In celebration of 25 years since the band’s debut, The Spice Girls release a previously unheard new track. The demo is arriving on an EP to mark the band’s 25th anniversary.
The iconic British pop ensemble is world-renowned for their melodic pop ballads, converting a generation of women over to the notion of “Girl Power” throughout the ’90s and noughties. The band achieved sales of 90m records throughout the height of their popularity, making them the best-selling girl group of all time. Their debut single, “Wannabe”, spent 7 weeks at number 1 on the UK charts and number 4 in the US.
“The record label had been worried. Wannabe was too weird, too anarchic. They hated the video. BBC Radio 1 was refusing to play it. Breakfast show DJ Chris Evans told the band to go back to kids’ TV. But the girls knew better. “It’s not negotiable as far as we’re concerned,” they insisted. “Wannabe is our first single.” And “if they decided they wanted to do something, then that’s what was going to happen,” Wannabe’s co-writer Richard “Biff” Stannard told the BBC.”
Now, to celebrate their silver anniversary, the band are set to release a four-track EP, featuring a brand new single, “Feed Your Love”. The four-tracker is named Wannabe25 and features Spice Girl’s original hit “Wannabe” in celebration of their 25th anniversary. The wildly popular single remains largely intact (besides a few tempo changes) and sits alongside an alternative remix by Junior Vasquez.
“Feed Your Love”
“Feed Your Love” isn’t the up-tempo release fans might’ve been expecting. Slow-paced and sensual, a statement by the band explains that the single is the result of a collaboration between co-writers Richard Stannard and Matt Rowe in 1995. A snippet of the recording appeared online in 2016, however, the full track remained unreleased until now. In June, the group launched #IAMASPICEGIRL, a social media campaign to support the 25-year celebration of the pop icons.
Spice World Sequel?
Since a 13-date reunion tour sans Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice) in 2019, the band have been teasing a sequel to 1997’s Spice World. The original film stars the full five band members alongside Richard E. Grant, Meat Loaf and Sir Elton John. In May, the girl band’s four remaining members Geri Horner (Ginger Spice), Melanie C (Sporty Spice), Mel Burton (Scary Spice) and Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) began discussing follow-up film ideas with a screenwriter. According to The Sun, the group’s current management, Horner, is leading the project.
“A film industry source told the publication: “The girls have been talking about how to mark the film’s anniversary and are actively considering making a tongue-in-cheek sequel.”
Source: NME
Wannabe’s Re-release
In support of the single, a new “Wannabe” clip release is a crowd-pleaser, containing footage submitted by fans worldwide. A statement on the Spice Girls website states:
“IT’S 25 YEARS OF THE SPICE GIRLS!
THIS 25TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION IS ALL ABOUT YOU!
HERE ARE SOME OF YOUR AMAZING VIDEOS AND PHOTOS OF HOW THE SPICE GIRLS HAVE INFLUENCED YOU.
UPLOAD YOUR MEMORIES TO INSTAGRAM AND TWITTER USING THE #IAMASPICEGIRL OR EMAIL SPICEGIRLS@UMUSIC.COM”
Wannabe25 is due for release on vinyl on August 27.
Check out the girl’s brand new single, “Feed Your Love”, below:
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