The Spice Girls are a British pop girl band formed in 1994. They consist of Victoria Beckham (née Adams), Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm, and Geri Halliwell. They are the most successful girl group of all time. They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe", in 1996. The song hit number-one in 31 countries and helped establish the group as a "global phenomenon". Credited in the US for being the pioneers that paved the way for the commercial breakthrough of teen pop in the 1990s, their first album, Spice, sold more than 23 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female group in music history. They have sold 65 million records worldwide with only four albums and twelve singles, making them the most successful British band since The Beatles and the best selling girl group of all time. Measures of their success include international record sales, a 2007/2008 reunion tour, merchandising, record breaking achievements, iconic symbolism such as the Union Flag dress, "Girl Power", a box office hit movie Spice World and their nicknames. Under the guidance of their long time mentor and manager Simon Fuller, the group embraced merchandising and became a regular feature of the British press. Each member of the group was given an alias by Top of the Pops magazine in 1996, which were adopted by the group and media alike. According to biographer David Sinclair, "Scary, Baby, Ginger, Posh and Sporty were the most widely recognized group of individuals since John, Paul, George and Ringo." (via Wikipedia)