Spice Up Your Life
Encyclopedia
"Spice Up Your Life" is a song by the British pop
group Spice Girls
. It was written by the group members, with Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard, at the same time as the group was filming scenes for their movie Spice World. The song was produced by Rowe and Stannard for the group's second album Spiceworld, released in November 1997.
"Spice Up Your Life" is a dance-pop
song with influences of Latin rhythms such as salsa
and samba
. The lyrics are inspired by Bollywood
films and reflects the group desire to "write a song for the world". The music video, directed by Marcus Nispel
, features the Spice Girls in a futuristic setting, inspired by the 1982 film Blade Runner
, controlling every aspect of society in a dark futuristic cityscape. The group promoted the song heavily, performing it on many television programmes and award shows.
Despite the lukewarm reception from music critics, it was a commercial success. Released as the album's lead single
in October 1997, it topped the UK Singles Chart
for one week, becoming the group's fifth consecutive chart-topper. This made the Spice Girls the first act to have its first five singles reach number one in the United Kingdom. It performed almost as well internationally, peaking inside the top five on the majority of the charts that it entered. In the United States, the song did not perform as well as their previous releases, peaking at number eighteen on the Billboard Hot 100
, and barely cracking the magazine's component charts.
started the first marketing meetings for the promotional campaign for the album Spiceworld, set to be released in November. No song had been written for the album at this point, so the group had to do all the song-writing and recording at the same time as they were filming the movie. Between takes and at the end of each filming day, the group usually went straight into a mobile recording studio set up in a Winnebago
, which followed them between film sets. The schedule was physically arduous with logistical difficulties, as Melanie Brown
commented on in her autobiography: "doing the two full-time jobs at the same time took its toll and within a couple on weeks, exhaustion set in."
The session was interrupted constantly, with people entering the building, phoning them, or throwing things through the window. Eventually, when the filming crew left the room, the group managed to finish the song. Stannards commented about the inspiration behind it to Music Week
: "We were talking about Bollywood
films, the colours and how the Spice Girls could present themselves. It was a matter of how do we get everything in to one song?" All the writing and the vocal recording was completed in one afternoon, and instead of taking turns, the five members went inside the vocal booths and recorded the chorus together. Brown commented that for this reason the final mix sounds "spontaneous and full of energy".
album, and the group needed a new track for their next single. A session with Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins—the songwriters and production duo known as Absolute
—was booked. Because of the limited time and the scarse creative inspiration at that point, Virgin told the duo to make anything they liked.
The duo created "Spice Invaders" by placing four microphones and telling the group to just talk about anything they wanted, the conversation was recorded and as Wilson described it, a "hideous bubblegum
" backing track
was added behind the voices. After the group left, Watkins and the mix engineer
finished the track during the night.
song, with influences of Latin rhythms such as salsa
and samba
. It is written in the key
of F minor
, with a time signature
set on common time (4/4), and moves at a fast tempo
of 126 beats per minute.
The song is constructed in a verse-pre-chorus-chorus
form, with a bridge
before the third and fourth chorus, and uses a simple chord progression
of Fm–C7. It opens with an introduction
, which consists of the repeated use of the word la. The first verse follows, the lyrics are an international rally cry, targeted to a global market, as Melanie Chisholm
described it: "We always wanted to do a carnival tune and write a song for the world." After the first verse, the group sings the pre-chorus and the chorus. The same pattern occurs, leading to the second chorus. A spoken bridge, in which the girls mention different dance styles,—flamenco
, lambada
, hip-hop, foxtrot, polka
and salsa
—precedes the third chorus. The group closes the song repeating the chorus for a fourth time.
and maxi single
format, included the Mark Stent
radio mix, the Morales
radio mix, an instrumental version of the song, and the B-side "Spice Invaders". The second version, released on digipak
format, contained three tracks: the Stent radio mix, the David Morales carnival club mix, and the Murk
Cuba Libre mix. In the United States, Virgin Records sent the song to radios on 1 October 1997, and the single to record stores on 21 October 1997. The American version, released in cassette and maxi single format, featured the same track listing as the first UK version.
. David Browne
of Entertainment Weekly
described it as a "ha-cha-cha slice of tropical-boat-cruise frivolity". In a review of Spiceworld, The Miami Herald
said that "the busy Latin-styled first single is a condescending dud". George Varga of The San Diego Union-Tribune
believed that the song "does for Latin music what Hanson
has done for death metal
", while Andy Gill of The Independent
called it a "pseudo-salsa [...] pop pastiche". However, Scott Schinder of Newsday
was pleased with the track, referring to it as a "silly but irresistible uplift". South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Sean Picolli described it as a "salsa-lite hootenanny". Rolling Stone
magazine's David Wild
called it "a global call to arms and legs with a distinct carnivallike flavor and a message of Up With Spice People positivity". Stephen Thomas Erlewine
from Allmusic, commented that the song added Latin rhythms that "consolidates and expands the group's style".
The song drew comparisons to the work of other artists. The Contra Costa Times
said that the song have shades of Gloria Estefan
. The Daily Mirror went even further, commenting that it was a rehash of Estefan's '80s music, and called it a "throwaway Latinstyle song". Melissa Ruggieri of the Richmond Times-Dispatch
believed that the song was a copy of Miami Sound Machine's "Conga
", and added that it had a "zingy mariachi-flavored rhythm and infectious chorus chant", while Ann Powers
of The New York Times
said that it "skates over Latin hip hop from Lisa Lisa
to the Lambada
." The Dallas Morning News
noted influences of ABBA
, Bananarama
and Bow Wow Wow
in the song, and added that it "doesnt quite reach the pop heights of 'Wannabe
'".
Some of the reviewers criticized the lyrics. Dele Fadele of the NME
called it "the poppermost pop single ever invented", adding that it contained "a brilliant line in nonsense lyrics. As such it is the Spice Girls' message of peace to the world". The Reading Eagle
reviewer, David Bauder, said that it "sounds like it was written by a focus group who told them to add a Latin flavor". The Telegram & Gazette commented that its lyrics were "concerned more with shaking hips than moving social consciousness". Larry Flick of Billboard
magazine was mixed on the track. Although he described it as "insanely catchy and devilishly fun", he also felt that it was not a real song, saying that it is "just a a festive cha-cha groove and a lyrical command to add some 'spice' to your life by way of countless dance moves. A runaway hit." The Hartford Courant
music critic Roger Catlin, believed that the song "recognizes and embraces the group's worldwide audience with savvy Latin rhythms and a self-promoting lyric of dizzy Esperanto
". Chicago Sun-Times
critic Jim DeRogatis
was unimpressed with the lyrics, yet when comparing it to Aqua
's "Barbie Girl
", he found that its "unifying sentiment is more admirable".
's "Candle in the Wind 1997
"—a tribute to Princess Diana
, who had died two months before—from the top position. The single was released the next week, debuting at the top of the UK Singles Chart
, making the Spice Girls the first group to reach number one with their first five singles, and the first to debut at the top of the chart four times in a row. It stayed one week at number one, twelve weeks inside the top forty, fifteen inside the top seventy-five, and was certified platinum
by the British Phonographic Industry
(BPI) in October 1997.
"Spice Up Your Life" was commercially successful also in the rest of Europe. On 1 November 1997 it peaked at number three on the Eurochart Hot 100, and performed similarly across the continent, peaking inside the top five in Belgium (both the Flemish and French charts), Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland; and inside the top fifteen in Austria and Germany. The song was released in Oceania on 6 October 1997. In New Zealand, it debuted at number two, where it stayed for four consecutive weeks, blocked by "Candle in the Wind 1997". In Australia, it debuted at number seventeen, peaking at number eight two weeks later. It remained twenty weeks on the chart, and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA).
"Spice Up Your Life" had mediocre success in North America. In the US, the single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100
on 8 November 1997 at number thirty-two; at the time it was the group's lowest debut in the country. It peaked at eighteen in its fourth week, becoming their fourth consecutive top twenty on the chart. The song barely broke the Hot 100 Airplay, peaking at number seventy-two, but despite the track's weak airplay, the CD single sold well, peaking at number eleven on the Hot 100 Singles Sales
chart. It received a gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA) in January 1998. The song reached number four on the Hot Dance Club Play chart, but only had moderate success on other formats, peaking at twenty-two on the Hot Dance Singles Sales
chart, at thirty-seven on the Mainstream Top 40
, and at twenty-seven on the Rhythmic Top 40
. "Spice Up Your Life" was more successful on the Canadian Singles Chart
, where it peaked at number two on 15 November 1997.
in a two-day shoot located in New York City. The video features the group in a futuristic setting, inspired by the 1982 film Blade Runner
, controlling every aspect of society in a dark futuristic cityscape. Nispel came up with the concept based on a sketch that was faxed to him signed "Ginger Spice". He recalls: "I looked at what Disney did to Times Square
in NYC and tried to imagine how the Spice Girls would transform it, as their career seemed to have no limits—at the time." The group was not consulted about the concept. According to Brown's autobiography, they wanted a carnival party theme, but were too tired to fight about it with the label, and ended up with a concept linked to the theme of world domination. Brown commented: "It wasn't right. I don't think any of us liked it much, even though we enjoyed making it. I still can't understand what's going on in it half the time." The video exclusively premiered on MTV
in September 1997.
The video featured the group as globalising masters, in a spaceship going through a dark city, looking at themselves on various billboards, while shoots of rooms and bars with televisions plays the videos for "Say You'll Be There
" and "Wannabe
". The group then zoom aimlessly around the city on flying surfboard
s. The scenes are interspersed with shoots of the girls doing different things, such as Brown at a turntable with bright flashing lights and a large rotating fan, Beckham posing on top of a platform while photographers takes pictures of her, and Chisholm winning a boxing match. The video won the award for Best Video at the 1998 Edison Music Awards, and was nominated for Best Video at the 1998 BRIT Awards
.
programme, which attracted more than nine million viewers. The song was subsequently performed many times on television, in both Europe and the US, including An Audience with...
, Top of the Pops
, All That
, The Jay Leno Show
, the Late Show with David Letterman
, and The Oprah Winfrey Show
. "Spice Up Your Life" was also performed in many award ceremonies such as the 1997 Smash Hits! Awards
, the 1997 MTV Europe Music Awards
, the 1997 Billboard Music Awards, the 1997 Premios Ondas
, the 1997 Channel V Music Awards
, and the 2000 BRIT Awards
. In October 1997, the group performed "Spice Up Your Life" as the eleventh song of their first live concert at the Abdi İpekçi Arena
in Istanbul
, Turkey. The performance was broadcast on Showtime in a pay-per-view event titled Spice Girls In Concert Wild!, and was later included in the VHS and DVD release Girl Power! Live in Istanbul
. The song was also used during the climax of their 1997 film, Spice World. In the scene, the group performs "Spice Up Your Life" at London's Royal Albert Hall
, surrounded by the media and thousands of fans, while the rest of the supporting cast can be seen dancing and singing during the performance.
The Spice Girls have performed the song on three of their tours: the Spiceworld Tour
, the Christmas In Spiceworld Tour
, and the Return of the Spice Girls. The performance at the Spiceworld Tour's final concert can be found on the video Spice Girls Live at Wembley Stadium
, filmed in London on 20 September 1998. The group performed "Spice Up Your Life" as the opening song of their 2007–2008 Return of the Spice Girls tour. The show started with the screens above the stage displaying an introductory film, which featured five little girls—Spice Girls' look-alikes—opening a magic box, dancing in their bedroom and talking about their wish to be world famous. Old headlines about the Spice Girls flash up—the last one announcing the end of the band. Then the group appeared standing motionless in five ascending platforms, dressed in tight bronze and copper coloured outfits made by Italian fashion designer Roberto Cavalli
.
During the encore
, the group closed the show performing a remix version of the song, each dressed in a glittery outfit of a different bright colour. At the end, a cannon exploded showering the stage with pieces of gold, white and black paper strips, while flags from different countries flashed across the backdrop screens. As they left the stage, the words "Mission accomplished" appeared on the screens.
Published by Windswept Pacific Music Ltd/PolyGram Music Publishing Ltd.
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
group Spice Girls
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group consisted of Victoria Beckham , Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30...
. It was written by the group members, with Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard, at the same time as the group was filming scenes for their movie Spice World. The song was produced by Rowe and Stannard for the group's second album Spiceworld, released in November 1997.
"Spice Up Your Life" is a dance-pop
Dance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
song with influences of Latin rhythms such as salsa
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
and samba
Samba
Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...
. The lyrics are inspired by Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
films and reflects the group desire to "write a song for the world". The music video, directed by Marcus Nispel
Marcus Nispel
Marcus Nispel is a German–American feature film director and producer, and formerly a director of television commercials and music videos. Many of his films have been remakes, all of which have met with a negative critical reception....
, features the Spice Girls in a futuristic setting, inspired by the 1982 film Blade Runner
Blade Runner
Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
, controlling every aspect of society in a dark futuristic cityscape. The group promoted the song heavily, performing it on many television programmes and award shows.
Despite the lukewarm reception from music critics, it was a commercial success. Released as the album's lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
in October 1997, it topped the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
for one week, becoming the group's fifth consecutive chart-topper. This made the Spice Girls the first act to have its first five singles reach number one in the United Kingdom. It performed almost as well internationally, peaking inside the top five on the majority of the charts that it entered. In the United States, the song did not perform as well as their previous releases, peaking at number eighteen on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, and barely cracking the magazine's component charts.
Background
In June 1997, the group began filming scenes for their movie Spice World. At the same time, Virgin RecordsVirgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
started the first marketing meetings for the promotional campaign for the album Spiceworld, set to be released in November. No song had been written for the album at this point, so the group had to do all the song-writing and recording at the same time as they were filming the movie. Between takes and at the end of each filming day, the group usually went straight into a mobile recording studio set up in a Winnebago
Winnebago Industries
Winnebago Industries Inc., , is a manufacturer of motor homes, a type of recreational vehicle or RV, in the United States. It is based in Forest City, Iowa.-Corporate history:...
, which followed them between film sets. The schedule was physically arduous with logistical difficulties, as Melanie Brown
Melanie Brown
Melanie Janine "Scary Spice" Brown , often better known as Mel B, is an English pop singer-songwriter, actress, author and television presenter...
commented on in her autobiography: "doing the two full-time jobs at the same time took its toll and within a couple on weeks, exhaustion set in."
Writing and recording
A session with the production and songwriting duo Richard Stannard and Matt Rowe was booked to record the group's next single. During the recording of the Spiceworld tracks, the group was so busy with the filming schedule that the quality of their contributions became more erratic and piecemeal. About the writing process during the session Rowe recalls:
I remember when they came to record 'Spice Up Your Life'. It was in the middle of the chaos. It had been booked in, that they were coming in to record their next single, and write it, with us. It was at Whitfield Street Studios and there was going to be an MTVMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
crew there filming them as they did this, which there was. Well, how on earth can you possibly do this? You can't write and record a song in half-an-hour with a film crew watching.
The session was interrupted constantly, with people entering the building, phoning them, or throwing things through the window. Eventually, when the filming crew left the room, the group managed to finish the song. Stannards commented about the inspiration behind it to Music Week
Music Week
Music Week is a trade paper for the UK record industry.Founded in 1959 as Record Retailer, it was relaunched on 18 March 1972 as Music Week . On 17 January 1981 the title was again changed, owing to the increasing importance of sell-through videos, to Music & Video Week...
: "We were talking about Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
films, the colours and how the Spice Girls could present themselves. It was a matter of how do we get everything in to one song?" All the writing and the vocal recording was completed in one afternoon, and instead of taking turns, the five members went inside the vocal booths and recorded the chorus together. Brown commented that for this reason the final mix sounds "spontaneous and full of energy".
B-side
"Spice Up Your Life" was already finished and ready to be released, but nothing was recorded for the B-side. Every other song available had been used in the SpiceSpice (album)
Spice is the debut album by British pop group Spice Girls. Released on November 4, 1996 by Virgin Records, the album was recorded at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London between 1995 and 1996, by producers Matt Rowe, Richard Stannard, Eliot Kennedy and the production duo Absolute...
album, and the group needed a new track for their next single. A session with Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins—the songwriters and production duo known as Absolute
Absolute (production team)
Absolute are a music production team responsible for a number of hits in the 1990s and first decade of the 21st century.-History:Absolute was formed in 1988, by Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins after they met at university and decided to pursue a career in music...
—was booked. Because of the limited time and the scarse creative inspiration at that point, Virgin told the duo to make anything they liked.
The duo created "Spice Invaders" by placing four microphones and telling the group to just talk about anything they wanted, the conversation was recorded and as Wilson described it, a "hideous bubblegum
Bubblegum pop
Bubblegum pop is a genre of pop music with an upbeat sound contrived and marketed to appeal to pre-teens and teenagers, produced in an assembly-line process, driven by producers, often using unknown singers.Bubblegum's classic period ran from 1967 to 1972...
" backing track
Backing track
A backing track is an audio or MIDI recording that musicians play or sing along to in order to add parts to their music which would be impractical to perform live.-Uses:...
was added behind the voices. After the group left, Watkins and the mix engineer
Mix engineer
A mix engineer, also referred to as "mixing engineer", is a person who, once all instruments, voices, and sounds, etc., have been recorded, creates what is called the final version of a song, hence the term "mix engineer"...
finished the track during the night.
Composition
"Spice Up Your Life" is an uptempo dance-popDance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
song, with influences of Latin rhythms such as salsa
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
and samba
Samba
Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...
. It is written in the key
Key (music)
In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...
of F minor
F minor
F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. The harmonic minor raises the E to E. Its key signature has four flats ....
, with a time signature
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
set on common time (4/4), and moves at a fast tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
of 126 beats per minute.
The song is constructed in a verse-pre-chorus-chorus
Song structure (popular music)
The structures or musical forms of songs in popular music are typically sectional, repeating forms, such as strophic form. Other common forms include thirty-two-bar form, verse-chorus form, and the twelve bar blues...
form, with a bridge
Bridge (music)
In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...
before the third and fourth chorus, and uses a simple chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
of Fm–C7. It opens with an introduction
Introduction (music)
In music, the introduction is a passage or section which opens a movement or a separate piece. In popular music this is often abbreviated as intro...
, which consists of the repeated use of the word la. The first verse follows, the lyrics are an international rally cry, targeted to a global market, as Melanie Chisholm
Melanie Chisholm
Melanie Jayne Chisholm is an English singer-songwriter, actress and businesswoman professionally known simply as Melanie C . She is best known as one of the five members of the girl group Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed "Sporty Spice"...
described it: "We always wanted to do a carnival tune and write a song for the world." After the first verse, the group sings the pre-chorus and the chorus. The same pattern occurs, leading to the second chorus. A spoken bridge, in which the girls mention different dance styles,—flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
, lambada
Lambada
Lambada is a dance from Pará, Brazil. The dance became internationally popular in the 1980s, especially in Latin America and Caribbean countries...
, hip-hop, foxtrot, polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
and salsa
Salsa (dance)
Salsa is a syncretic dance form with origins in Cuba as the meeting point of Spanish and African cultures.Salsa is normally a partner dance, although there are recognized solo forms such as solo dancing "suelta" and "Rueda de Casino" where multiple couples exchange partners in a circle...
—precedes the third chorus. The group closes the song repeating the chorus for a fourth time.
Release and reception
"Spice Up Your Life" was released in the United Kingdom on 13 October 1997, in two single versions. The first one, released in cassetteCassette single
A cassette single is a music single in the form of a Compact Cassette.- History :...
and maxi single
Maxi single
A maxi single or maxi-single is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an a-side song and a b-side song.-The first maxi singles:...
format, included the Mark Stent
Mark Stent
Mark 'Spike' Stent is a British record producer, and audio engineer who has worked with The KLF, Björk, Keane, Depeche Mode, Muse, Erasure, Hard-Fi, Massive Attack, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Marilyn Manson, Pet Shop Boys, Dave Matthews, No Doubt/Gwen Stefani, CSS, Beth Orton,...
radio mix, the Morales
David Morales
David Morales is an internationally acclaimed Grammy-winning house music DJ and producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is one of the most prolific remixers of all time, transforming many pop music songs into club-friendly dance tracks...
radio mix, an instrumental version of the song, and the B-side "Spice Invaders". The second version, released on digipak
Digipak
Digipak is a patented style of CD, DVD or BD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company.-Features:...
format, contained three tracks: the Stent radio mix, the David Morales carnival club mix, and the Murk
Murk (band)
Murk is a house music production team composed of Ralph Falcón and Oscar Gaetan). They formed in Miami in 1991...
Cuba Libre mix. In the United States, Virgin Records sent the song to radios on 1 October 1997, and the single to record stores on 21 October 1997. The American version, released in cassette and maxi single format, featured the same track listing as the first UK version.
Critical response
"Spice Up Your Life" received mostly negative reviews from music critics, with many of them criticizing the lyrics and the Latin-inspired musicLatin American music
Latin American music, found within Central and South America, is a series of musical styles and genres that mixes influences from Spanish, African and indigenous sources, that has recently become very famous in the US.-Argentina:...
. David Browne
David Browne
David Browne is an American journalist and author. He was the resident music critic at Entertainment Weekly between 1990 and 2006. He was an editor at Music & Sound Output magazine and a music critic at the New York Daily News before EW...
of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
described it as a "ha-cha-cha slice of tropical-boat-cruise frivolity". In a review of Spiceworld, The Miami Herald
The Miami Herald
The Miami Herald is a daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company headquartered on Biscayne Bay in the Omni district of Downtown Miami, Florida, United States...
said that "the busy Latin-styled first single is a condescending dud". George Varga of The San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Union-Tribune
-Predecessors:The predecessor newspapers of the Union-Tribune were:* San Diego Sun, founded 1861 and merged with the Evening Tribune in 1939.* San Diego Union, founded October 10, 1868.* Evening Tribune, founded December 2, 1895.-Ownership:...
believed that the song "does for Latin music what Hanson
Hanson (band)
Hanson are an American pop rock band formed in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by brothers Isaac , Taylor , and Zac Hanson . They are best known for the 1997 hit song "MMMBop" from their major label debut album Middle of Nowhere, which earned three Grammy nominations...
has done for death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
", while Andy Gill of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
called it a "pseudo-salsa [...] pop pastiche". However, Scott Schinder of Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
was pleased with the track, referring to it as a "silly but irresistible uplift". South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Sean Picolli described it as a "salsa-lite hootenanny". Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's David Wild
David Wild
David Wild is an American writer and critic in the music and television industries and a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine. His published books include Friends: The Official Companion , Seinfeld: The Totally Unauthorized Tribute , Friends 'til the end and others.Wild was the host of...
called it "a global call to arms and legs with a distinct carnivallike flavor and a message of Up With Spice People positivity". Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
from Allmusic, commented that the song added Latin rhythms that "consolidates and expands the group's style".
The song drew comparisons to the work of other artists. The Contra Costa Times
Contra Costa Times
The Contra Costa Times is a daily newspaper based in Walnut Creek, California, U.S.. The paper serves Contra Costa and eastern Alameda counties, in the eastern part of the San Francisco Bay Area...
said that the song have shades of Gloria Estefan
Gloria Estefan
Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García de Estefan; known professionally as Gloria Estefan is a Cuban-born American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known as the "Queen Of Latin Pop", she is in the top 100 best selling music artists with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, 31.5 million of those...
. The Daily Mirror went even further, commenting that it was a rehash of Estefan's '80s music, and called it a "throwaway Latinstyle song". Melissa Ruggieri of the Richmond Times-Dispatch
Richmond Times-Dispatch
The Richmond Times-Dispatch is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond the capital of Virginia, United States, and is commonly considered the "newspaper of record" for events occurring in much of the state...
believed that the song was a copy of Miami Sound Machine's "Conga
Conga (song)
"Conga" is the first single released by the American band Miami Sound Machine led by Gloria Estefan on their second English language album, and ninth overall, Primitive Love.-Song history:...
", and added that it had a "zingy mariachi-flavored rhythm and infectious chorus chant", while Ann Powers
Ann Powers
Ann Powers is an American writer and pop music critic.Powers has been writing about popular music and society since the early 1980s...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
said that it "skates over Latin hip hop from Lisa Lisa
Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
Lisa Lisa and her band Cult Jam were an urban contemporary band and one of first freestyle music groups to emerge from New York City in the 1980s. Cult Jam consisted of guitarist/bassist Alex "Spanador" Moseley, and drummer/keyboardist Mike Hughes...
to the Lambada
Lambada
Lambada is a dance from Pará, Brazil. The dance became internationally popular in the 1980s, especially in Latin America and Caribbean countries...
." The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area, with a circulation of 264,459 subscribers, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported in September 2010...
noted influences of ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
, Bananarama
Bananarama
Bananarama are an English female pop duo who have had success on the pop and dance charts since 1982. Rather than relying on a two part harmony, the duo generally sings in unison, as do their background vocalists. Although there have been line-up changes, the group enjoyed their most popular...
and Bow Wow Wow
Bow Wow Wow
Bow Wow Wow were an English 1980s New Wave band created by Malcolm McLaren to promote his and business partner Vivienne Westwood's New Romantic fashion lines.The group's music is described as having an "African-derived drum sound".-History:...
in the song, and added that it "doesnt quite reach the pop heights of 'Wannabe
Wannabe (song)
"Wannabe" is the debut song by British pop group Spice Girls. Written by the group members with Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard during the group's first professional songwriting session, it was produced by Rowe and Stannard for the group's debut album Spice, released in November 1996...
'".
Some of the reviewers criticized the lyrics. Dele Fadele of the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
called it "the poppermost pop single ever invented", adding that it contained "a brilliant line in nonsense lyrics. As such it is the Spice Girls' message of peace to the world". The Reading Eagle
Reading Eagle
The Reading Eagle is the major daily newspaper in Reading, Pennsylvania, in the United States. This family-owned newspaper has a daily circulation of 64,000 and a Sunday circulation of 100,000...
reviewer, David Bauder, said that it "sounds like it was written by a focus group who told them to add a Latin flavor". The Telegram & Gazette commented that its lyrics were "concerned more with shaking hips than moving social consciousness". Larry Flick of Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazine was mixed on the track. Although he described it as "insanely catchy and devilishly fun", he also felt that it was not a real song, saying that it is "just a a festive cha-cha groove and a lyrical command to add some 'spice' to your life by way of countless dance moves. A runaway hit." The Hartford Courant
The Hartford Courant
The Hartford Courant is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is a morning newspaper for most of the state north of New Haven and east of Waterbury...
music critic Roger Catlin, believed that the song "recognizes and embraces the group's worldwide audience with savvy Latin rhythms and a self-promoting lyric of dizzy Esperanto
Esperanto
is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
". Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
critic Jim DeRogatis
Jim DeRogatis
James "Jim" DeRogatis is an American music critic and co-host of Sound Opinions. DeRogatis has written articles for magazines such as Spin, Guitar World and Modern Drummer, and for fifteen years was the pop music critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.He joined Columbia College Chicago as a full-time...
was unimpressed with the lyrics, yet when comparing it to Aqua
Aqua (band)
Aqua is a Danish dance-pop group, best known for their 1997 breakthrough single "Barbie Girl". The group formed in 1989 and achieved huge success across the globe in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The group managed to top the UK Singles Chart with their first three singles. The group released two...
's "Barbie Girl
Barbie Girl
"Barbie Girl" is a song by the Danish-Norwegian dance-pop group Aqua, who released the song in 1997 as their third single overall, and the first United Kingdom release...
", he found that its "unifying sentiment is more admirable".
Chart performance
"Spice Up Your Life" was originally going to be released in the UK on 6 October 1997, but the release date was delayed in an attempt to displace Elton JohnElton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
's "Candle in the Wind 1997
Candle in the Wind 1997
"Candle in the Wind 1997" is a rewritten and rerecorded version of Elton John's own 1973 hit "Candle in the Wind" that was released as a tribute single to the late Diana, Princess of Wales....
"—a tribute to Princess Diana
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
, who had died two months before—from the top position. The single was released the next week, debuting at the top of the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, making the Spice Girls the first group to reach number one with their first five singles, and the first to debut at the top of the chart four times in a row. It stayed one week at number one, twelve weeks inside the top forty, fifteen inside the top seventy-five, and was certified platinum
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
by the British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry
The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...
(BPI) in October 1997.
"Spice Up Your Life" was commercially successful also in the rest of Europe. On 1 November 1997 it peaked at number three on the Eurochart Hot 100, and performed similarly across the continent, peaking inside the top five in Belgium (both the Flemish and French charts), Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland; and inside the top fifteen in Austria and Germany. The song was released in Oceania on 6 October 1997. In New Zealand, it debuted at number two, where it stayed for four consecutive weeks, blocked by "Candle in the Wind 1997". In Australia, it debuted at number seventeen, peaking at number eight two weeks later. It remained twenty weeks on the chart, and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA).
"Spice Up Your Life" had mediocre success in North America. In the US, the single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
on 8 November 1997 at number thirty-two; at the time it was the group's lowest debut in the country. It peaked at eighteen in its fourth week, becoming their fourth consecutive top twenty on the chart. The song barely broke the Hot 100 Airplay, peaking at number seventy-two, but despite the track's weak airplay, the CD single sold well, peaking at number eleven on the Hot 100 Singles Sales
Hot 100 Singles Sales
The Hot Singles Sales chart is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It measures sales of commercial singles and is one of three component charts, along with the Hot 100 Airplay and the Hot Digital Songs, that determine the chart positions of singles on the...
chart. It received a gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA) in January 1998. The song reached number four on the Hot Dance Club Play chart, but only had moderate success on other formats, peaking at twenty-two on the Hot Dance Singles Sales
Hot Dance Singles Sales
Hot Dance Singles Sales is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States, established in 1985. It measures the sale of commercially released singles that deal with dance music and remixes...
chart, at thirty-seven on the Mainstream Top 40
Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs)
The Mainstream Top 40 is an airplay chart from Billboard magazine, and is also known as Pop Songs on billboard.com. It was often mistaken for and confused with the now discontinued Pop 100 Airplay chart...
, and at twenty-seven on the Rhythmic Top 40
Rhythmic Airplay Chart
The Rhythmic Airplay Chart is an airplay chart that is featured weekly in Billboard Magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on Rhythmic stations, whose playlist includes mostly hit-driven R&B/Hip-Hop, Rhythmic pop, and some Dance tracks...
. "Spice Up Your Life" was more successful on the Canadian Singles Chart
Canadian Singles Chart
The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....
, where it peaked at number two on 15 November 1997.
Music video
The music video for "Spice Up Your Life" was directed on 6 September 1997, by Marcus NispelMarcus Nispel
Marcus Nispel is a German–American feature film director and producer, and formerly a director of television commercials and music videos. Many of his films have been remakes, all of which have met with a negative critical reception....
in a two-day shoot located in New York City. The video features the group in a futuristic setting, inspired by the 1982 film Blade Runner
Blade Runner
Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
, controlling every aspect of society in a dark futuristic cityscape. Nispel came up with the concept based on a sketch that was faxed to him signed "Ginger Spice". He recalls: "I looked at what Disney did to Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
in NYC and tried to imagine how the Spice Girls would transform it, as their career seemed to have no limits—at the time." The group was not consulted about the concept. According to Brown's autobiography, they wanted a carnival party theme, but were too tired to fight about it with the label, and ended up with a concept linked to the theme of world domination. Brown commented: "It wasn't right. I don't think any of us liked it much, even though we enjoyed making it. I still can't understand what's going on in it half the time." The video exclusively premiered on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
in September 1997.
The video featured the group as globalising masters, in a spaceship going through a dark city, looking at themselves on various billboards, while shoots of rooms and bars with televisions plays the videos for "Say You'll Be There
Say You'll Be There
"Say You'll Be There" is a song by British pop group Spice Girls. It was written by the Spice Girls and Eliot Kennedy, for their debut album Spice, released in November 1996. Production duo Absolute incorporated a mix of pop and R&B into the song, which includes an harmonica solo, played by Judd...
" and "Wannabe
Wannabe (song)
"Wannabe" is the debut song by British pop group Spice Girls. Written by the group members with Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard during the group's first professional songwriting session, it was produced by Rowe and Stannard for the group's debut album Spice, released in November 1996...
". The group then zoom aimlessly around the city on flying surfboard
Surfboard
A surfboard is an elongated platform used in the sport of surfing. Surfboards are relatively light, but are strong enough to support an individual standing on them while riding a breaking wave...
s. The scenes are interspersed with shoots of the girls doing different things, such as Brown at a turntable with bright flashing lights and a large rotating fan, Beckham posing on top of a platform while photographers takes pictures of her, and Chisholm winning a boxing match. The video won the award for Best Video at the 1998 Edison Music Awards, and was nominated for Best Video at the 1998 BRIT Awards
1998 BRIT Awards
The 1998 BRIT Awards were the 18th edition of the biggest annual pop music awards in the United Kingdom. They are run by the British Phonographic Industry and took place on 19th February 1998 at the London Arena in London.-Live performers:...
.
Live performances
"Spice Up Your Life" had its premiere in the UK on 27 September 1997, on the BBC's National LotteryNational Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
programme, which attracted more than nine million viewers. The song was subsequently performed many times on television, in both Europe and the US, including An Audience with...
An Audience with...
An Audience with... is a British entertainment television show produced by ITV Studios, in which a host, usually a singer or comedian, performs for an invited audience of celebrity guests, interspersed with questions from the audience, in a light hearted revue/tribute style.The show began as An...
, Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
, All That
All That
All That is an American live-action, sketch comedy-variety show that aired on the Nickelodeon cable television network featuring short comedic sketches and weekly musical guests. The theme song for All That was performed by TLC...
, The Jay Leno Show
The Jay Leno Show
The Jay Leno Show is an American comedy show created by and starring Jay Leno, that aired from September 14, 2009 to February 9, 2010 on NBC following the May 29, 2009 conclusion of Leno's first tenure as host of The Tonight Show...
, the Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
, and The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
. "Spice Up Your Life" was also performed in many award ceremonies such as the 1997 Smash Hits! Awards
Smash Hits
Smash Hits was a pop music based magazine, aimed at teenagers and young adults and originally published in the United Kingdom by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006 and was issued fortnightly for most of that time...
, the 1997 MTV Europe Music Awards
MTV Europe Music Awards
The MTV Europe Music Awards were established in 1994 by MTV Networks Europe to celebrate the most popular music videos in Europe. Originally beginning as an alternative to the American MTV Video Music Awards, the MTV Europe Music Awards is today a popular celebration of what MTV viewers consider...
, the 1997 Billboard Music Awards, the 1997 Premios Ondas
Premios Ondas
The Premios Ondas have been given since 1954 by Radio Barcelona, a subsidiary of Cadena SER, in recognition of professionals in the fields of radio and television broadcasting, the cinema, and the music industry.Past winners have included R.E.M., U2, The Corrs, Eric Clapton, the Red Hot Chili...
, the 1997 Channel V Music Awards
Channel V
Channel [V] is the brand name for multiple international music television networks owned by STAR TV and Fox International Channels, fully owned subsidiaries of News Corporation.-Channel [V] International:...
, and the 2000 BRIT Awards
2000 BRIT Awards
The 2000 BRIT Awards were the 20th edition of the biggest annual pop music awards in the United Kingdom. They are run by the British Phonographic Industry and took place on 3rd March 2000 at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London.-Live performers:...
. In October 1997, the group performed "Spice Up Your Life" as the eleventh song of their first live concert at the Abdi İpekçi Arena
Abdi Ipekçi Arena
Abdi İpekçi Arena, formerly known as Abdi İpekçi Sports Complex, is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the Zeytinburnu district of Istanbul, Turkey, situated just outside of the ancient city walls in Yedikule. Opened in 1986 after many years of interrupted construction, it is named after the...
in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey. The performance was broadcast on Showtime in a pay-per-view event titled Spice Girls In Concert Wild!, and was later included in the VHS and DVD release Girl Power! Live in Istanbul
Girl Power! Live in Istanbul
Girl Power! Live In Istanbul was the first set of major concerts by the British pop group, The Spice Girls, in 1997. The concerts, organised by Pepsi as part of the group's sponsorship deal, were performed at the Abdi İpekçi Arena on October 12 and 13 in Istanbul, Turkey.The VHS release does not...
. The song was also used during the climax of their 1997 film, Spice World. In the scene, the group performs "Spice Up Your Life" at London's Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
, surrounded by the media and thousands of fans, while the rest of the supporting cast can be seen dancing and singing during the performance.
The Spice Girls have performed the song on three of their tours: the Spiceworld Tour
Spiceworld Tour
The Spiceworld Tour was a concert tour performed by the British Europop group the Spice Girls in support of their second album Spiceworld which was the soundtrack to their feature film Spiceworld: The Movie. The sell-out European/North American tour ran from February to August 1998, after which it...
, the Christmas In Spiceworld Tour
Christmas In Spiceworld Tour
The Christmas in Spiceworld Tour was a concert tour performed by the British pop group the Spice Girls. It came after the Spiceworld Tour and before the Return of the Spice Girls World Tour .-History and general information:...
, and the Return of the Spice Girls. The performance at the Spiceworld Tour's final concert can be found on the video Spice Girls Live at Wembley Stadium
Spice Girls Live at Wembley Stadium
Spice Girls Live at Wembley Stadium is the DVD of pop band Spice Girls' tour, Spiceworld Tour, in 1998. The show was recorded at Wembley Stadium on the 20th of September and was released on the 24th of November, 1998. The show was recorded after Geri Halliwell left the band...
, filmed in London on 20 September 1998. The group performed "Spice Up Your Life" as the opening song of their 2007–2008 Return of the Spice Girls tour. The show started with the screens above the stage displaying an introductory film, which featured five little girls—Spice Girls' look-alikes—opening a magic box, dancing in their bedroom and talking about their wish to be world famous. Old headlines about the Spice Girls flash up—the last one announcing the end of the band. Then the group appeared standing motionless in five ascending platforms, dressed in tight bronze and copper coloured outfits made by Italian fashion designer Roberto Cavalli
Roberto Cavalli
Roberto Cavalli is an Italian fashion designer from Florence.-Biography:Roberto Cavalli was born in Florence, Tuscany. His grandfather, Giuseppe Rossi, was a member of the Macchiaioli Movement, whose work is exhibited in the Uffizi Gallery. Cavalli decided to enroll at the local Art Institute,...
.
During the encore
Encore (concert)
An encore is an additional performance added to the end of a concert, from the French "encore", which means "again", "some more"; multiple encores are not uncommon. Encores originated spontaneously, when audiences would continue to applaud and demand additional performance from the artist after the...
, the group closed the show performing a remix version of the song, each dressed in a glittery outfit of a different bright colour. At the end, a cannon exploded showering the stage with pieces of gold, white and black paper strips, while flags from different countries flashed across the backdrop screens. As they left the stage, the words "Mission accomplished" appeared on the screens.
Formats and track listings
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Spice Up Your Life":- UK CD1/Australian CD1/Japanese CD/South African CD/Taiwanese CD1/US CD
- "Spice Up Your Life" (StentMark StentMark 'Spike' Stent is a British record producer, and audio engineer who has worked with The KLF, Björk, Keane, Depeche Mode, Muse, Erasure, Hard-Fi, Massive Attack, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Marilyn Manson, Pet Shop Boys, Dave Matthews, No Doubt/Gwen Stefani, CSS, Beth Orton,...
Radio Mix) – 2:53 - "Spice Up Your Life" (MoralesDavid MoralesDavid Morales is an internationally acclaimed Grammy-winning house music DJ and producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is one of the most prolific remixers of all time, transforming many pop music songs into club-friendly dance tracks...
Radio Mix) – 2:48 - "Spice Up Your Life" (Stent Radio Instrumental) – 2:53
- "Spice Invaders" – 3:48
- UK CD2/Australian CD2/Brazilian CD/Taiwanese CD2
- "Spice Up Your Life" (Stent Radio Mix) – 2:53
- "Spice Up Your Life" (Morales Carnival Club Mix) – 11:30
- "Spice Up Your Life" (MurkMurk (band)Murk is a house music production team composed of Ralph Falcón and Oscar Gaetan). They formed in Miami in 1991...
Cuba Libre Mix) – 8:05
- European 2-track CD
- "Spice Up Your Life" (Stent Radio Mix) – 2:53
- "Spice Invaders" – 3:48
- UK 12" Vinyl single
- A1:"Spice Up Your Life" (Morales Carnival Club Mix) – 11:30
- B1:"Spice Up Your Life" (Murk Cuba Libre Mix) – 8:05
- B2:"Spice Up Your Life" (Morales Beats) – 5:51
- C1:"Spice Up Your Life" (Morales Drums & Dub Mix) – 11:07
- D1:"Spice Up Your Life" (Murk Sugar Cane Dub) – 8:38
- D2:"Spice Up Your Life" (Murk Spider Beats) – 3:41
- US 12" Vinyl single
- A1:"Spice Up Your Life" (Morales Carnival Club Mix) – 11:30
- A2:"Spice Up Your Life" (Morales Radio Mix) – 2:48
- B1:"Spice Up Your Life" (Murk Cuba Libre Mix) – 8:05
- B2:"Spice Up Your Life" (Stent Radio Mix) – 2:53
- B3:"Spice Up Your Life" (Stent Radio Instrumental) – 2:53
Credits and personnel
- Spice Girls – lyricsLyricistA lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Matt Rowe – lyrics, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
and programmingProgramming (music)Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock... - Richard Stannard – lyrics, producer
- Adrian Bushby – recording engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
- Mark "Spike" StentMark StentMark 'Spike' Stent is a British record producer, and audio engineer who has worked with The KLF, Björk, Keane, Depeche Mode, Muse, Erasure, Hard-Fi, Massive Attack, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Marilyn Manson, Pet Shop Boys, Dave Matthews, No Doubt/Gwen Stefani, CSS, Beth Orton,...
– audio mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Paul "P. Dub" Walton – assistant
- Pete Davis – additional programming
- Jake Davies – additional engineering
Published by Windswept Pacific Music Ltd/PolyGram Music Publishing Ltd.
Chart positions
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
8 |
| Austrian Singles Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
12 |
| Belgian Ultratop 50 (Flanders) Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... |
4 |
| Belgian Ultratop 40 (Wallonia) Ultratop 40 Ultratop 40 singles, often just Ultratop 40, is the weekly chart of best-selling singles in Wallonia and Brussels Capital Region, the french-speaking parts of Belgium. Its equivalent covering the Flanders region is Ultratop 50. Both charts are produced and published by the Ultratop organization... |
2 |
| Canadian Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
2 |
| Danish Singles Chart Tracklisten Tracklisten is a Danish top 40 record chart that is presented every Thursday midnight at .The weekly Danish Singles Chart also known as Track Top-40 combines the 40 best selling tracks from legal music downloads and the sales of music singles on either CD or vinyl... |
2 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
2 |
| European Hot 100 Singles | 3 |
| Finnish Singles Chart | 2 |
| French Singles Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
3 |
| German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
14 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
2 |
| Italian Singles Chart Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
3 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
2 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
3 |
| Spanish Singles Chart | 2 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 2 |
| Swiss Singles Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
5 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
1 |
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
18 |
| US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | 4 |
| US Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales Hot Dance Singles Sales Hot Dance Singles Sales is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States, established in 1985. It measures the sale of commercially released singles that deal with dance music and remixes... |
22 |
| US Billboard Mainstream Top 40 Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs) The Mainstream Top 40 is an airplay chart from Billboard magazine, and is also known as Pop Songs on billboard.com. It was often mistaken for and confused with the now discontinued Pop 100 Airplay chart... |
37 |
| US Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 Rhythmic Airplay Chart The Rhythmic Airplay Chart is an airplay chart that is featured weekly in Billboard Magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on Rhythmic stations, whose playlist includes mostly hit-driven R&B/Hip-Hop, Rhythmic pop, and some Dance tracks... |
27 |
End of year charts
| Chart (1997) | Position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | 9 |
| Chart (1998) | Position |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 81 |
Certifications
| Country | Provider | Certification |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | ARIA Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... |
Platinum |
| Belgium | IFPI | Platinum |
| France | SNEP Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
Gold |
| Netherlands | NVPI NVPI The NVPI is the Dutch tradeassociation of the entertainment industry... |
Gold |
| Sweden | GLF Swedish Recording Industry Association Grammofonleverantörernas förening , or the Swedish Recording Industry Association in English, is an organization representing the music recording industry of Sweden... |
Platinum |
| United Kingdom | BPI British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... |
Platinum |
| United States | RIAA | Gold |