To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Spice, the debut album by the biggest selling girl band of all time, the Spice Girls are releasing an expanded deluxe edition on a 2CD set and Digital Album audio on October 29th, 2021 via UMe /EMI.

Curated by the Spice Girls themselves, it brings together the original chart-topping album with some of their favorite bonus tracks and B-sides, along with previously unreleased recordings from the Virgin archives.

Which all comes together to create a collection rich in highlights with the original album including their four UK No.1 singles as well now as a variety of remixes.

The iconic Spice album, released on the November 5th, 1996, spent 15 weeks at No.1 on the Official Charts UK Album Chart across four separate spells, spending more than a year in the Top 40.

The album also topped the US Billboard 200 album chart and was No.1 in thirteen other countries around the world.

Since then, Spice has sold more than 23 million copies worldwide, including more than 3 million in the UK alone (certified 10X platinum by the BPI) and 7.5 million in the US (certified 7X platinum by the RIAA). Oh and Spice was the third best-selling album of the decade in the UK!

This lush 2CD box-set comes in an incredible, and uber colorful A5 hardback booklet with a collection of iconic images plus brand new messages from the girls (see below).

The 2CD set also includes a set of six Spice Girls postcards, featuring photographs by Tim Roney, taken in Paris in September 1996.

CD1:
1. Wannabe (02:53)
2. Say You’ll Be There (03:56)
3. 2 Become 1 (Single Version) (04:05)
4. Love Thing (03:39)
5. Last Time Lover (04:11)
6. Mama (05:05)
7. Who Do You Think You Are (04:01)
8. Something Kinda Funny (04:05)
9. Naked (04:26)
10. If U Can’t Dance (03:49)

The Spice Girls whip up a frothy musical dessert on SPICE, vamping through 10 disco-based hits with their signature sound - breathy, little-girl vocals and loads of cheery call-and-response - intact.

Cute and flirty without ever getting all that explicit, the girls (and their producers) make the most of what they’ve got: sweet, thin voices that float above solid, danceable instrumental tracks.

Occasional harmonies work, but perky, spoken call-and-response (such as the Zigazig ha line on the vivacious Wannabe, for example) work a lot better, in my humble opinion.

I guess, simply put, the Spice Girls are fun!

Sure, they have that whole Girl Power message thing going for them, but ultimately their music just makes you want to dance around and be silly for a bit.

I was in college when Spice was released, and I remember the instant shame I felt among my peers whenever I revealed to them that I enjoyed the band! Furthermore, I developed crushes on all of the members of the band at some point (but Sporty and Baby will always have my heart), and suddenly I knew the lyrics to all of their tracks.

A few weeks after my revelation to my friends, I had no shame at all proclaiming that I was a fan of the Spice Girls and still remain one today, I’m proud to say!

The album itself is a very solid pop project. The anchor tracks are obviously the insanely addictive Wannabe and profoundly under-rated, shiny funk/disco stylings of Say You’ll Be There, but every song on this album is good in its own right.

Next up is the audacious ballad 2 Become One which is followed by the TLC-imbibed slow funk, R&B roll of Love Thing, the wholly beautiful Mama, and then we get the brilliantly-paced, retro disco vibe of Who Do You Think You Are and the free flowing, mid-tempo flow of Something Kinda Funny.

The only tracks that are somewhat lacking, to my mind, are the two that close the album, the flimsy, languishing, repetitive Naked and the slow, dulled even, foreign language rap of If U Can’t Dance, but even they add to the strength of this album in their own way, of course.

CD2:
1. Wannabe (Dave Way Alternative Mix) (03:25)
2. Say You’ll Be There (7-inch Radio Mix) * (04:09)
3. 2 Become 1 (Orchestral Version) (04:05)
4. Mama (Biffco Mix) (05:49)
5. Love Thing (12-inch Unlimited Groove Mix) (06:25)
6. Take Me Home (04:07)
7. Last Time Lover (Demo) * (04:05)
8. Feed Your Love (04:36)
9. If U Can’t Dance (Demo) * (03:36)
10. Who Do You Think You Are (Demo) * (03:49)
11. One of These Girls (03:33)
12. ‘Shall We Say Goodbye Then?’ * (00:53)

Tracks marked * are Previously Unreleased.

Some messages from the band:
Emma:
“From the first wannabe baby steps to conquering the whole world with a team of Spices, thank you doesn’t seem enough to all of you who have supported us, followed in our footsteps, walked in our great big shoes and who have shared our dreams. It’s been 25 years of pure magic. Spice Girls forever!!!”

Geri:
“To our diehard and loyal fans; without you there is no us – sending endless love and gratitude. Whoever you are, whatever your dreams – live them, be them. The Spice Girls motto is testament to that.”

Melanie C:
“25 years, wow! I have so many wonderful memories of writing, recording, promoting and touring this album and so many people to thank. This is the record that set us off on our incredible journey. A huge thank you to our fans and family all around the World. Thank you for always being there with your unrelenting support and making our dreams come true. My love and gratitude always.”

Melanie B:
“All I ever wanted was to be accepted and to make everyone around me – gay, straight, brown, black, shy or loud like me – to feel they can celebrate who they are and to be free to be themselves. All I hope – 25 years on – is that message has been heard loud and clear.”

“It’s true that in the end love IS all you need so I thank everyone who has ever bought a Spice Girls record or stood in the rain to greet us or got dressed up in pink, in a tracksuit, a ginger wig, a leopard print catsuit or put on Vic’s iconic pout!”

Victoria:
“We couldn’t let 25 years pass without thanking the fans for their incredible support. There are so many people who have played a part in the success of the Spice Girls throughout the years, you know who you are and we thank you.”

In closing, the album will come in a number of other formats, including a Zoetrope picture disc and limited edition colored vinyl and cassettes (containing the audio from the original album only), with each Girl having a specific color that corresponds across both vinyl and cassette editions.

The perfect collector’s items for any Spice Girls fan, the full original album has also been recreated in Dolby Atmos/ Apple Spatial Audio which will be available on Apple Music from October 29th, 2021.

Dolby Atmos is a revolutionary, immersive audio experience that goes beyond the ordinary listening experience and puts you inside the song in a spatial way, revealing every detail of the music with unparalleled clarity and depth.

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