Ms. Halliwell, also known as Ginger Spice, cited ''differences between us.'' ''I'm sure the group will continue to be successful, and I wish them all the best. P.S. I'll be back,'' she said in a statement read by her lawyer. [No, no,no,no, NO!!! Just GO AWAY !!] - Charity
Reports that all was not well in Spiceworld surfaced Wednesday after Ms. Halliwell failed to appear with the group at a televised National Lottery Draw. She also missed concerts in Oslo on Thursday and Friday night.
Emma Bunton (Baby Spice), Victoria Adams (Posh Spice), Melanie Chisholm (Sporty Spice) and Melanie Brown (Scary Spice) said the group's U.S. tour, which starts June 14, would not be affected.
LONDON (CP) - 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. [Oh, YES ! There is LIGHT at the end of the tunnel !] - Charity
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. [You liar ! You want to try to bomb on your own ! You want them to suck without you more than they do WITH you ! Bitch.] - Charity
“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. [Damn]
“The Spice Girls are here to stay. See you at the stadiums,” they said in a statement read by Alan Edwards. [Ohh ! Double DAMN !!]
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. [Are we surprised at this ?? Nope.] - Charity
“As popular as they are, they are a lightweight group,” noted David Wigg, music writer for the Mirror newspaper. [He speaks the truth ! Hallelujah!] - Charity
This is good, read this bit here !
“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. [No shit, Sherlock !] - Charity
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 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.”
by Joal Ryan
June 29, 1998, 1:45 p.m. PT
When Geri Halliwell auditioned for the Spice Girls, the story goes, the former game-show hostess was asked how old she was.
Replied Halliwell: "I'm as old or as young as you want me to be."
According to one new report, she wasn't kidding.
A source close to an agent of Halliwell claims the erstwhile Ginger Spice is a decade older than her official bio lets on, the New York Post says.
The paper says its Spice spy places Halliwell's age at 35, going on 36--venerable enough to be mom to prepubescent fans of her former bubblegum singing self.
Notably, Halliwell already was known in Spice circles as "Old Spice." Her reputed August 6, 1972, birthday trumped everybody else in the Generation Next-era group by at least two years.
But given the Post item, some questions must be asked:
Halliwell's London-based attorney couldn't be reached for comment Monday. A spokesman for Virgin Records, the Spice Girls' label, declined to get involved in the age-old controversy.
Exercising some of that Girl Power she was always shouting about, Halliwell jettisoned from Spiceworld May 31.
Reasons for the split have yet to be detailed. Although in light of the recent development, the possibility of a mid-life crisis cannot be discounted.
The remaining Spices, making like a quartet for their first U.S. tour, have yet to comment on the break-up.
But once they start talking, will they dish about math, birthday candles and how both relate to their ex-"Wannabe" mate?
Only Psychic Spice knows for sure. For now, we have only healthy suspicions.
Like: Wasn't it interesting that Halliwell, unlike most of her bandmates, had such an, er, extensive career history?
Prior to going Ginger in 1994, Halliwell worked as: a club dancer in Majorca, a bar maid, an aerobics teacher, a model (sometimes clothed, sometimes not) and a Vanna White-esque presenter on a Turkish game show.
Quite a résumé for a then 21-year-old.
Since her departure from the group, Halliwell reportedly has been hitting the Hollywood audition circuit.
As bad luck would have it, though, it turns out The Golden Girls is no longer in production.
Spice World Baby Boom?
by Joal Ryan
August 24, 1998, 2:05 p.m. PT
What the heck is going on in Spice World ?
Days after a London tab reported that the Spice Girl known as Posh was pregnant, a second London tab blabbed that the Spice Girl known as Scary also was with child.
The bubblegum popsters hinted today at the veracity of the reports, noting, in a group statement, that "perhaps [they'll add] two new members to the Spice family."
Again the question begs: What the heck does that mean?
All we know is, as of this hour, Sporty and Baby (oh, the irony) are the only members not reportedly monitoring buns in the oven.
Mum's been the word from Spice Girls headquarters on the topic of moms since the headlines blew up big with preggers reports.
The best the Spices have come up with is that aforementioned statement: "We are sisters and love each other, and love being together as a band and as friends. We plan to continue on, perhaps adding two new members to the Spice family."
The Spices asked for privacy until "we are sure of the news and ready to make a statement."
London's News of the World says Scary Spice's father all but confirmed her baby news this past weekend.
"How did you find out? You're the first," the Spice dad reportedly told staffers who phoned for comment.
Scary (real person name: Melanie Brown) is playing it more coy. When ambushed for a response on the baby question, she was quoted as saying: "I'm not saying yes and I'm not saying no."
Brown, 23, is engaged to one Jimmy Gulzar, a dancer from the Spices' current world tour. (The Fleet Street press once reported that the twosome had split, but Brown denied it.)
As for the matter of Posh: It was the Sun that shook up things last Friday, reporting that the non-smiley Spice was three months pregnant.
Posh (real person name: Victoria Adams) is engaged to one David Beckham, a British soccer star.
The Sun said plucky Posh, 24, has told her bandmates that she intends to continue with her Girl Power ways once she's done with birthing duties.
A Spice Girls biographer quizzed by BBC's Radio 1 says he doesn't think the reputed pregnancy bombshell will spell the end of the top-selling singing group, rocked previously by the departure of Geri "Ginger" Halliwell. (Of course, this was before the Scary Spice news broke.)
"They proved they could carry on without Geri," Rob McGibbon told the news service, "and I think if they get the structure right with the touring and the recording of the next album, there's no reason why Victoria can't come back after having her baby."