Too Much

Album: Spiceworld (1997)
Charted: 1 9
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In this song, Spice Girls play around with the saying "too much of a good thing" as it relates to love. They turn the koan into a bit of a brain teaser:

    Too much of something is bad enough
    ...
    Too much of nothing is just as tough


    The Girls wrote it with the song's producers, Andy Watkins and Paul Wilson.
  • "Too Much" was released on the second Spice Girls album, Spiceworld, in November 1997, but it wasn't released as a single until December 1998. By this time, Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice) had left the group (in the middle of their tour!) so they were a foursome. Spicemania was abating, but like their first five singles, the song went to #1 in the UK, making the Spice Girls the first artist to have their first six singles all reach #1 in Britain.

    The song was on top of the UK chart over Christmas, marking the second consecutive Christmas #1 for the group, following "2 Become 1." They made it three in a row in 1998 with "Goodbye."
  • This song opens the Spice Girls' 1997 film Spice World. In the very first scene, they sing this song on Top Of The Pops for a huge number of fans, photographers and media of all sorts.
  • Throughout the video, the members never appear together in a scene. They all live certain fantasies: Geri Halliwell is a sultry lounge singer; Victoria Beckham is a bond girl; Emma Bunton lives through a scene from the Steven Spielberg movie Poltergeist; Melanie Chisholm is a street fighter; and Melanie Brown is a combat warrior. The video contains some references to movies. Bits and pieces of scenes from their film Spice World are featured, and the aforementioned scenes with Bunton and the reference to Poltergeist.

Comments: 2

  • David from MichiganThere are actually two versions of this video- one features scenes from Spiceworld:The Movie whereas the other does not.
  • Shawn from Green Bay, WiThe Spice Girls' best song, it has that lyrical ambiguity that most great songs have and features probably their best vocals. Though all the girls get turns at verses, it is their first hit to largely feature Mel C, with Emma getting the strongest part of the chorus. Perhaps due to being featured, Mel C often took to dropping her "Sporty" image during live performances of this song for a more womanly appearance.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Frankie Valli

Frankie ValliSong Writing

An interview with Frankie Valli, who talks about why his songs - both solo and with The Four Seasons - have endured, and reflects on his time as Rusty Millio on The Sopranos.

The Girl in That Song

The Girl in That SongFact or Fiction

Billie Jean, Delilah, Sara, Laura and Sharona - do you know who the girls in the songs really are?

Michael Schenker

Michael SchenkerSongwriter Interviews

The Scorpions and UFO guitarist is also a very prolific songwriter - he explains how he writes with his various groups, and why he was so keen to get out of Germany and into England.

Actors With Hit Songs

Actors With Hit SongsMusic Quiz

Many actors have attempted music, but only a few have managed a hit. Do you know which of these thespians charted?

Charles Fox

Charles FoxSongwriter Interviews

After studying in Paris with a famous composition teacher, Charles became the most successful writer of TV theme songs.

Rock Revenge Songs

Rock Revenge SongsMusic Quiz

John Lennon, Paul Simon and Lynyrd Skynyrd are some of the artists who have written revenge songs. Do you know who they wrote them about?