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QUIZ

Spice up your life

Test your knowledge of the Spice Girls

By Sean Monkman

The summer of 1996 heralded the meteoric rise of the Spice Girls. Espousing five distinct personas and a collective “girl power,” Melanie Brown (Scary Spice), Melanie Chisholm (Sporty), Emma Bunton (Baby), Geri Halliwell (Ginger) and Victoria Adams-later-Beckham (Posh) rode their debut single, Wannabe, to international fame. Less than two years after their debut, solo careers beckoned and the group started to crumble. Their third album, Forever, fizzled and they faded into music history. While rumours of a reunion have floated around for years, it is about to come true. The Spice Girls’ world tour kicks off in Vancouver on Dec. 2. Their greatest-hits album will be released on Nov. 13.

1. Who did the band suggest, in a 1996 interview, was “the first Spice Girl, the pioneer of our ideology — Girl Power”?
	Marilyn Monroe
	Madonna
	Margaret Thatcher
	Farrah Fawcett
	Boy George

2. Which of the following is not true about the single Wannabe?
	It reached No. 1 in 31 countries.
	It is the best-selling single by a female group in music history, with over six million copies sold worldwide.
	When it debuted on the U.S. charts at number 11, it surpassed the Beatles’ I Want To Hold Your Hand to become the highest-ever debut by a British act in the U.S.
	The video, which appears to be one continuous shot, earned them an MTV Music Video Award for Best Dance Video in 1997.
	The “zig-a-zig-ahhh” lyric was a gibberish placeholder that appeared in an early draft of the lyrics and was mistakenly used during the studio recording session.

3. The group’s success started when they aligned themselves with manager Simon Fuller. He is responsible for all but one of the following pop-culture sensations. Which one is not Simon’s doing?
	The TV talent show American Idol
	The band S Club 7
	Paul Hardcastle’s 1985 hit, 19
	The Posh and Becks reality show, Victoria Beckham: Coming to America
	Victoria Beckham’s sons, Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz

4. What was the name of the Spice Girls’ 1997 film?
	A Hard Day’s Spice
	Spice World
	Girl Power
	1997: A Spice Odyssey
	Kiss the Girls

5. In 1997, Geri Halliwell created headlines around the world when she patted the bottom of ___ and said to him, “You know, I think you are very sexy. We could spice up your life.”
	Tony Blair
	Prince Charles
	Al Gore
	David Beckham
	Elton John

6. Whose departure from the group in 1998 — at the height of the band’s fame — signalled the beginning of the end of the Spice Girls?
	Posh Spice
	Scary Spice
	Baby Spice
	Sporty Spice
	Ginger Spice

7. Which Spice Girls single spent 16 weeks at the top of the Canadian charts in 1999?
	Goodbye
	Stop
	Say You’ll Be There
	Spice Up Your Life
	Viva Forever

8. Each Spice Girl has tried other creative avenues. Which of the following outside efforts did not happen?
	Ginger landed a six-book deal writing children’s books featuring a character named Ugenia Lavender.
	Posh hosted a weekly syndicated radio show about 1960’s garage rock.
	Scary appeared in Rent on Broadway and as a participant on the TV show Dancing with the Stars.
	Sporty ruptured a cruciate ligament in her knee while taking part in a judo bout on a celebrity sporting competition on British TV.
	Baby appeared in an American ad campaign for Prego pasta sauces.

9. What city was named a “Spice City” and added to the band’s 2007-08 reunion tour after being selected in August through a vote held on the Spice Girls website?
	Rio de Janeiro
	Baghdad
	Toronto
	Chicago
	Paris

10. Which of the following is not true about the Spice Girls’ comeback?
	Bob Geldof had the Spice Girls all but confirmed for the Live 8 concert event in 2005, but Mel B. was working in California and was reluctant to sign on.
	The American-British consortium that unsuccessfully offered $1 billion for an ABBA reunion in 2000 were able to secure the Spice Girls reunion for a cool $10,000.
	Tickets for the band’s Dec. 15 comeback show in London sold out in 38 seconds.
	John Travolta offered to fly the Spice Girls’ private jet, Spice Force One, across the Atlantic when they began their world tour.
	Until January, the only place to buy a CD copy of the group’s new hits compilation in the U.S. will be Victoria’s Secret stores.