Spice Girls return to conquer

The group’s four remaining members — Emma Bunton, VictoriaBeckham, Melanie C and Melanie B — have enjoyed solo success since they last toured as a group and have come together with a restrained, softer R&B sound.

The Spice Girls, who first stormed pop charts in 1996, have lost much of the teen and pre-teen market to countless imitators who filled the void in their absence.

But the group, who have scored eight Number 1 hits in Britain and sold more than 35 million albums worldwide, have matured along with their original fans.

In 1999, "Scary Spice" Melanie C gave birth to a daughter, while "Posh Spice" Victoria Beckham had a son. Victoria married football star David Beckham later that year.

The group’s new single, a double-A side, offers fans a more sedate sound.

Critics in Britain have given their latest effort gentle approval, but some have labelled it "bland" and "without Spice Girl attitude". Both songs on the single were co-written and produced by Rodney Jerkins, who has recently worked with Whitney Houston and Britney Spears.

The Spice Girls record label Virgin calls the single "a work of contrasts". In a release, Virgin said Holler is "funky and upbeat" while Let Love Lead The Way is "haunting".

In the futuristic-looking video for "Holler the girls are squeezed into black leather. Videos for both songs feature the Spice Girls looking mean and moody; gone is the jumping and bouncing that accompanied their singles from earlier albums Spice and Spiceworld.

Their third albums is set for a November release.

The question remains whether the new Spice Girls can win fans in Britain and abroad, but record shops in London are already bracing for another wave of "Spicemania".

"It’s the Spice Girls, I wouldn’t bet on it not selling," a spokesman at Tower Records in London’s West End said.

"They’re not a teen band anymore, their fans have grown up with them… but this should be a Number One hit," he said.