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Victoria Beckham

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Victoria Caroline Beckham (born Victoria Caroline Adams on April 17, 1974 and also used the stage name Victoria Adams-Wood) is an English singer best known as a member of the Spice Girls and for her marriage to footballer David Beckham. Victoria is a pop singer, songwriter and fashion designer. Known also as "Posh Spice", a nickname given to her by the BBC's Top of the Pops magazine, Victoria is one of England's most celebrated, photographed, criticised and gossiped-about celebrities of the modern era[citation needed].

Biography

Victoria Beckham was born in Princess Alexandra Hospital, Harlow in Essex to Anthony William Adams, an electronics engineer, and Jacqueline Doreen Cannon. She was brought up in Goff's Oak, Hertfordshire where she lived with her family in a detached house owned by her mother and father, the owners of a successfull electrical wholesale business. She is the eldest of three children. Prior to joining the Spice Girls, Victoria trained as a dancer and had a number of modeling and dancing jobs. Before answering the advertisement that led to her becoming a Spice Girl, Victoria was the lead singer of an unsigned band named Persuasion[citation needed]. Even though she admits having sung off-key in the audition for Touch (later renamed the Spice Girls), claiming the song was in the wrong key for her but 'she can really sing', she was chosen anyway.

Victoria Adams married the ex-Manchester United and former England captain and current Real Madrid footballer David Beckham, on July 4 1999, with whom she has three sons: Brooklyn Joseph (born March 4 1999), Romeo James (born September 1 2002), and Cruz David (born February 20 2005).

Music career

Virgin Records

Victoria Beckham (2001) album cover.

Despite being one of the most famous celebrities in Britain, and having all her music reach the UK top ten (the only solo Spice to do so), Victoria Beckham's career as a solo artist is largely considered to have been a commercial failure. She was the last of the Spice Girls to launch a solo career, allegedly due to her reluctance to 'go it alone'[citation needed].

In August 2000, Victoria released her first single outside of the Spice Girls: Out Of Your Mind, a collaboration with the Garage act the Truesteppers and Dane Bowers. The week of release coincided with the release of Groovejet (If This Ain't Love) by Spiller ft. Sophie Ellis-Bextor, resulting in a chart battle dubbed 'Posh vs. Posher' by the tabloids [1]. Following a huge publicity campaign, Out Of Your Mind was outsold by 20,000 copies and debuted at number two with first week sales of 180,584 copies (a figure that would have usually guaranteed a #1 position)[2].

As with the other Spice Girls, Victoria was given a solo recording contract by her group label Virgin Records. Her true début single as a solo artist, Not Such An Innocent Girl, was released in September 2001. Again, she faced competition in another hugely hyped chart battle, this time with Kylie Minogue's single Can't Get You Out Of My Head. Victoria was unlikely to beat Kylie, but she gave the project huge promotion and the record had an expensive and futuristic video. In the week of release, the tabloid newspaper The Sun ran a daily progess chart covering the chart battle, but they gave up half way through the week when it was clear the battle was a one horse race. A potential factor attributable to Victoria's weaker sales could be the due to the media furore she created after wearing a fake lip ring during a live performance in Birmingham[3], an event that also saw her getting booed and pelted with fruit by a hostile public. She was widely criticised by many groups, including the British Dental Association, for setting a bad example that her younger fans may wish to emulate. It has since been argued that this 'stunt' and the ensuing media backlash was the beginning of the end of Victoria's music career[citation needed].

Released a fortnight after Not Such An Innocent Girl, Victoria's eponymously titled debut album reached number 10 in the UK album chart. The album featured the much talked about Every Part Of Me, a song co-written by Victoria and dedicated to her son, Brooklyn, who features at the start. Brooklyn's 'part' allegedly being an off-chance recording which took place during a recording session break.

The second and final single to be released from the album was A Mind Of Its Own. This track was much slower and a more mature effort by Victoria, for which she received some critical praise. Despite this, the single stalled at number 6 in the UK and sold 66,000 copies [4]. Following this lacklustre chart performance, rumours started spreading that Beckham was soon to be dropped by her label. These were refuted at the time [5].

A third single, I Wish, was promoted but never materialised. The single version was a remix featuring Robbie Craig, and was performed on TV on Friday Night's All Wright. Many hoped this single would revitalise the album's fortunes, but following the announcement of Victoria's second pregnancy it was shelved, and Victoria was dropped by Virgin Records [6].

The Telstar / 19 Management era

Single cover for "Let your Head Go/ This Groove"

To the surprise of the music industry, Telstar Records signed Victoria in 2002 in a deal made with Simon Fuller's 19 Management. She spent much of 2002 recording a 'pop-influenced' album, but Victoria herself shelved it after not being happy with the results [7]. Instead of pop, Victoria wanted to record tracks with a more RnB and hip hop influence, and to accomplish this she began working with urban producer Damon Dash. These plans reportedly worried Telstar and Simon Fuller, but they compromised with Victoria, allowing her to release a Dash produced track (This Groove) along-side one of her earlier pop tracks (Let Your Head Go) from the shelved album.

The resulting double A-side single Let Your Head Go / This Groove was released in the UK in late December 2003, following heavy promotion and many TV appearances across the Christmas period. The single charted at #3, although critics were fast to point out this was not much of an accomplishment due to singles receiving their lowest sales of the year the week after Christmas. This Groove sparked some media interest due to the song being about phone sex. This double A-side remains Victoria's last single release to date.

As another compromise, Telstar allowed Victoria to release some of her urban tracks on The Réal Beckhams DVD. This 2003 documentary was released in January 2004, and bonus material included the videos for Let Your Head Go and This Groove, as well as four previously unreleased tracks: Resentment, That Dude, Me And You This Time and Valentine. Resentment has since been covered by Beyonce Knowles and released on her solo album 'B'Day' (2006).

Outside of the UK, Damon Dash had plans for Victoria in the United States, including a potential release of Let Your Head Go / This Groove under the name of Posh Spice Victoria Beckham. The release was proposed for sometime between March to May 2004, but never occurred. ([8]). A Dash produced track It's That Simple featuring M.O.P. was promoed to vinyl, and received a premiere on BBC urban music radio station 1Xtra. This only generated further criticism, with the feeling being that Victoria was a far from convincing urban act[9]. Around this time, a 90 second snippet of a track called Come Together was released to the media, which was notable for sampling the Beatles' song Come Together. A full version never leaked.

With the UK media describing her music career a failure, and combined with a rumored fall out between Dash and Fuller, remaining plans for Victoria's music career were cancelled [10]. To try and salvage her music career, Victoria again began work on pop-styled tracks in 2004. It is known that she recorded a track written for her by Cathy Dennis entitled My Love Is For Real (not to be confused with the Paula Abdul song of the same name). With the collapse of Telstar Records, the pressure to stay with her family caused by the Rebecca Loos scandal, and the announcement of Victoria's third pregnancy, this song has never been heard, except for a leaked remix by Armand van Helden.

Unreleased music

A previously unknown track, Back To Life, leaked online in 2005 after someone found it in a small record store. Although uncertain, it is believed this track dates from early recording sessions for the Victoria Beckham album.

In spring 2006, hope for new tracks was raised when an auction for a CD of 25 unreleased songs from the Telstar / 19 Management era appeared on eBay. It eventually sold for £390, although the buyer never leaked the songs onto the internet after being warned by lawyers representing the copyright owner of the material[citation needed].

Despite this, on 5 September 2006, eleven of Victoria's unreleased songs from the shelved Telstar pop-style album leaked online in various music and fan forums. Victoria is reportedly 'furious' that an album she deemed unfit for release has been heard [11].

List of unreleased music:

Future in music

On February 26, 2006, Beckham stated in an interview with the Sunday Mirror: "I'm never going to sing again, unless it was a chance to do something with the Spice Girls. I don't really miss the shows we did together. I miss the girls more. I see Geri a lot — I love her, she's amazing. I speak to the others from time to time. I love them too and miss them."

Beckham also declared that, for the moment, she and her former Spice colleagues are enjoying their solo careers in various fields. She says: "We're all still doing our own thing. But that's the great thing about the position we're in now — when we decide we want to do more stuff, we can. There's no pressure and, at the end of the day, our fans have been so supportive — and so loyal — that hopefully, when we do come back they'll still be there." [12]

Her husband David has offered a conflicting statement to Victoria's. When asked if she was planning on more solo music, he said in a CD:UK interview, "You never know"[citation needed]. A spokesperson for Beckham has said she could return to music in the future. "She's focusing on her fashion activity at the moment and should she wish to do music at a later date then obviously that's something we can consider. She has a flexible career with which she can do whatever she wants to" the spokeswoman said. [13]

Personal life

Media coverage

In 2004, her happily married image suffered when a string of women claimed to the tabloid press to have had affairs with David, including Rebecca Loos. All were dismissed as "ludicrous", "absurd" and "unsubstantiated" by David Beckham, and the Beckhams showed a publicly united front against the allegations. However, Loos maintained that she had not fabricated the allegations, and since the Beckhams took no legal action to disprove them, they have continued to mar the image of the Beckhams as the UK's "golden couple". The British press and public, however, eventually lost interest in the story, and the Beckhams have appeared to continue life as normal. During the 2006 World Cup Victoria was seen by the press as the leading "WAG" (as the wives and girlfriends of the England team came to be dubbed). In September 2006, amid speculation that Victoria was pregnant with the couple's fourth child, she dispelled the rumors by revealing that she is currently using the Pill, though in the same interview she also mentioned her hope that when the time is right she will have a daughter.[1]

In 2003 Victoria denied rumors of breast enhancement on British TV insisting, "I'm completely natural, except for my fingernails and I have a bit of help with my hair and a bit of St. Tropez going on." A year later she told British chat show host Michael Parkinson, "I haven't had a boob job." This was widely believed to be proven as a lie in 2005 when a court document relating to a libel case she and her husband filed revealed she did have her breasts enhanced. The file, obtained by Britain's The People newspaper, says "That the Second Claimant (Victoria Beckham) had in fact undergone breast enhancement surgery and had lied about it on the 'Tabloid Tales' television program." Victoria has also said in an Interview in the " Ali G Show" that she is very posh and has never had anal sex.

Victoria Beckham has had a well-publicized feud with supermodel Naomi Campbell, which began when she publicly branded Campbell as "a massive cow" and a "bitch" in 2000. The feud reportedly began when Naomi asked Victoria, "Why do they call you Posh?" This was apparently responded with, "Why do they call you beautiful?" However, any bad blood (tabloid-induced or otherwise) between them seems to have subsided and the women have appeared to be friends, Naomi having introduced Jacie to Damon Dash.

Weight

Following the birth of her first child, Victoria's weight loss became a topic of much discussion in the British tabloid press. She agreed to appear in adverts for a potato crisp brand but there were claims that she would not actually eat the crisps. She claimed day that she never had an eating disorder though she says former band member Geri Halliwell did get her dangerously addicted to dieting. She has said that her dramatic weight loss was due to polycystic ovary syndrome, a condition that more usually causes hirsutism, central obesity and occasionally masculinization. However, in her autobiography, she finally revealed her struggles with anorexia.

Fashion career

In 2004 Victoria designed a fashion line for Rock and Republic called 'VB Rocks,' consisting mainly of jeans for the high end of the market (retailing at approximately $300 in the U.S.). The line was successful and Victoria has contributed further lines, including children's and men's wear, for the Spring/Autumn of 2006. She has also worked on a range of women's clothes including shirts and skirts. The clothing features a logo of a crown with the letters VB. It was reported that Victoria Beckham might be sued by HM Queen Elizabeth II for use of what appeared to be the Queen's crown in this logo.[citation needed]

In July 2006 Victoria released a highly successful line of sunglasses (which she had been seen wearing at the World Cup games). In September 2006 Victoria along with her husband David will release 'Intimately Beckham' a his and her fragrance line.

In August 2006 former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller announced that he was developing a TV fashion show for Victoria [14].

In September 2006, Beckham stopped working with Rock and Republic to launch her own jeans label following the success of her VB denim range for Rock and Republic. The new line of Victoria's jeans collection is called DVB.[15]


Headline text

Victoria Beckham has written an autobiography, entitled Learning to Fly [16] (the title was taken from a line in a song from the musical Fame, which Victoria adored as a child). The book was the 3rd best selling non-fiction title of 2001 (total UK sales stand at more than 500,000 copies), and has been translated into several languages.

Victoria is widely believed to have told a Spanish journalist in 2005 that "I've never read a book in my life". Although often used to criticise and ridicule Victoria, this 'quote' was actually a mistranslation from the original Spanish in which the interview was printed - she actually stated she never had time to finish reading a book because she was always running around after her children.

Her second book, a non-fiction fashion book titled That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything In Between [17], was published on 30 Oct 2006. It was co-written by Hadley Freeman, deputy fashion editor of the Guardian and a contributing editor of Vogue. On the Sunday Times Book Charts the Book stand at No.2!

Discography

Albums

Singles

Other releases

Songs available on 'The Réal Beckhams' DVD [18]:

  • Resentment (versions of which were later released by both Jazmine Sullivan and Beyoncé Knowles)
  • Me and You This Time
  • Valentine
  • That Dude

Notes

  1. ^ http://www.4thegame.com/features/feature/193507/.html
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