Hot Celebrities Interview

MELANIE C
BY EVELYN MCDONNELL

EVELYN MCDONNELL: How does it feel to step outside the Spice Girls with your solo debut Northern Star [Virgin]?
MELANIE C: It's all my dreams come true. It's something that I've wanted to do for a long time. It's quite a personal album. All the songs reflect on what we've been through over the last few years. Also, I've explored a wider range of musical directions. I take more of the rock angle on a lot of songs, and there's some lovely acoustic numbers and there's still pop.

EM: Have you always been a rock fan?
MC: Yeah. I was brought up with a lot of rock music because my mom had always been in bands. I find it very emotive.

EM: I heard that MTV is not playing the first video, "Goin' Down."
MC: There was a little bit of controversy because there are a couple of words in there that they feel are a bit strong for a younger audience. But they love the video, and I think they'll play it after a certain time or maybe bleep out a couple of words.

EM: What are the words?
MC: It's a song about when I was a little bitter about a relationship that had ended. I say: "From this little hitch, I've become a superbitch," and then, "Well, I'm not a whore, I've just gone hardcore." It's not very Spice, is it?

EM: You do have such young fans, and of course, you're getting older. Has there become more of a gap?
MC: We're always very proud of how young our fans are because when you're that young, you're not corrupt. You just enjoy something because you like it, not because the media is telling you that this is cool. But I think with this album, I'd like to be accepted by an older crowd.

EM: Do you think you'll ever have to change the group's name from girls to something else?
MC: Spice Women? Old bags? Can you imagine us being forty doing "Wannabe"? No, we'll always be girls at heart, no matter how old we are.

EM: Did you grow up in a feminist household?
MC: Not really. It was very equal. I've got a brother and we both had to do the washing up and my stepfather was always Hoovering and stuff, so it wasn't the typical wife in the kitchen and husband goes out and gets the money. We all shared everything and it's like that now. I go home and go, "Mom, I'm really famous." She says, "Yeah, but I don't care. Do the washing up."

EM: How exactly did you come to earn the name Sporty?
MC: That was just a tag which was put on me because of the way I dress. I've always been a bit of a scruff; I've always been into casual clothes. I'm not really one for wearing skirts and getting dressed up very often. All the [other Spice] Girls wear those silly clothes; they look fantastic, but they're so uncomfortable. Whenever we go out, they're all in their heels. Halfway through the night everyone's going, "I'm so jealous. I wish I had your sneakers on." So you see, I got the best name.


EM: One of the things that's really great about the Spice Girls is that you're an example of women bonding and having fun together.
MC: Women are always perceived to be bitching about each other or scratching each other's eyes out, when really there's nothing better than a good girly gang you can turn to when your man dumps you. You always call your friends up and they save they day, don't they?

EM: How much were you in touch with the other girls while you were recording your solo album?
MC: Quite a lot. I have to do my catching up at least once a week, find out all the gossip.

EM: Is it going to be hard to be on stage without them?
MC: No, it'll be great, 'cause I won't have to do dancing. I can just do what I want. I can just sing and jump around. And if I do make a mistake, I've only got myself to blame. It's a relief. Weight off my shoulders.