HIT SPICE GIRLS SONG TURNS 25
THE SPICE GIRLS ARE CELEBRATING THE MILESTONE ANNIVERSARY OF THE MEGA HIT THAT MADE THEM STARS
In July 1996, the Spice Girls burst onto the world stage with ‘Wannabe’, an upbeat anthem that energetically outlined rules for friendship and love, and introduced the world to Victoria Beckham (Posh), Emma Bunton (Baby), Geri Horner (Ginger), Melanie Brown (Scary) and Melanie Chisholm (Sporty).
The two-minute and 52-second track was instantly unshakeable and kicked off the band’s short-lived but unquestionable pop domination. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of their debut single, the girl group are giving fans what they really, really want by releasing Wannabe25, a limited edition EP featuring the previously unreleased ballad ‘Feed Your Love’, as well as three versions of ‘Wannabe’ – the original single, remix edit and demo. Here’s the story from A to Z about the pop phenomenon … FAST TRACK
The song was written by Richard “Biff” Stannard and Matt Rowe with input from the group, who all received writing credits. “It was recorded and written in less than 10 minutes,” Mel B said in 2017 on the talk show The Real. “We were listening to an old Shaggy reggae song and we were like, ‘Oh my God, we have to do something annoying like that song.’ So we kind of literally huddled together, wrote some choruses, wrote some melodies and then we came up with phrases and sayings and it just happened.” ZIG-A-ZIG-AH
Asked during a Reddit AMA what a zig-a-zig is and why did you want one, Mel B replied, “EVERYBODY needs a zig-a-zig-ah, and it’s whatever you want it to be.” In 2015, The Daily Star reported the line was originally “s--t and cigar”, referring to another singer’s bathroom habits in the studio. Mel C told Billboard magazine it was just a nonsense word that worked: “You know when you’re in a gang and you’re having a laugh and you make up a silly word? We were having a giggle when we made up zig-a-zig-ah.”
STAIRWAY TO STARDOM
The iconic music video, filmed in one shot, was set in the entrance and on the staircase of the former Midland Grand Hotel in St Pancras, London, after a location in Barcelona fell through. Executives at Virgin wanted to reshoot the clip because they thought the lighting was gloomy and worried Mel B’s see-through top was too risqué. “The video I remember as being very chaotic and cold,” Horner wrote. “It wasn’t very controlled – we didn’t want it to be. We wanted the camera to capture the madness of the Spice Girls.” The band refused to do a reshoot and the video was banned in some Asian countries.
OFFICIALLY A BANGER
According to a 2014 scientific study, ‘Wannabe’ is the catchiest pop song of all time, with participants recognising the track in 2.3 seconds, half the time of other hits by Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Elvis Presley and Lady Gaga. “It’s quite ingeniously composed,” said researcher Dr John Ashley Burgoyne. “What makes ‘Wannabe’ work so well is that it isn’t a difficult song to sing, it has a conventional melody that repeats itself a lot.” •