She’s Sporty Every Day

Everyone has a pop culture moment that runs on a loop in their idle mind, right? For me it’s the James Bond–style title sequence to Spice World. In the film, each Spice Girl is introduced with a candy-colored silhouette while singing the sparkly slow jam “Too Much.” The camera pans to a young Melanie C, aka Sporty Spice, who belts, “What part of no don’t you understand? I want a man, not a boy who thinks he caaaan.” I get chills when I think about it. Like their signature garb, each Spice Girl had a signature sound they brought to the group. For Melanie C, it was her powerful vocal timbre that usually came in with punchy, mic-drop-worthy lyrics. 

The Spice Girls have lived on through multiple reunions, as well as in our hearts, our ponytails, our platform sneakers, and our bad British accents. But back in 1999, Melanie C was ready to shed her Sporty Spice identity. She chopped her signature brunette ponytail off and bleached her hair. She replaced her loose tracksuits with fitted baby tees and leather jackets. She released her debut solo album, Northern Star, which leaned into a moodier rock, trip-hop, and trance sound. Now, on her ninth album, Sweat, Melanie C is finally ready to return to her Sporty roots. Ahead of her solo show at the Showbox this weekend, I had the pleasure of chatting with Melanie C about all things Sweat, girl power, and her iconic gold tooth. She also confirmed that she will be performing a few Spice Girls songs at the show. “For fans who have never seen the Spice Girls live,” she told me, “this is your chance to see at least one of them!” 

Your new album, Sweat, feels almost like a return to Sporty Spice. Were you thinking about your Sporty Spice identity while creating this album? 
One hundred percent. On the album, I’ve not only gone back to Sporty, but I’ve gone back before Sporty. My passion for dance music began in my late teens, and the Spice Girls came along soon after. I didn’t have a lot of opportunities to go out clubbing and socializing. It’s something that got left behind until I started DJing again about eight years ago, and with that, reuniting the Spice Girls in 2019. During that time, I not only rediscovered house and dance music, but also Sporty Spice. I realized that Sporty wasn’t a persona I took on; it was something that lived within me. It was so beautiful to have that realization. Once I found her again, I was like, I’m never letting her go. Sweat was the perfect outlet for bringing who I am as a DJ closer to who I am as a solo artist. Merging those worlds has just been such a fantastic experience.

Can you share some of your musical inspirations for the album?
Madonna is my ultimate inspiration. I love that she’s released such an incredible dance record at the same time as me. Also, Robyn: I was so lucky to record the album in Stockholm and have dinner with her. At the time, she was also making [Sexistential] with her longtime collaborator Klas Åhlund, so I got some insight into how those two work. It was a really beautiful experience to have while working on the album. I was also inspired by young musicians like Charli XCX and Rose Gray—they grew up listening to the Spice Girls, and now I’m such a huge fan of theirs.

What should fans expect on your current tour?
I think the overall feel is that it’s a live show, but with a club element. It’s not just going to a gig, but you’ll feel like you’ve had a night out, which is exactly what I wanted to create. Touring in North America, I am stopping in cities I’ve never played in as a solo artist. It’s been so beautiful to see the fans that I’ve grown up with—now in their 30s—who’ve been Spice Girls fans since they were kids. I’m also seeing new generations of young people with their mums. It’s a beautiful atmosphere. It feels really joyous, and there’s so much love. And even though I’m showcasing new work from Sweat, I pay respect to my Spice Girls roots. We do a few Spice Girls songs every night. There’s a newness, but there’s also nostalgia. With the help of the audience, I’ve been able to achieve exactly what I wanted to.

You’ve written so many songs, both as a solo artist and in the Spice Girls. What lyric are you most proud of?
The lyric I always think about is “Live your life without regret / Don’t be someone who they forget,” from “Northern Star.” I’ve seen people have this tattooed on them. I think if we all had our time again, we’d do things differently. But I think it’s really important to acknowledge where you are, and you wouldn’t be in that place if it weren’t for all of the choices that you’ve made. That is a lyric that really resonates with me.

I saw an interview recently with Mel B, who said that she sometimes plays dress-up in her old Scary Spice outfits. Do you ever throw on your old tracksuits or pull out your Sporty Spice doll to indulge in that type of nostalgia?
I’ve just realized how ridiculous I am as a human being. [Laughs] Okay, so I wear the same clothes that I’ve always worn. I’m sporty every day. I mean, I have a really fun wardrobe on stage, but my Adidas tracksuits are with me at all times. And actually, my Sporty Spice doll is on the road with me. She almost needs her own Instagram account… she is living it up! So yeah, I am quite ridiculous. I haven’t really changed.

Maybe this is a weird question, but I am dying to know more about your gold tooth that you used to have. Why did you get it and why did you get it removed? I actually have a tooth gem [opens mouth and points to tooth]. The placement is very inspired by you.
Oh, I just love tooth gems! I’m very tempted to get one, but my daughter said that I’m too old. I might just turn up at home with one. [Laughs] It would be all sparkly onstage. I want to look into that. It’s so funny, isn’t it? [The gold tooth] was a little bit like my tattoos. When I was lucky enough to become a pop star with the Spice Girls, I just felt like there were no rules. You know, we could do whatever we wanted. I’d always wanted a gold tooth, so I just did it. It was just a veneer on the front of my tooth. As I got older, I thought maybe I’d grow up and be a little bit more sensible, so I had it removed. But I’m a bit like, oh, I wish I still had it! It was just a fun choice. I also had my nose pierced. It’s just one of those things you experience as a young person—you want to explore and change your appearance.

Did you feel like you were in control of curating your image in the Spice Girls?
Yeah, I think it was interesting because I love OG Sporty. That’s really what I look back on and what inspires me with the outfits that I wear now. But I think as a young person, I got bored quickly. I tried to evolve her, but the original Sporty was the best. 

Did you ever find yourself wanting to reject Sporty Spice?
Do you know? I don’t think I ever wanted to reject her, but I think I was really keen for people to see that there was more to me than Sporty Spice, especially during my first solo album. We live in a world where we feel comfortable putting things and people in boxes, and I was frustrated because I knew there was more to me. So at that point, I suppose I was trying to look different: I physically cut all my hair off and had a little rebellious moment. But yeah, I’m very happy to come home to Sporty. I feel quite literally more comfortable.

I have to ask about Spice World because that movie was huge for me. What is your favorite memory from filming Spice World?
That was a crazy time, because it was like right in the middle of what I call Spicemania—those days from like ’96 to ’98. We were on set in London. We shot it in six weeks at all of these iconic locations. But not only that, we were shooting the movie while we were writing the second album, Spiceworld. We’d often have a mobile studio on set. We’d finish a day of shooting, then start recording. It was such a hectic time, but it was also so fun because everything we did was huge at that point. We were really achieving all of these crazy dreams that we’d set out to do. We were just lapping it up at that time.

One thing that mesmerized me as a kid was the Spice Bus in the movie. Was the Spice Bus anything like the real Spice Girls tour bus? 
Well, this is going to be a heartbreaker, but we flew everywhere! [Laughs sadly] We did have a tour bus briefly in 1998, but we didn’t go on it very often. It wasn’t until later in my solo career that I truly embraced the idea of a tour bus.

The film Spice World is a mockumentary, but was there any part of the film that was true to life?
The movie was very much inspired by—but of course a huge exaggeration of—things that were actually happening. I mean, some of it wasn’t that exaggerated, but a lot of it was inspired by experiences that we’d had, so it did feel so close to the truth. We didn’t really have to act too much. I think there’s quite a lot of eye-rolling for me when Geri [Ginger Spice] speaks, isn’t there? That’s very true to life. [Laughs] 

That brings me to my last question: what’s the meaning of “girl power”? 
I think it’s that thing that’s transcended the Spice Girls, hasn’t it? You know, it’s out there, even among young generations who may not even know our music or our characters. It’s one of the parts of our legacy we’re so proud of because we empowered so many people, and I meet them all the time. It’s something that’s spoken in our language and printed on T-shirts—I see it when I’m out shopping! I think often, as young people, we can feel powerless or lonely, and [girl power] gave people confidence and courage to go on and feel like they had somewhere to belong. Girl power is something I feel very, very proud of.

See Melanie C at the Showbox, Saturday, September 19, 8:30 pm, 21+

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