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Chris Herbert (born 22 February 1971 in Hillingdon, Middlesex) is a British talent manager who has helped oversee the careers of the Spice Girls, Five, Stephen Gately and Hear'Say, B*Witched, The Honeyz, Ben's Brother. [1] He is the son of talent manager Bob Herbert.
With father Bob Herbert a music talent manager the young Chris Herbert grew up in music industry orientated environment that had a large influence on his eventual career direction. At the age of twenty-one Herbert approached his father for advice and assistance in setting up his own talent management company. [1] Safe Corporation was founded as an independent music management company in March 1994. The first project the pair worked on was the creation of an all-girl pop group to cater to what he had identified as a potentially massive untapped market. [2]
By mid-1994, the Herberts and Chic Murphy had auditioned 600 applicants, and whittled the line-up down to Melanie Brown, Geri Halliwell, Victoria Adams, Lianne Morgan (replaced by Melanie C) and Michelle Stephenson (replaced by Emma Bunton).
After a large amount of development in studios, the final group line-up felt insecure about the lack of a contract and frustrated by the direction in which Heart Management was steering them. Chris Herbert set up a showcase performance for the group in front of industry writers, producers and A&R men in December 1994 at the Nomis Studios in Shepherd's Bush. [3] Due to the large interest in the group, the Herberts quickly set about creating a binding contract for the group, but all five members delayed signing on legal advice. In March 1995, because of the group's frustration at their management, due to the lengthy development period, they parted from the Herbert's Heart Management.
After signing an agreement with Simon Fuller of 19 Entertainment, they released their first single in summer 1996.
Herbert was the manager of Justin Edwards, also known as MC Ultra. With his career not gaining traction, in late 2011 Edwards advised Herbert that he had a sex tape of himself and ex-lover Tulisa Contostavlos, now a well-known singer and judge on the UK version of The X Factor . [4] Herbert says that he advised Edwards not to release the tape, but by early 2012 Edwards had an agreement with others to distribute the tape. Herbert says that he advised Edwards not to do this, but negotiated a legal restraint clause with the contract Edwards signed as it was "career suicide". [4] The tape was released to the press in March 2012. [5] Contostavlos was quickly granted an injunction (Contostavlos v Mendahun) that legally blocks the distribution of the tape worldwide. The injunction prohibits anyone from using, publishing, communicating or disclosing all or any part of the film to any other person. [6] [7]
The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ; Melanie C ; Emma Bunton ; Geri Halliwell ; and, Victoria Beckham. With their "girl power" mantra, they redefined the girl-group concept by targeting a young female fanbase. They led the teen pop resurgence of the 1990s, were a major part of the Cool Britannia era, and became pop culture icons of the decade.
Emma Lee Bunton is an English singer, songwriter, media personality, and actress. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Baby Spice, reflecting the fact that she was the youngest member. With over 100 million records sold worldwide, the Spice Girls are the best-selling female group of all time.
Geraldine Estelle Halliwell-Horner is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, author, and actress. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Ginger Spice. With over 100 million records sold worldwide, the Spice Girls are the best-selling female group of all time. Their slogan "girl power" was most closely associated with Halliwell and her Union Jack dress from the 1997 Brit Awards also became an enduring symbol. Halliwell left the Spice Girls in 1998, citing exhaustion and creative differences, but rejoined when they reunited for a greatest hits album (2007) and two concert tours: the Return of the Spice Girls (2007–2008) and Spice World (2019).
Melanie Jayne Chisholm, known professionally as Melanie C or Mel C, is an English singer and songwriter. She rose to fame in the 1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Sporty Spice. With over 100 million records sold worldwide, the Spice Girls are the best-selling female group of all time. The group went on an indefinite hiatus in 2000, before reuniting for a greatest hits album (2007) and two concert tours: the Return of the Spice Girls (2007–2008) and Spice World (2019). She is known for her unique and distinctive tone.
Melanie Janine Brown, commonly known as Mel B or Melanie B, is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, and actress. She rose to fame in the mid 1990s as a member of the pop girl group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Scary Spice. With over 100 million records sold worldwide, the group became the best-selling female group of all time.
Simon Robert Fuller is a British entrepreneur, artist manager, and film and television producer. He is the creator of the Idols TV format, including the UK series Pop Idol and the US series American Idol.
A celebrity sex tape is typically an amateur pornographic video recording involving one or more famous people which has, intentionally or unintentionally, been made available publicly. Such videos have often been released without the consent of their subjects and have damaged celebrities' careers. In 1988, for example, a sex tape caused significant damage to Rob Lowe's career.
Michael Louis Vincent Walsh is an Irish music manager and television personality. He has managed Johnny Logan, Boyzone, Jedward and Westlife, four of Ireland's most successful pop acts in the 1990s and 2000s. He has also served as a judge on television talent competition shows, including Popstars (2001–2002), You're a Star (2003–2004), The X Factor, and Ireland's Got Talent (2018–2019). In 2024, Walsh was a contestant on the twenty-third series of the reality show Celebrity Big Brother.
Spice is the debut studio album by English girl group the Spice Girls, released in Japan on 19 September 1996 and in the United Kingdom on 4 November 1996 by Virgin Records. The album was recorded between 1995 and 1996 at Olympic Studios in Barnes, London, and Strongroom Studios in Shoreditch, London, by producers Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard, and the production duo Absolute. Spice is a pop album that incorporates styles such as dance, R&B and hip hop. It is considered to be the record that brought teen pop back, opening the doors for a wave of teen pop artists. Conceptually, the album centered on the idea of Girl Power, and the hype surrounding the group was compared to Beatlemania.
Michelle Stephenson is a British pop singer and television presenter. At the age of 17, she was briefly a member of the girl group that would go on to become the Spice Girls.
"2 Become 1" is a song by the British girl group the Spice Girls. Written by the group members, together 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 (1996). "2 Become 1" is an R&B-influenced pop ballad that features instrumentation from a guitar, an electronic keyboard and string instruments. The lyrics focus on the bonding of two lovers, and also address the importance of contraception. Its Big TV!-directed music video, which features the group performing against time-lapse footage of Times Square in New York City, was completely shot against a blue screen at a studio in London. The backdrop was later superimposed.
Mazher Mahmood is a British journalist who was convicted of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Before his conviction, he worked mainly for the tabloid press. He spent 20 years working for the News of the World and the Sunday Times, during which time he was responsible for numerous investigations, including a reputed 94 that led to convictions. He won Reporter of the Year in 2011, as well as Scoop of the Year and the Sports Journalists' Association award, for an investigation of cricket match-fixing. Later, from its foundation in 2012, he worked for the Sun on Sunday, successor to the News of the World.
N-Dubz are an English hip-hop trio from Camden Town, London, England, consisting of cousins Dappy and Tulisa, and Fazer. After winning a MOBO Award for Best Newcomer in 2007, N-Dubz briefly signed with Polydor Records before joining All Around the World. Released the following year, the trio's debut album Uncle B was certified double platinum and gave rise to four UK top-40 singles.
Robert Herbert was an English talent manager. He was the original manager of the Spice Girls.
Costadinos Contostavlos, better known by his stage name Dappy, is an English rapper, singer, songwriter and actor. He is the lead singer of the Camden-based hip hop and grime trio N-Dubz, with his cousin Tulisa and Fazer. He was known for his lack of dress sense and his love for what he describes as "eye-catching headwear". His trademark was wearing a selection of woolly chullos, turning up one or both of the ear-flaps of the hat.
Tula Paulinea "Tulisa" Contostavlos is an English singer, songwriter, rapper, television personality, and actress. As a part of the R&B/hip hop group N-Dubz with her cousin Dappy and friend Fazer, they gained two platinum-certified albums, two gold-certified albums, five MOBO awards, a Brit Award nomination, thirteen top 40 singles, six silver-certified singles, and three Urban Music Awards.
Perrie Louise Edwards is an English singer. She rose to prominence as a member of Little Mix, one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. They were formed in 2011 during the eighth series of The X Factor UK, and were crowned the eventual winners of the series. The group won three Brit Awards, becoming the first girl group to win British Group. As part of Little Mix, Edwards achieved five number-one singles and nineteen top-ten entries on the UK Singles Chart. The group went on indefinite hiatus in 2022.
"Young" is the debut solo single by British singer Tulisa from her debut album The Female Boss (2012). It was written by Pete Ibsen, Richard Rawson and Ali Tennant, while the production was handled by the former two. Upon discovering that the song was meant for another singer, Tulisa chose to record it herself. The track was originally titled "We Are Young" but was renamed to merely "Young" to avoid confusion with the 2012 Fun song of the same name. The dance-pop song is about making mistakes while being young. "Young" was initially slated for release on 6 May 2012. However, it was only issued on 27 April in Ireland and the United Kingdom by All Around the World and Island Records for digital download and streaming.
Christopher Michael Maloney is an English singer and musician from Liverpool, who was first seen as a contestant on The X Factor in 2012.
Christmas in Spiceworld Tour was the second concert tour by English girl group the Spice Girls. The eight-show tour was launched following "solo projects, marriages, motherhood and another round of slagging in the press", as a reunion for the girls. The eight-show tour was attended by more than 153,000 people, grossing $5.7 million in ticket sales. The first four shows saw the group play at Manchester Evening News Arena to over 72,400 fans, grossing $2.6 million; the second portion of the tour saw the group play another four shows at Earls Court Arena to 81,300 fans, grossing $3.1 million.