Melanie C has come a long way since she and her fellow Spice Girls first wowed the world with their chart-topping debut Wannabe and Girl Power mantra – more than 25 years ago.
While music is still very much a big part of her life, Melanie Chisholm thrives off being a mum to her “best friend” Scarlet, 13.
“Any parents of teenagers will know exactly how much of a handful they can be,” the 48-year-old says, laughing. “But she’s absolutely wonderful. She really is my best friend.”
When asked if she could envisage her daughter, whose father is her ex-partner Thomas Starr, possibly following in her footsteps, Melanie admits she can’t quite tell at this point. “Scarlet’s not a singer and she’s not sporty,” she says. “She’s definitely on her own path. Where that will lead, who knows? But I’m very proud of her.”
Melanie currently splits her time between London, Liverpool and Los Angeles with music executive Joe Marshall, her boyfriend of seven years.
She gets her kicks by performing live, telling us that returning to the stage following the pandemic gave her that long-anticipated adrenaline rush.
“I did a couple of festivals when they came back last year, but everyone was a bit hesitant to really let themselves go after being kept inside for so long. So this year, being able to perform live in front of enormous crowds has been an absolute dream. It’s a pure joy to see the looks on people’s faces when they’re singing along to your songs and experiencing that freedom at the same time.”
She adds, “It felt strange to perform my songs live at first – and almost not allowed – but I’m so lucky that I get to do this job every day because you can see it making a difference to people’s happiness. To feel that energy bounce off other people again was fabulous.
“I did all the promotion for [her 2020 album Melanie C] on Zoom from my living room couch, so this year has been like playing catch-up on everything we missed. To be out performing those songs now is amazing.”
Treading the boards
Melanie now hopes to turn her attention back to the world of musical theatre, after taking leading West End roles in Blood Brothers and Jesus Christ Superstar.
“The great thing about theatre is that it continues to evolve,” she explains. “There’s the old classics that we’ll never tire of, as well as so many new ones. I’ve been lucky enough to master the West End, so now I’d love to move on to Broadway.
“That’s definitely a bucket list thing for me – I wouldn’t know what the perfect role for me would be as of yet. I mean, Chicago is a classic, so imagine being able to play Roxie Hart on Broadway. But who knows? I’m open to ideas. Bring on New York!”
The years that followed the Spice Girls’ first chart-topper in 1996 saw Melanie and her bandmates – Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell (now Horner) and Victoria Adams (now Beckham) – lead the 90s pop resurgence, play a major part of the Cool Britannia era and become some of the decade’s most popular showbiz icons.
After nine UK No1 singles, 100 million record sales worldwide and a box office record-breaking movie, the girls began making moves towards their solo careers before calling it quits as a band in 2000.
They reunited for a tour in 2007, performed at the closing ceremony of the Olympics in 2012 and toured again (without Victoria) in 2019, but many fans are keen to see the fab five together in all their Girl Power glory.
Melanie reveals that she and Mel B have been “manifesting” the day that they can announce that the band are officially getting back together – this time with Victoria included. “You’ve got to manifest these things,” she says. “I’ve taken a leaf out of Mel B’s book – she always believed we were finally going to do it.”
She adds, “She’d always say when we were on tour a couple of years ago, ‘It’ll happen, we just need to manifest it’, so that’s what I’ve been trying to do. If you believe in something hard enough, surely it’s bound to happen eventually?”
Reunion ‘no-brainer’
Reflecting on performing at Glastonbury in June, during which she sang Spice Girls hits Spice Up Your Life and 2 Become 1 with the band Blossoms, Melanie believes now is the perfect time to reunite, teasing a potential festival headline act for 2023.
“I was down in those fields in the midst of those magical festival feelings and I just thought, we need to make this happen,” she says. “I’d love to be back on that stage with the girls, it would be incredible. And we know it’s what the fans desperately want. It’s a no-brainer for me. You can count me in, but I think others might need a bit more convincing!”
But she’s praying Victoria will have a change of heart. “There’s nothing we’d love more than to get Victoria back,” Melanie admits.
Spice Girls fans are bound to be feeling excited after the band’s official Twitter account tweeted a message with the hashtag #Spiceworld25, hinting at an announcement marking 25 years since the film Spice World was released in December 1997.
Unable to give too much away right now, Melanie appears to hint at a potential sequel. “Obviously, we’ve got the anniversary of the song and film, so let’s just say we’ve been in talks with Universal, the label that produced our first film… you’ll need to stay tuned to hear more. I don’t want to get into trouble for spilling the beans on a big secret. But there will be big celebrations in the coming months, I can tell you that.”
Although they don’t perform together, Melanie insists the Spice Girls sisterhood is still as strong as ever. “We’re one big dysfunctional family,” she says. “No matter what anyone says. Our relationship extends beyond the five of us because our parents are friends and our siblings are friends.
“The Spice Girls isn’t just a girlband. There’s a huge Spice family. And what’s lovely is, everybody has their own lives and careers and responsibilities, but we’re always there for one another. We might not get the chance to see each other as much as we’d like, but we still have that sisterly bond. That will never ever go away.”
Melanie also reveals that their children are now close friends. “A lot of our children are the same-ish age now, so they’re all friends too – it’s amazing. I hope they end up as close as we are.”
And true to her Sporty Spice moniker, Melanie says she’s been enjoying watching the Lionesses in action in the Euros.
“I couldn’t be happier to see that women’s football is on the rise,” she says. “I’m over the moon to see that young girls are viewing sport as a real career path now. It’s no longer just a boy’s game. The Lionesses have really inspired both me and my daughter.”
Melanie – who is ambassador of travel site booking.com, the official sponsor of the Euros – adds, “I’m loving combining my passion for sport and my appreciation for travel in this role. I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world with my job and meet some incredible people, including sports stars, so this does feel like the perfect position for me.”
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