Spices reunited

By VICTORIA NEWTON

EMMA BUNTON may have made millions as a member of the biggest-selling girl band ever.

But just don't tell the Spice Girl that she's rich. Baby Spice insists that despite the group's 40million album sales, sell-out tours and lucrative merchandising deals, she still can't afford to retire.

She claims she and the rest of the girls - Sporty, Scary, Posh and Ginger - never made anywhere near as much cash as everyone assumed.

Emma, who has been busy promoting her new album, A Girl Like Me, in Australia, won't tell me how much she is really worth.

But the 25-year-old claims: "None of us made the £28million that people say we did.

"I'm always interested to see how much money I'm supposed to have made in those rich lists they bring out.

"I know exactly how much I've got in the bank. I have quite a lot of meetings with my accountant and I probably know down to the last penny what I'm worth.

"And I certainly don't think I'm wealthy enough to retire."

Which could be why Emma is keen for the Spice Girls to undertake a lucrative reunion tour.

Emma reveals she, Posh, Mel B and Mel C HAVE discussed the possibility of getting back together.

She says: "We would definitely consider doing something as the Spice Girls in five years' time.

"We've talked about touring again but we haven't any firm plans at the moment because we're so busy with solo projects.

"But it's something we'd all love to do and I think it would be an amazing show because we'd have Spice songs as well as our solo ones to choose from."

And the relative failures of the Spices' solo careers may pile on the pressure for a reunion.

Mel B was dropped as a solo artist by the girls' label Virgin after her debut album, Hot, only reached No28. And Posh's future looks uncertain after her album, Victoria Beckham, flopped too.

Only Mel C has had real success on her own, with the two-million-selling album Northern Star.

Emma hopes her new single - We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight, out on December 10 - will boost her album, A Girl Like Me.

A Girl Like Me hasn't been quite the blockbuster everyone expected - despite its first two singles, What Took You So Long and Take My Breath Away, getting to No1 and No5.

But Emma says defensively: "The album has gone gold in Britain and it's doing really well in Europe.

"I know people have said it hasn't sold as well as it should have but you've got to remember there's only been a couple of singles out so far.

"I always wait until I've heard at least three singles before I decide to buy an album in case I don't like the rest."

If there is a Spice Girls reunion tour, don't expect to see FIVE people on stage.

Emma has firmly ruled out any reconciliation with Geri Halliwell. She says: "We've discussed touring as a four-piece but never getting Geri back for it. I've seen Geri a couple of times since she left and everything's cool now.

"But I found it really hard when she left. I'm a very loyal person and I just felt she shouldn't have been so disloyal.

"Obviously, I don't hang out with her but we have seen each other.

"But so much water has gone under the bridge now, and we're big enough and old enough to just get on with it."

A Spice Girls tour - with or without Geri - would certainly set up Emma for life.

And Baby desperately craves financial security. After all, she knows what it is like to have very little money. When she was growing up in North London her mum Pauline had to scrimp and save to put her through drama school.

Dad Trevor left home when she was just 11.

Now Emma lives in a £1.5million penthouse apartment in Hampstead, North London, and drives a Mercedes SLK sports car - a present from her record company.

But she says: "I'm careful with money. I always have been because of my upbringing and I want to make sure I have money for my own kids.

"I don't want to get to a stage where I think, 'What the hell did I do with it all?'

"I'm not that extravagant. I've bought my mum a house, I've got my flat and now I've bought my dad one too. And they've all got cars. I love doing that.

"But I'm very careful with my money. I don't want to throw it all away on stupid things."

Included on Emma's list of "stupid things" are expensive designer clothes.

She prefers to go for the "Hippy Spice" look by mixing and matching a vintage look with new fashion.

She says: "I buy a lot of my hats from secondhand places in Camden. I went to one shop the other day and bought quite a few - but they were only about £8 each. I like mixing and matching a lot. I never wear head-to-toe in one designer. I can't comprehend going out and spending loads of money on an outfit.

"The idea of spending £10,000 in Gucci would absolutely horrify me.

"If it's something special, like a coat and some great boots, that's not so bad. But I couldn't bear to pay a fortune for something I'm only going to wear a couple of times.

"The last time I bought anything expensive was a pair of boots from Dolce & Gabbana. I didn't mind that because they are my favourites and I wear them a lot.

"But I hate spending a fortune on something I will only ever wear a couple of times."

Even when Emma spends time with her boyfriend of three years, Jade Jones, from boy band Damage, the couple live modestly.

They get together whenever they can, usually round at her flat, to watch TV and eat pizza.

Emma says they have no plans to move in together, although eventually she hopes to marry and have children.

She says: "We both came to realise early on that a large part of the relationship is going to be spent apart and that's just how it's going to be.

"Now if I don't see him for a couple of days, I don't put pressure on him because I realise we're both ambitious and have lots to do."

She adds: "It's every girl's dream to get married and it is something I'm looking forward to because I want a big old wedding dress. But I know I'm not ready yet.

"And anyway, Jade is still only 22 - he's far too young."