In this episode we cover Melanie C (AKA Sporty Spice) first foray into Musical Theatre (Blood Brothers and Jesus Christ Superstar), motherhood (with baby Scarlet), a nasty break up with her long term partner and 4…… yes FOUR….. more albums.
So, we pick up in 2007 – Spice Girls have announced the reunion tour and Mel C, as Mel C loves to do… is releasing a solo album. Forever 2.0 isn’t it.
In her defence, I believe she probably wasn’t planning on doing the reunion and was convinced last minute. As recent as 2 months before she’d said in interview she wouldn’t and was focussed on the album. This seems like a smart move for her.
She releases two songs simultaneously. In Europe she releases the very Mel C ballad – For this moment; the UK we get her cover version of “I want candy”. Featured on the soundtrack of film of same name.
I remember at the time this feeling like a very odd move. Bizarre. She’d always been the credible one and this seemed like a bit of a PR exercise. Which was surprising because she is on her own now – running her own label, Red Girl Records. I guess, they’re figuring things out. Trying to be commercial…… And the Spice Girls were known for cheesy covers. Their live shows were always filled with 80s disco hits like “We are family” and “Ain’t no stopping us”.
It charted at 24, spent 2 weeks on the chart. This would be one of the last times we would see Mel C in the top 40. The charting days of the Spice Girls are behind us by 2008.
Cute Fact – The video, a little raunchier than usual for Melanie. A leather catsuit – Hello, Victoria – and she’s surrounded by half naked oil men in a pink room – Hello, Geri - The song did debut at the top of the YouTube video chart. With 200,000 views in its first day…. Now, this is just a reflection of how much YouTube has grown. 200,000 views. Most watched. In 2018, Thank U Next was released as the first YouTube premier – encouraging live streams – in its first 24hours was viewed 55.4million times.
The album followed the next month – This Time – to a mixed critical reception. They felt it was a bit meh. She’d teamed up with some of the old favbourites: Guy Chambers, Cathy Dennis, Steve Mac – it was praised for the vocal maturity. It reached 57 in the charts. And went on to sell 300,000 worldwide. Her previous effort had sold a million.
I think this is the last we see of angry, not fitting it, fighting the industry “Sporty Spice”. The mellow Melanie that we see now really starts to ascend from the ashes of the 2007 reunion. Particularly, after the birth of her daughter.
At this point Melanie becomes the last Spice Girls to get pregnant. With her only child, Scarlett, born in February 2009. By this point she had been with her long term partner, Thomas Starr, for 7 years. This is where we see a change in direction from Melanie, and she signs on to play Mrs Johnstone in a new production of Willy Russels, Blood Brothers, in her West End debut. (Oct 2009). This seems like such a natural fit for her; it’s a Liverpool rooted play. Contemporary. Big singing vocals.
At the time she said how she had been invited to do musicals and movies in the past, but it had never felt like the right time – but, with having a baby, she wanted to stay close to home and have more routine. She’d genuinely contemplated never working again. That surprised me. So. God bless little Scarlett.
Because it was very successful for her. Reviews were very quickly glowing. London evening standard called her the “Galvanising factor” saying they’d never seen a set of reviewers rise so quick to standing ovation. The Independent said she rightly followed in the footsteps of previous actresses Carole King and Barbara Dickson with her singing abilities and luminous stage presence in a role she was born for.
She was nominated for an Oliver Award for best actress. Only the third actress to be nominated in the role in its 25 year run. P
