Insider Spice Issue 8

Fan club magazine Insider Spice has shipped issue 8. Some interesting info revealed in the new issue is:

• Mel B's album will be out this fall.
• Emma's solo album has 5 comleted songs on it, but still won't be ready for a while.
• Emma will be co-presenting a live music appreciation program for the BBC at the end of May.
• Victoria says about her solo album: "I've written a few tracks.....I don't think it'll be too different from the Spice Girls' music. It'll be very poppy and very catchy. It won't be out until next year though, I've got to finish the Spice Girls' album first."

Thanks to Ben / Angie Hung.

Female Boxer Offers MelC Help

Melanie C has been spotted boxing with her personal trainer lately to keep herself in shape. Champion female boxer Jane Couch has offered to help Mel C by being her personal trainer. Jane said:

"Boxing's a very good way of loosing weight and a lot ofcelebrities are doing it just to shape up rather than get in the ring and compete. She should be able to see the results in a few weeks. But if she came and trained with me though she'd be more trim in a few days. She's quite welcome to come and work out with me because you need to make sure you work out properly to avoid injury. I'm going to send her a copy of my new book, Fleetwood Assassin, to which she should read to learn a bit more about boxing."

Garry Barlow Wants To Write For Posh

RUMOR WARNING

Former Take That singer Gary Barlow wants to work with Victoria on her solo album. He thinks this could restore his creditbility in the music industry. He and his wife had dinner with the Beckhams to discuss the proposal. But it seems that Gary's songsmight not be the kind of sound Victoria is looking for. An 'insider' said:

"Gary's written a couple of songs which he really hopes Victoria will like. The problem is his music is very middle of the road and her album is going to have a funkier, R'n'B vibe. Gary's called her to tell her he's got the songs for her. He's trying to set up a meeting but she seems to be very busy."

RUMOR WARNING

MelC Not On T In The Park Bill

Sporty Spice Melanie C wanted to perform at Scotland's music festival T In The Park this year. Unfortunately the bill is already full and there is no space for any additional performers. Event Organisers said:

"We have never approached Mel to play at thefestival but we are really flattered she wants to play. She's very welcome to come along where we will give her the very best VIP treatment. Our billing is virtually complete with confirmed artists or a commitment to other groups. But if circumstances change we'd be happy to talk."

Quick Word On Forthcoming MelC Tour

Melanie C has posted a new message in the news section of her official website. It says:

Hiya, Melanie here! I just want to say a massive THANKS to every one of you who bought tickets for the shows in September. I'm so excited ñ these gigs are going to be the best ever! Here's a quick update of which venues are sold out and which ones are still available. Don't forget that tickets for the second Shepherds Bush gig (10/1/00) are now on sale, but get your skates on, because I hear they're going pretty quickly!

-=Venue & Sale Status List, see local Mel C tour dates page=-

Tickets are available from venue box offices, a credit card hotline on 0115 912 9000 or gigsandtours.com. All tickets cost £15 except London which are £16. The Northern-star tour is in association with worldpop.com.

MelC Comments On Weight

Melanie C has talked about her recent bit of weight gain and the media's coverage of it. Mel said:

"The world is obsessed with weight. It's an unhealthy obsession. People tell us that the Spice Girls are responsible because people look up to us. But the media have responsibility too. If I lose a lot of weight or gain a lot of weight I could be completely paranoid about what people say. But as an individual, I shouldn't feel it's a problem if my weight fluctuates. There are a lot of young kids out there with weight problems and I think it is irresponsible to focus on these issues."

Melanie was seen yesterday jogging around her neighborhood, working out. She also laughed off rumors again that she is gay and had been sharing a bed with her constant companion Ying while on holiday. Mel also talked about her upcoming tour:

"When you are doing your show with the Spice Girls, you've got your routines and you know what is expected of you. I do smaller venues than the Spice Girls which gives me more scope to get to more places. I know that when I was a kid in Liverpool, the artists I wanted to see mainly went to London and I couldn't afford to go there. I want to get to the kids in the council estates, working class kids. You can do that if you go to small places."

Victoria Sends Message To Tace Family

Victoria Beckham has sent a card which read "Thinking Of You" to the parents of Tace Corcoran-Rees, a baby that was the same age as Victoria's own son, but lost her fight for life at University Hospital in Wales, Cardiff when a new heart for a transplant couldn't be found in time. The girl's parents, Kirsti Corcoran and Derek Rees also recieved a signed Spice Girls book, and signed poster of David Beckham from Victoria. The items will be put up on auction to raise money for an appeal set up in Tace's memory. Mother Kirsty said:

"We were thrilled with the gifts from Victoria. I have written back to her thanking her for her support. I want her to know that it will help raise money for other children in Tace's position."

Brits 2000 In US

The Brit Awards 2000 in which the Spice Girls recieved an award for Outstanding Contribution To British Music as well as performing a mini concert will finally be shown in the US on VH1 on Saturday May 6th at 1pm, and again on Sunday May 7th at 9am.

Thanks Case / Linda Parham

MelC Gives The Finger

Here is a picture of Melanie C giving the finger to some paparazzi when she saw them taking photos of her on the beach.(Story)

Thanks to Angie Hung.

Victoria Thanks

Victoria contacted dotmusic earlier today and sent along a thank you message to everyone who sent her a greeting (Story). Victoria says:

"I'd like to personally thank everyone who sent in their birthday greetings and for making this e-card a record breaking success."

The e-card event will soon be entered into the Guiness Book Of World Records.

Bulkier MelC

It appears that recently Melanie C has put on a few pounds. Some say that she has changed her exercises focusing on toning different muscles, causing a bulkier more wide shouldered Mel C. Others say she stopped working out at all recently. Bottom line is the British media is (not surprisingly) all over the story. Here are a couple pictures of Mel C on the beach in Barbados this weekend with friend Chai.

MelC Interview

Over at Spice Universe in the audio section there is a short realaudio interview with Melanie C from MTV(UK) from April 2nd. Here is a local copy of that realaudio file. In the interview Melanie talks about herself wanting to work with Madonna in the future, a little about boyfriend Jason Brown, and the possibility of "If That Were Me" being a charity single.

Max Writes Song For MelB

RUMOR WARNING

Melanie B's current boyfriend Max Beesley wrote a song for her. She is reportedly so impressed by the song that she is putting it on her solo album. The song is called "Step Inside" and shows how much the two love each other. A close source says: "The song is all about coming into my world, which fits in with the idea that Mel is trying to convert to the Buddhist ways that Max follows."

RUMOR WARNING

Emma TrackHer

Apparently Emma is suddenly in Los Angeles. Rumors that Baby Spice was pregnant were quickly sparked when she went to the Sunset Medical Plaza near her hotel. The hospital apparently has many top gynaecologists, thats what caused the rumors. But Emma was just there to see a dentist, her mouth has been hurting her. Emma came out of the hospital dressed pink trousers, a pink bandana, and a tight white T-shirt. Emma told photographers who were waiting outside and asking her if she was pregnant:

"No I'm not pregnant! I had to go to the medical center to see the Dentist. My mouth really hurt. I've just had my teeth done and it still hurts now, which is why I can't smile very well for the camera!"

MelC TrackHer

RUMOR WARNING

Melanie C has been in Miami for the last week. She arrived there last Monday to do/finish work on the third Spice Girls album. She came now after the rest of the girls were there a week before that. This is fueling rumors that the group is not getting along well with her. Mel headed off to Barbados for the weekend with her personal assistant and good friend Chai Ling Yau.

RUMOR WARNING

Posh Gets £100,000 From British Airlines

British Airlines has officially declared Victoria Beckham's luggage to be lost(Story). The airline told Victoria that they could not declare so until it was missing for seven days. As a result they have paid Victoria £100,000 as compensation. There are rumors that Victoria was not happy with this and thought that she should get free flights for her and her family for a lifetime, but that is like I said, just a rumor.

British Airlines are now working with the police to find out who stole Victoria's luggage. It appears that the baggage was stolen during an internal transfer from Heathrow Airport to Victoria's final destination, Manchester. The luggage is said to have contained a demo of the third Spice Girls album, sheets with lyrics on them, and Victoria's personal diary with lists of personal phone numbers and contacts, personal family pictures, etc. An unconfirmed report says that a janitor cleaning out garbage bins noticed dumped belongings, including a diary, song lyrics, and cd's. These were Victoria's. The man contacted Victoria through one of the contacts in the diary. He offered to return what he found and refused to take any reward for it and didn't want any publicity out of it either. Police investigation continues in the case of the rest of the missing luggage.

NBTSA #1 In Brazil

Melanie C's latest single "Never Be The Same Again" continues to go to #1 in countries all over the world, the latest addition being Brazil.

New MelC Hairstyle

As she grows her hair back out, Mel C's hairstyle changes, check out this page at 100% Melanie C for screen captures from her very recent appearance on A Question Of The Pop(UK).

Can't say that this is my favorite hairstyle she's had...

MelC Tesco Tidbit

In an interview in Tesco Entertainment Magazine(UK), a supermarket magazine, Melanie C tells the magazine that Tescos is her favourite supermarket, and that she writes some of her lyrics to her songs in the bath.

MelC In Sweden

Sporty Spice Melanie C will be appearing in Sweden on the ZTV chart show. The show is supposedly taped this coming Wednesday, and tickets are free. She will also be on the Swedish show Ketchup Party this coming Wednesday, April 26th. You can enter to win tickets from this site.

Thanks to Zila / Anna-Karin.

Actress Mel C

In an interview with Hello Magazine(UK) Sporty Spice Melanie C revealed some acting inspirations saying:

"I'd like to be a female Sly Stallone, or Bruce Willis's sidekick in a film where I get to save the world."

It is not known whether she was just jokingly saying it, toying with the idea, or serious.

She's probably just joking around with a daydream she had one day that she probably would not persue, but who knows for sure.

Caprice Not After J

Caprice herself laughed off the rumor that she was after Sporty Spice's boyfriend Jason Brown(Story). So looks like Mel C has nothing to worry about in this department.

Album 3 Demo Missing

A demo of the Spice Girls' third album is missing! Posh Spice Victoria Beckham was taking the demo tape home with her from a recording session in Miami. She put it in one of her three baggages. When she got off the plane at Heathrow airport in London, the bags were missing. British Airways are to this moment still unable to find the luggage but are scrambling to find it. The tape was in one of the pieces of luggage. Spice Girls are worried that the tape might fall into the hands of bootleggers, and end up on the Internet.

Caprice After J

RUMOR WARNING

Sexy blonde Caprice is after Melanie C's boyfriend Jason Brown. She appeared at two backstage Five shows and was said to be very touchy with J. She refuses to give up on trying to get with J despite the fact that he is dating Mel C. She has been recently calling him a lot.

RUMOR WARNING

Victoria TrackHer

Posh Spice Victoria Beckham spent her birthday at the zoo with husband David and her son Brooklyn. The family was given special treatment, not having to pay admission and having areas cleared for private viewing of animals.

Here is a small picture of the family at the zoo.

Victoria Greetings Posted

dotmusic has posted the entire list of wishes which was sent to Victoria for her birthday(Story). Here is the link directly to the list of wishes. No word on whether this broke the world record yet.

Happy Birthday Victoria!

Today is Posh Spice Victoria Beckham's 26th birthday.

MelB Movie

RUMOR WARNING

Melanie B will be starring in a movie in which she plays a character that is similar to her real self. In the film which is provisionally entitled Rusty, Mel will play Rusty Williams, a mixed-race working class Yorkshire girl who moves to London to become a star in the harsh world of Soho jazz clubs. A 'friend of Mel' said:

"Mel is really keen to get her acting career off the ground. She's been working behind the scenes, having meetings with writers and directors, but she wanted to keep it hush-hush for now. She doesn't want the publicity Victoria's had because it just increases the pressure. This will be her first big acting part and she wants it to be right."

RUMOR WARNING

Victoria TrackHer

Posh Spice Victoria Beckham returned to England today from the US where she was doing work on the third Spice Girls album. She returned to celebrate her birthday which is tomorrow!

MelC & Bon Jovi?

Sporty Spice Melanie C might be teaming up with John Bon Jovi on a future song. The two met in a Beverly Hills hotel. Mel C revealed the plans on Manchester radio station Key 103. Melanie said:

"There's definitely something on the grapevine. It might not be a single, but you may well see us appearing together. They asked me if I was interested in approaching him, apparently he's up for it. Brilliant!"

A 'source close to Mel' said:

"Mel really enjoyed recording with Bryan and Lisa. She thinksit's really refreshing working with new people and can't wait to do the same with John."

A Question Of Pop

Melanie C will be on the quiz show A question Of Pop(UK) this Saturday on BBC 1 at 6.05pm.

Thanks Michael Holden.

I Turn To You - Single

The official Melanie C website has news that the next single from Mel C's solo debut album Northern Star will be "I Turn To You". This will be her fourth single and will be released on July 10th. As a side note, the site also reports that the Northern Star album has sold over 300,000 copies.

Olympic Sporty

RUMOR WARNING

Sporty Spice Melanie C is wanted by the boss of Britain's Olypic squad to make a pop song for the team for this summer's Olypics in Sydney. Virgin Records have been approached by the British Olympic Association to come up with a track by July as a huge publicity campaign gets under way for the games in Sydney this September. An Olympic Association spokesman confirmed: "Obviously we would love to get Mel C on board."

RUMOR WARNING

Mel C CD Signing

Melanie C will be signing copies of her debut solo album Northern Star and her latest single "Never Be The Same Again" at Virgin Megastore in Bristol, England this Thursday. Here is the post from the news page of her official website:

If you live in Bristol, then you're in luck as Mel is going down to the Virgin Megastore Thursday afternoon to do some signing. Mel will only be signing her album 'Northern Star' and the latest single 'Never Be The Same Again' though. Mel will be down there for an hour and a half from 1.00 pm.

So those details once more. Virgin Megastore, Union gallery, Broadmead ,Bristol. 1.00pm-2.30pm Thursday 13th April. Don't forget to get down there in plenty of time as there is a bound to be a bit of a queue.

Mel C Fears Cancer

Melanie C admits that she is a bit affraid of getting cancer, as three of her family members have died from the disease. Mel C said:

"Some days I'm so worried that if I've got a pain in my stomach I think I've got cancer. I was convinced I was going to die. I had to stop and say to myself, 'Look Melanie, come on, let's be realistic, you're all right'."

Last month, she launched the Marie Curie Cancer Foundation's 2000 Daffodil Campaign is quite happy to exploit her fame if it helps the fight against cancer. Mel said:

"I want to use my celebrity in a very positive way to help raise awareness in the on-going fight against cancer."

Send Victoria A Birthday Message

The dotmusic page where you can send Victoria a birthday message to help try to set the new world record(Story) is now open! Go send her a message now as it will only be open for (now less than) 24hrs!

Northern Star At #5

While her single "Never Be The Same Again" has dropped to #7 on the UK singles chart, Melanie C's debut album Northern Star climbed to #5 on the UK albums chart today, it's highest place yet.

News From Spice Hq

The official Spice Girls homepage has new news. Basically it says that the Spice Girls third album is now due for release at the end of the year, Mel B is done recording her solo album, and Emma & Victoria are both working on their solo albums - this is all official. Here is the post:

This month the girls are heading back to the US to re-unite with supremo producer, Rodney Jerkins. They will be recording three tracks which will put the final touches to the third Spice album due for release at the end of this year.

Mel B has now completed all the tracks for her debut solo album. The record, co-written with the likes of Jam & Lewis, Teddy Riley, Max Beesley, Fred Jerkins and Sisqo, is currently in the mixing stage and is scheduled to be released in september this year.

In case you were wondering, Emma and Victoria are also busy with their solo albums.

Emma Visits Rainbow Trust

Spice Girl Emma Bunton made a surprise visit at the Rainbow Trust charity today. Rainbow Trust was founded to provide respite and support at home to children with a life threatening or terminal illness and their families. Emma visited for the 10th birthday of Rainbow House, the charity's Surrey respite centre. Emma spent time with some of the Trust's children and their families who took her on a special tour of Rainbow House and its garden. The celebratory lunch was topped off with a special rendition of Happy Birthday by the Spice Girl herself. Emma ended up singing songs in the bathroom with the children and said:

"I'm having a fabulous time. This is the best audience of my life. We are having such fun. We've had a cakes and we've been shown round the house. We've been jumping around on the beds and singing songs. It's been great. A friend of mine told me about Rainbow Trust. It's such a great charity. It's an inspiration to me to be able to come here. We worry about chart positions and its ridiculous when you come here and meet these fantastic kids. And the Trust helps all the family and they are free. They always need more funds so help us! Support Rainbow Trust!"

Baby Spice was smitten with 8 year old Jamie Everett who has leukaemia and announced that he was her new man. She said "Jamie is my new boyfriend. He is just gorgeous." Jamie himself was keeping pretty quiet about his famous girlfriend but after some thought said he probably did love Emma. The local Leatherhead Fire Station (Surrey Fire & Rescue Service) also joined the celebrations and Emma and the children climbed aboard the engine and sang songs. The fireman let Jamie and the other children and Emma operate the firehouse which when it arced into the air in the garden at Rainbow House made a rainbow in the sky! Mark Wren from White Watch said "I've got some new recruits today. Baby Spice is leading fireman and the children are our new firefighters." At the end of the day Emma said: "These kids are just fantastic. I have had just the best day here. I want to help as much as I can. I'm gonna be involved from now on."

Pat Foxton Director of Communications, Rainbow Trust said:

"Emma’s visit is a great boost for our children, their families and our Care staff. She’s such a charming natural girl the children loved her straight away. It was a magical Friday. We are very grateful to her for bringing such joy and look forward to seeing her again soon."

Emma also officially launched The Rainbow Trust Children's Charity website with messages from George Michael and Sade both Patrons of Rainbow Trust. The website was designed and is sponsored by Sony Music.

Here is the official press release from the Rainbow Trust site.

dotmusic Wants To Set The Record

dotmusic wants to put Posh Spice Victoria Beckham in the Guiness Book Of World Records. The plan is to set the record for "The most individual greetings for one person's birthday." Victoria's birthday is on April 17th and dotmusic will utilize the Internet for this task, having this page open for 24hrs beginning this Sunday at 2pm UK time(9am East Coast, 6am West Coast), where you will be able to write Victoria a birthday message. They will then send the messages to Victoria on her birthday.

Andy Strickland, dotmusic editor, says "The Spice Girls are still the biggest pop band in the country, and our own Spice Girls area on dotmusic is the most popular artist area on the site. Victoria gets a lot of stick, so we want to mark her birthday with a truly spectacular birthday card. Only the Internet can allow us to collect as many greetings in such a short space of time. We know her fans will be behind us and help make this a new world record."

Here is the link to the news on the dotmusic site. I'll post a reminder when the page opens this Sunday.

New MelC Tatoo

Melanie C has gotten a new tatoo sometime within the past few weeks. This time it seems to be a small flower or star on her hand. Here is a distant picture of it.

Thanks Daniel.

Victoria TrackHer

Posh Spice Victoria Beckham played peek-a-boo with a paparazzi photographer yesterday in Beverly Hills. When she left a nail salon she playfully hid behind a freind she was with as they made their way to their car. As she got into the car she gave the photographer a cheeky wave. Victoria is supposedly booked into a £375/night hotel in LA.

MelC Tour Selling Out

If you are planning to see Melanie C live on tour in the UK, you'd better hurry up and get your tickets if you haven't gotten them yet. The cities of Bristol, Ipswich, and Norwich have now sold out.

Victoria TrackHer

Victoria is in Los Angeles. She has been there since Sunday. Today she was at Disney Land with her son Brooklyn Beckham, sister Louise, and mother Jacqui. She will join the rest of the Spice Girls in LA soon to finish their third album. It is unknown whether the other Spice Girls are in Los Angeles yet or not.

Here are a couple paparazzi shots of Victoria in Disney Land:

• Picture 1
• Picture 2

MelC Wants To Help Deprived

Melanie C wants the Spice Girls to help kids in deprived inner city areas. Mel wants to give something back to communities like the one where she was raised. She said:

"I saw this programme about children living in poverty. They were bunking off school and getting up to mischief, because they didn't have anything to do. It made me think the Spice Girls should help set up studios on council estates, or youth centres in poor communities, to help the kids. It's something I'm very aware of and I have always had strong feelings about. I always give homeless people on the streets a little bit of money. It's not much but if it helps that one person get a hot meal then it's a start."

Solo Victoria

dotmusic is running a story that says Heat magazine(UK) reports that Posh Spice Victoria Beckham has done work on five solo tracks of her own. None of them are complete yet however, and the recording of the material is at an early stage. She has apparently been recording in a London studio with writer James McMillan and producer Gil Sang. A previous collaboration with another writing team was unfruitful.

Thanks EW.

Phoenix Custody Battle

Yesterday marked the start of a High Court battle between Melanie B and her former husband Jimmy Gulazar for the custody of their one year old girl Phoenix Chi. Mel and Jimmy arrived seperately and spent half an hour with their solicitors before the 45 minute hearing of the Family Division of London's High Court. Afterwards they both emerged from court #3 surrounded by lawyers and security. Mel, looking relaxed and smartly dressed in a grey trouser suit was sneaked out through a back entrance of the court. She was driven away at high speed in a silver R-reg. Mercedes with tinted windows. Jimmy Gulzar's lawyer said:

"There was a short hearing today in connectionwith Phoenix. Nothing final was decided. There will be more hearings. It was in connection with one issue but I can't comment on the content of the hearing because it was a matter involving a child."

Mel and Jimmy have not decided who will get Phoenix when Melanie goes to America with the rest of the Spice Girls to finish their third album later this month. The Daily Record newspaper(UK) also claims that Melanie B along with Phoenix Chi was in Los Angeles early last month recording solo material for her own album. It is not known whether this allegation is true.

NBTSA Is #2

Melanie C's third solo single "Never Be The Same Again" has slipped to #2 on the UK singles chart this week, losing out to Westlife's "Fool Again" in a close race for the #1 this week.

April Fools!

If for some reason you didn't catch it, the story below about Michelle joining Spice Girls was an April Fool's joke! Ahahahahahah, that was fun. From email stories of people laughing their asses off, to people jumping around their room's in excitement before realizing it was a joke, to people getting all worried about it, to people just not understanding that it was a joke and all pissed off sending photos in and evidence to disprove the whole thing, haha, it was great. Yes I did originate that story myself. I know the picture was pretty fake looking, but it's only something I caughed up in two hours in photoshop just experimenting as I really have not ever done much photo-faking. I'm sure it could have been done to look pretty real by someone who knows all the filters and photoshop tricks, or if I had more than only two bad quality scan pictures of Michelle to choose from. But that doesn't matter, because the photo was actually supposed to make you realize it was an April Fools joke and not real - and it usually was the point that people realized it was a joke! Most Spice Girls fans know that the pic is from their book launch this past fall(Story), and that Mel C and Victoria's hair are quite different now. The Michelle picture is from some magazine last year. The crazy part is many people still thought the whole thing was real! The interesting part is that it sparked some debates of would it be good or bad if Michelle actually did join Spice Girls.

Four Become Five!

The Spice Girls held a sudden press conference this morning in London at 10am which was announced to the media only four hours in advance. All eyes were on the girls this morning as many were concerned that they would be announcing a breakup and end to the girl group in order to fully pursue their individual solo careers as such rumors have been going in the papers for the past few days. Instead the girls shocked everyone with quite the opposite. Michelle Stephenson, who was part of the group (in it's early development days before leaving and being replaced by Emma Bunton) has now joined Spice Girls!! Michelle was part of the group of Geri, Victoria, Mel B, and Mel C before they even decided on a formal name for the group. She had left the group in those early days because their management team thought she didn't quite fit in with the girls, as she was quite intent on going to university and worried about her ill mother. She seemed to not have as much girl power as the other four girls and ended up leaving the group partially on a mutual basis, partially on decision by management team. Spice Girls singing coach Pepi Lemur then inducted her personal student Emma Bunton to try out in the group to replace Michelle, the rest is history.

Reports could tell that Michelle was a bit nervous as she quietly sat behind the table at the beginning of the press conference. Melanie B started the press conference by saying: "Alright, we've got a big huge announcement to make!" Melanie C interrupted and quickly yelled "We're breaking up!". The girls all started laughing at Mel C's comment and Mel B yelled "NOT!" Emma chimed in and said "Sorry to disappoint everyone! We are NOT breaking up." "For the one millionth time!" added Mel C. Mel B continued: "Actually, we really do have a big announcement to make, tell them!" Michelle Stephenson then said: "Hello everyone, my name is Michelle Stephenson, some of you may have heard of me before. I was very involved with three of these girls up here a long time ago, long before everybody knew their names. I left the group in it's early days due to personal reasons. I'd like to proudly announce however, that as of today I have officially joined Spice Girls." The other four Spice Girls cheered as Michelle finished her statement. Reporters immediately started yelling questions out to the girls. The Spice Girls' PR took over and said that there will unfortunately be no questions from the media today. Victoria then said: "So everyone please welcome Michelle to the group, she is an excellent singer and has an excellent voice and we are very excited to have her." "Very excited to have her back!" added Mel C. Mel B then said "Thats right! We're sorry but we really don't have time for any questions because we have to rush off to America to finish our new album." The girls then got up and quickly posed for a photo as the new fabulous five before rushing off. This is the only picture I have managed to get so far. More pictures to come soon, perhaps even video!

One newspaper managed to catch Sporty Spice Melanie C on her way to the airport and got a few words from her about the new Spice Girl! Melanie said: "Ya' know, we've always played around with the idea of adding another Spice Girl, ever since Geri left the group. We were quite happy with just the four of us, but it never hurt when we had five either." When asked if Michelle would be on the next Spice Girls album Mel said: "We're not really sure yet. Almost all the songs are already done without her. We are just going over it again, mixing it and adding or maybe redoing a few vocals here and there but no major changes. She [Michelle] is coming with us to do the studio thing, but it might just be for experience. You never know, we might lay down a couple b-sides with her ya know? And we aren't going anywhere, so she'll definitely be all over the next album after this one. She really is an excellent excellent singer, she has the voice of an angel."

My only question is... what will her Spice nickname be???

#1 Again?

The latest sales figures show Melanie C slightly ahead of closest rival for this week Westlife by 3,000 more copies of her single "Never Be The Same Again" than Westlife's single "Fool Again". We'll see what happens when the new singles charts come out tomorrow. Good luck Mel!

MelC On J, Solo, & Spice

Melanie Chisholm and Lisa Lopes have been doing some interviews together this weekend. In one interview they talk about their boyfriends. Obviously enjoying her high off having the current #1 song in the UK, Melanie C says "Life couldn't be better." Mel talks about her relationship with Five singer Jason Brown:

"I've been seeing him for the past three weeks and it's great. We really get on and I couldn't ask for any more. It's just one of those things. I wasn't looking for a boyfriend, it just happened and I'm really happy." "It was taken at a party recently. We were enjoying a few drinks and smiling from ear to ear. I went to see him perform at a few concerts last week and I'll hopefully be celebrating with him over the weekend if we're still number one. I'm doing a 20-date solo tour starting on September 4 in Derby and I just can't wait. I love performing and it's just a dream come true. A year ago I would never have thought that I would be doing this."

Melanie talks about her collaboration with Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes:

"We're both artists in our own right and it can be frustrating when you're restricted to the band you're in. It's very difficult trying to be creative when there are other members in the group to consider. So this is a great opportunity for both of us to to do our thing and it seems to be working. When we return to our groups it enhances the band."

Lisa Lopes says:

"We should be working on more material together but it's very early to say what yet. We recorded back in LA nearly a year ago and it's been a great collaboration. All those hours in the recording studio have really paid off and we're just keeping our fingers crossed we're still number one on Sunday."

Melanie finishes up by talking about Spice Girls

"I miss the girls. I haven't spoken to them for a while because everyone's busy doing their own thing. But I can't wait to see them again. Mel B and Victoria have babies now and Emma's doing her thing, so it's not as easy to see each other as we used to. And for the millionth time, we are NOT splitting up!"

David & Brooklyn Crash

While I don't like to report non-direct Spice Girls news, I guess this is notable. David & Brooklyn Beckham got into a small car accident at the Manchester United training grounds. David was driving his new Lincoln Navigator when he ended up in a head on collision with team mate Andy Cole's Range Rover. The crash was at about 20mph and smashed the lights and front bumpers on both cars but nobody was injured in the accident.

MelC On Ebay

Mel C has given to charity the tracksuit that she wore in the Spice Girls' video for "Say You'll Be There". Cash raised will go to TheSite.org, an on-line charity that provides advice to young people about sex, drugs, money, and housing problems. Melanie bought the outfit, an off-the-peg DKNY number, from an LA boutique especially for the video. Melanie says: "This is one of my favourite outfits. However,I'm very keen to support the work being done by TheSite.org so I've decided to stage this charity auction." Along with the outfit, Melanie has also donated 2 sets of signed photos and a rare promo copy of a selection of tracks from Northern Star.

Here is a direct link to the Ebay item. You must be over 18 to bid on it.