15 of the best girl bands of all time
TLC, EV or DC? 💋
Last updated 20th May 2021
They're stylish, talented and have bags of attitude. But when they come together, they're forces to be reckoned with! We're, of course, talking about the girl band. The Spice Girls may have coined the term Girl Power back in the 90s, but girl groups have been preaching to the choirs since the 60s!
Here is our ultimate countdown of the best girl bands of all time...
Our favourite girls bands of all time:
The Supremes
Who doesn't love The Supremes? Founded as the Primettes in 1959, the Supremes were one of the most successful Motown acts, and one of America's most successful vocal group to date, with 12 Number 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100!
The various line-up changes throughout the years make it hard to pinpoint which was the most popular, but Mary Wilson was an original member until the end, and the group also launched the career of Diana Ross until she went solo in 1970. They had a whole host of incredible hits, like 'Baby Love', 'You Keep Me Hanging On', 'Can't Hurry Love' and 'River Deep, Mountain High', but probably their most well-known song is 'Stop In The Name Of Love'.
The Pointer Sisters
When you think of 70s girl bands, The Pointer Sisters are right up there are the top of the list. With huge hits like 'Jump (For My Love)', 'Slow Hand' and a cover of 'Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves', the US group are still beloved today.
Originally made up of sisters June, Bonnie, Anita and Ruth Pointer, the group have also performed with Ruth's daughter Issa Pointer and granddaughter Sadako Pointer. Their most well-known hit is 'I'm So Excited'.
Sister Sledge
Another American girl group who kept it in the family is Sister Sledge, whose career spanned the 70s, 80s and 90s - and are still active today. Made up of sisters Debbie, Joni, Kim and Kathy Sledge, they also sang with Tanya Tiet who joined the group in 2012.
Their most well-known songs are 'He's The Greatest Dancer', 'Lost In Music' and 'Thinking Of You', but their most popular song has got to be 'We Are Family'.
The Bangles
The Bangles were one of the biggest bands of the 80s, regardless of gender. Hailing from Los Angeles, they saw enormous success with a string of Top 10 hits like 'Manic Monday', 'Walk Like An Egyptian' and 'In Your Room'.
Their most enduring song, however, has got to be 'Eternal Flame', which was not only a huge song for The Bangles but also helped to launch the career of 90s girl band Atomic Kitten, who covered the song.
Atomic Kitten
Speaking of whom... British girl band Atomic Kitten burst onto the scene in the late 90s with a whole host of hits, including covers 'The Tide Is High (Get the Feeling)' originally by The Paragons and the aforementioned 'Eternal Flame' by The Bangles.
The line-up has also been hit with controversy through the years, after original member Kerry Katona left the group to be replaced by Jenny Frost, alongside Natasha Hamilton and Liz McClarnon, but they reunited for ITV2 series The Big Reunion in 2013. Their biggest hit was 'Whole Again'.
Eternal
Another British girl group who owned the 90s was Eternal, originally made up of sisters Easther and Vernie Bennett, with Kéllé Bryan and Louise Redknapp completing the line-up. Louise left after the release of their debut album in 1994 to focus on a solo career, and Kéllé left in 1998.
Thought of as the UK's answer to En Vogue, Eternal had a whole host of hits like 'Stay', 'Power of a Woman' and 'Oh Baby I...', as well as contributing to the soundtrack of Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1996 with 'Someday'. Their biggest hit was 'I Wanna Be the Only One', which featured BeBe Winans and earned the band a MOBO Award.
En Vogue
This brings us onto the brilliantly attitude-drenched En Vogue, who sold more than 20 million records worldwide. They have also won seven MTV Video Music Awards three Soul Train Awards, two American Music Awards, and seven Grammy nominations! Also, their name literally means 'In Fashion' – you can't get much cooler than that. Although they had plenty of hits like 'Free Your Mind', 'My Lovin'' and 'Hip Hop Lover', probably their most well-known song is 'Don't Let Go (Love)'.
TLC
With over 71 million records sold worldwide, TLC are thought to be one of the best-selling American girl groups of all time! With an original line-up of Tionne 'T-Boz' Watkins, Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes and Rozonda 'Chilli' Thomas, they saw huge success with hits like 'Waterfalls', 'Unpretty' and 'Creep'. But their biggest hit was 'No Scrubs', which still gets plenty of radio airplay!
B*Witched
In a completely different change of gear, we can't leave out Irish girl group B*Witched who were also huge in the 90s and also took part in The Big Reunion with Atomic Kitten and Eternal!
Sisters Edele and Keavy Lynch, along with Lindsay Armaou and Sinéad O'Carroll, had a huge amount of success with their happy-go-lucky vibe and Irish influences, seeing success with hits like 'Rollercoaster', 'To You I Belong' and 'Blame It on the Weatherman', but it was 'C'est La Vie' that has made the group go down in history.
Sugababes
Formed in 1998 and split in 2011 with no original members left, the Sugababes certainly attracted a lot of tabloid attention for their constant line-up changes! When it came to their tunes though, the British band had some of the catchiest ones around. Some of their biggest hits included 'Round Round', 'About You Now' and 'Too Lost In You' which appeared on the Love Actually soundtrack - but their biggest hit was 'Push The Button'.
Bananarama
This British girl group have a listing in The Guinness Book of World Records as the all-female group with the most chart entries in the world - pretty impressive! Between 1982 - 2009, Bananarama saw 28 of their singles reach the Top 50 of the UK chart.
Original members Sara Dallin, Keren Woodward and Siobhan Fahey carried on until 1988 when Siobhan left to make group Shakespears Sister, and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan who left in 1991. Their biggest hits were 'Cruel Summer', 'Robert De Niro's Waiting' and 'It Ain't What You Do', but their most enduring song was a cover of Dutch band Shocking Blue's 'Venus'.
All Saints
All Saints were actually founded as All Saints 1.9.7.5, but the group were quickly dropped by their first label. They later signed to London Records under their new name, and have now sold over 12 million records – great motivational story for any budding musicians out there!
Their best known line-up is Melanie Blatt, Shaznay Lewis and sisters Nicole and Natalie Appleton. One of their biggest hits was 'Pure Shores', which appeared on the soundtrack to 2000 film The Beach, but their most popular song has got to be 'Never Ever'.
Mary Mary
Founded in 1998, Mary Mary broke onto the scene with the uplifting 'Shackles (Praise You)', which is pretty much the pioneering song of contemporary gospel music! Although they've seen great success throughout their career, it remains their best-known song.
Destiny's Child
Originally named 'Girl's Tyme', Beyoncé, Kelly and Michelle have now sold over 60 million records worldwide under the name of Destiny's Child! With reunion rumours rife pretty much once a year after their spectacular set at Bey's headline Coachella slot in 2018, fans would love to see another album from Destiny's Child.
With enduring hits like 'Survivor', 'Bootylicious', 'Independent Woman' and 'Bills', Destiny's Child became the poster girls for female empowerment, something which was echoed in their biggest hit, 'Say My Name'.
Spice Girls
Don't worry, we were getting to them... Victoria, Mel, Geri, Mel and Emma just have to hold our title for the best girl band of all time! 'Spice Up Your Life', 'Viva Forever', 'Say You'll Be There'… it doesn't get much catchier than the Spice Girls. Everybody now: 'YOOOOOO....'
You can hear hits from all these artists on the Magic playlist!
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