri Halliwell , Emma Bunton , Mel B and Melanie C . It went to number one in the United Kingdom and United States, and another 35 countries. It was followed by eight further number one singles from their albums Spice , Spiceworld and Forever . Each member of the group received a nickname from the media and Beckham was named "Posh Spice". The group
12376-411: Was in line with expectations, so we were not surprised. Our goal is to reach profitability as soon as possible," he told trade journal Business of Fashion. "Mrs Beckham launched her label in 2008 with a collection of luxury dresses, and now sells fashion and accessories in more than 400 stores around the world." In 2022, Beckham's fashion label was £54 million in debt. In September 2019, Beckham launched
12495-547: Was later released on DVD on 2 February 2004. The fourth was titled Full Length & Fabulous: The Beckhams' 2006 World Cup Party , and followed Victoria and David Beckham organising and making preparations to host a 2006 World Cup Party at a marquee in the grounds of their mansion in Hertfordshire , which aimed to raise money for their charity. Two tickets to attend the ball were auctioned on-line for charity, and sold for £103,000. The documentary aired on 28 May 2006 and showed
12614-464: Was launched. Beckham's eponymous label was launched in September 2008 in a low-key presentation. By 2011, it had grown into a fixture of New York Fashion Week and a lower-priced Victoria by Victoria Beckham label was introduced. In the first quarter of 2011–12, it was predicted to generate annual sales of more than £60 million. Known initially for its dresses, the range has expanded into separates and luxury handbags selling at up to £18,000. Alongside
12733-439: Was nominated for the 1997 Mercury Prize . However, it lost to New Forms by Roni Size & Reprazent . Reflecting on the album in 2019, Pitchfork ' s Aimee Cliff opined that despite its somewhat "flimsy" feminism, " Spice remains an audacious achievement ... it snuck five Girls who were not on the guest list inside the establishment, causing chaos for a brief, surreal moment." The commercial success of Spice
12852-642: Was originally called Touch and moved to a house in Maidenhead . Emma Bunton was the last to join after Stephenson dropped out when her mother became ill. The group felt insecure about the lack of contract and were frustrated by the direction in which Heart Management was steering them. In October 1994, armed with a catalog of demos and dance routines, the group began touring management agencies. They started to meet with producers, musicians and other business executives, among which were composer Tim Hawes , and writers Richard Stannard and Matthew Rowe. Hawes worked with
12971-465: Was published in hardcover. The rights have since been sold to the United States, the Netherlands, Japan, Portugal, Lithuania , Russia, and, most recently, China. In 2007, Beckham was the 52nd richest woman in Britain and the 19th richest person in Britain along with her husband David, with an estimated joint wealth of £112 million ($ 225 million). According to The Guardian , Beckham Ventures,
13090-453: Was recorded in under an hour—mainly because they had already written parts of the songs beforehand. The next song they recorded was a slow ballad and the third track on and single from the album, " 2 Become 1 ". The song was inspired by the special relationship which had developed between Halliwell and Rowe during the session. "Mama" was written by the Spice Girls with songwriting partners Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard . In an interview about
13209-608: Was released as the album's second single on 14 October 1996. It became the group's second number-one single in the United Kingdom, and was certified Platinum by the BPI. It was a commercial success across Europe, reaching the top 10 in most of the charts that it entered. As a result of its popularity, the song was released in 1997 in Australia, receiving a Gold certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), and in North America, entering
13328-501: Was released as the official Comic Relief single in the UK as a double A-side with " Mama " and both songs reached the top 20 in charts across Europe, Australia and New Zealand. In the band's native UK, all four singles went to number one on the UK Singles Chart and, on the Billboard Hot 100 , the album spawned three top-five singles. In February 1994, Chris and Bob Herbert , who together with financer Chic Murphy traded under
13447-704: Was released in the UK on 29 December 2003, utilizing one song from both projects: "Let Your Head Go" from Open Your Eyes and "This Groove" from Come Together. The release received heavy promotion and many TV appearances across the Christmas period and charted at number three in the UK. Outside of the UK, Simon Fuller reportedly had planned to market Beckham’s music in the US. In April 2004, Telstar announced bankruptcy and both albums were cancelled, while Beckham, disappointed with wasted time in studio, gave up music to focus on her fashion career. The albums were never released, but have since leaked online in their entirety. In 2007,
13566-459: Was released on 1 October 2001, reached Number 10 in the UK album chart . The album cost a reputed £5 million to produce and it sold a modest 50,000 copies. The second and final single to be released from the album was " A Mind of Its Own " on 11 February 2002. The single reached number 6 in the UK and sold 56,500 copies. Rumours soon spread that Beckham was to be dropped by her label for not charting in
13685-435: Was rushed off stage. After a fire door was found to be lodged open, it was thought that there had been an assassin there, and Beckham later revealed that she was terrified by the experience. In November 2002, five people were arrested after another plot for her kidnap was infiltrated by a tabloid newspaper. All charges were dropped after a witness was deemed unreliable. Birth name#Maiden and married names A birth name
13804-442: Was the third-most-watched programme in its time-slot and received viewing figures of 4.9 million in the US, beaten by a repeat of Wife Swap and two sitcoms. The programme aired in Britain on 17 July 2007 on ITV with 3.84 million viewers tuning in. The programme was produced by Simon Fuller who managed her and the Spice Girls on their come-back tour. In July 2007, it was announced that Beckham would shortly begin filming
13923-406: Was thrilling to get the invitation, as her children were fans of the show. On 13 September 2001, Beckham released her first book, Learning to Fly . The title was taken from a line in a song from the musical Fame , which Beckham had enjoyed as a child. The verse that inspired the title was: "I'm gonna live forever, I'm gonna learn how to fly". The autobiography documents her childhood, time during
14042-499: Was unprecedented and drew comparisons to Beatlemania (it was dubbed "Spicemania") due to the sheer volume of interest in the group. The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with first-sales of 114,000 copies, spending 15 non-consecutive weeks atop the chart. The album was certified 10-times Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 1 August 1997, and as of November 2021, it had sold 3,022,090 copies in
14161-514: Was vetoed for the 25th anniversary edition, but I do have plans for it. It sounds like a Lily Allen song; it's absolutely brilliant." " Wannabe ", the most emblematic song of the Girl Power philosophy, was chosen as the first track and lead single of the album. It highlights the slogans the group tend to cite like the union and solidarity between friends and the power exercised by women over men. The second single " Say You'll Be There " described
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