To celebrate Natalie, Nicole, Melanie and Shazney's mighty return to the charts, Pop Kulture have been listening hard to some of our favourite girl groups of past and present and have compiled this handy list of our faves.
All Saints
Could we honestly do this list without mentioning the band it's all for? From 1997-2001 All Saints were citied as 'the credible alternative to the Spice Girls' and released a whopping 5 number 1 singles. Their biggest hit, Never Ever won the band 2 BRIT Awards in 1997 including Best Song. It also features the greatest spoken section in a song of all time and if you can't talk along then I really don't think we can be friends.
Sugababes
The Sugababes are pretty much the Doctor Who of pop music by this point. The group has taken so many different forms I'm half expecting Peter Capaldi himself to join the line-up when a comeback is announced. Arguably the Mutya/Keisha/Heidi years was the defining era with many thinking of them as the original 'Babes (#justice4Siobhan. Lest we forget debut single, Overload). With this line up the girls scored ten top 10 hits including four number 1s. Perhaps unsurprisingly to some, the band were nominated for and won so many awards they have their own awards & nominations Wiki page.
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls were - or are, if recent reunion rumours are to be believed - not only one of the most successful girl bands but one of the biggest bands of all time. They were a cultural phenomenon of which the world hasn't seen the likes of since. One Direction may have come close but did Harry Styles ever squeeze Prince Charles's bum? I don't think so. Remarkably, the girls only ever released 11 singles (2 without Geri) with all but one reaching the top spot. There was even a Spice Girls musical called Viva Forever penned by Jennifer Saunders. Granted, it was horrific and critics and punters alike panned it but, still.
Honeyz
Honeyz had almost as many incarnations as the Sugababes although, unlike the 'Babes, they manged to keep hold of one member for the entirety of their run; namely the lead singer, Celena. When they took part in the first series of The Big Reunion in 2013 they mixed and matched to create a whole new line up consisting of Celena, original member Heavenli and Heavenli's eventual replacement, Mariama. Confused? Anyway, the band treated the UK charts to five top 10 hits during their time including End Of The Line and the sass filled, Won't Take It Lying Down.
The Ronettes
Phil Spector may not be the most charming man in the world but God, he knows how to make a good song. The Ronettes - led by Ronnie Spector - are just one of the many girl groups of the 60s who Spector took under his wing. Be My Baby is often cited as one of the greatest records ever made and the band heavily influenced Amy Winehouse when she wrote her Back To Black album. She even copied - albeit exaggerated - their famous beehives and winged liner which defined their style.
Little Mix
The first and only group, thus far, to have won The X Factor, Tulisa's 'Little Muffins' were put together by the judges having originally auditioned as solo singers. They called themselves Rhythmix but were made to change their name halfway through the series due to a dispute with a charity organisation with the same name. Since winning, their first single, a cover of Damien Rice's Cannonball, went in a number 1 and they have since gone on to make some of the best pop tunes of this decade including the ridiculously catchy Black Magic and #inspirational Little Me. Their debut album, DNA, hit the number 4 spot in the USA; the highest debut chart position by a British girl group meaning they smashed the record previously held by the Spice Girls since 1996.
TLC
T-Boz, Left-Eye and Chilli (see what they did there?) were formed in 1991 and went on to shift a staggering 75 million records worldwide making them one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. Their second album, CrazySexyCool is the second best-selling album by a girl group selling 23 million copies worldwide; beaten by the Spice Girls' debut album, Spice. Having said they would never replace Lisa 'Left-Eye' Lopes who died in a car accident in 2002, Chilli & T-Boz took to crowdfunding website, Kickstarter in 2015 to raise money for what they announced will be their final album. Their initial target was $150,000 however, they exceeded expectations and went on to raise $400,000 after stars such as Katy Perry, Bette Midler(!) and Justin Timberlake donated.
The Supremes
Starting life as The Primettes, The Supremes were the premier act of Motown records in the 1960s and are still America's most successful group to date with twelve number 1 singles on the Billboard chart. As a group, they oozed glamour in their high-fashion costumes and wigs with Motown's Maxine Powell (who taught 'grooming, poise and social graces' to the stars of the label) telling them to always "be prepared to perform before kings and queens". A motto Pop Kulture obviously lives by today. The story of The Supremes and the Motown label inspired the 1981 Broadway musical, Dreamgirls which was made into a movie in 2006 starring Beyoncé, Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Hudson, the latter of whom won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar.
En Vogue
Anyone who calls an album Funky Divas is going to find themselves on a Pop Kulture list. The band's second album went triple platinum in the US and was certified Gold in the UK, cementing En Vogue as one of the best selling bands of the 1990s and are, to date, the 8th biggest selling girl group in the world. Their biggest selling single, Don't Let Go re-entered the UK charts in 2011 when Little Mix performed the track on The X Factor and in 2015, the band announced a new album planned for this year.
The Shangri-Las
If the 1960s were good for anything (aside from the Pill, the Ford machinists strike triggering the 1970 Equal Pay Act and the popularity of false eyelashes) it was the teen melodramas played out in the songs of girl groups. No girl group of the era was better at the heartwrenching mid-tempo record than The Shangri-Las. They had a bad girl reputation which set them apart from most of their contemporaries and has been said to influence acts from Blondie to Amy Winehouse.
B*Witched
"Some people say I look like me dad!" Girls of the 90s have B*Witched to thank for their never ending love of denim. And the spike in Irish dance classes in the mid 90s was TOTALLY down to B*Witched and not Michael Flatley's global phenomenon Lord of the Dance. The Irish quartet blessed us with six top 10 singles - all whilst managing to pull off a denim cowboy hat - before being dropped by their record label in 2002. After taking part in The Big Reunion in 2013, they announced they planned to release new material and, in 2014, delivered the amazingly titled, Champagne Or Guinness.
Destiny's Child
The group which blessed the world with Beyoncé and where she cut her teeth as a popstar before going on to dominate the world. Managed by B's dad, Matthew and styled by her mum, Tina the group went through several member changes but the most successful and remembered line up is that of Beyonce, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Together, the girls released 12 singles and caused the word 'Bootylicious' to be added to the Oxford English Dictionary. They also inspired a whole generation of friends to rock up to school discos in coordinated outfits.
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