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Your acid remix Jessie Ware is the real freedom It was unexpected, I admit. Were you an athlete in the early 90s? Support cassettes
I absolutely was. I realized that I was on my first vacation without parents, me and my three girlfriends from college. It was the first time I had ever heard house music and everyone was dancing, showing off. I was like, “Oh my God, I found my people.” That’s when I got the bug. Then we go to a club in Essex called Berwick Manor. I also remember going to the Cross, which was in the King’s Cross. It was a very small window of my youth because Spice Girls it happened very quickly after that. I almost gave it up and left it until I started DJing eight years ago.
When the Spice Girls started and your schedule was really tight, did you go out like that again? laurasnapes
Of course not. It was like that, even though all my wildest dreams were coming true by being a part of the Spice Girls, real life was put on hold. The schedule was brutal. There was very little time to hang out. Also, you remember those times in the 90s, right? The tabloids and paparazzi were on you like a crow. So we got scared. Everything we did was usually published in the press, so we tried to keep it to a minimum.
Your tattoos were famous in themselves. How did you see them then, and how do you see them now? Mcr Simon
I was always interested in art. I think I was probably one of the first women in the crowd with really cool and big artwork. Now more people have it than don’t. It’s amazing. But yeah, I absolutely love them. It’s a strange relationship you have with your body and image when you’re young and in the public eye. Because being a pop star, it’s like you feel like you need to create this image that’s right for that, and for me having a gold tooth and having tats makes me look normal. I got my first tattoo with the (Spice) girls. We were in LA together and we went to a tattoo shop called Tattoomania. We didn’t get any suggestions – we chose the tats on the wall.
When the Spice Girls conquered America, it did you have any interesting events Your pronunciation of the area confused the unfortunate interviewers across the pond? British Ukrainian
It’s really interesting because even now, living in America – and it drives my daughter crazy – it’s like we’re speaking a different language sometimes when you’re trying to order things in restaurants. But in the past on TV we tried to try to speak calmly or clearly. I don’t think we’ve ever been called the Gallaghers.
What did you think about Red Hot Chili Peppers‘song Emit Remus? SmilinPeter
Well, this is good news. I was working with Rick Rubin in LA. He did a few songs on (Melanie’s 1999 debut album) Northern Star and apparently he worked with the Chili Peppers and was a good friend of (director) Anthony Kiedis for many, many years. Rick looked at me with a wry smile and said: “Did you hear the song Anthony wrote about you?”
Every time Rick finishes mixing everything he goes to listen in his Rolls-Royce. They took me there and they played Emit Remmus for me and I was a little embarrassed because I was a little sweet. But I was really excited because I’m a big Red Hot Chili Peppers fan and Anthony is a great songwriter and performer. Were we dating? We actually went on a date. We were together for a short time. But it was not a permanent relationship. Living in LA was a magical time. I also had dinner with Madonna there at the end of the Spiceworld tour in 1998. We had just finished the US tour and I was staying at the Four Seasons. I got a call and someone went, “I made you Madonna.” And I thought, “Yeah, yeah, maybe it’s Mel (B).” And he said, “Hey, honey.” He was lovely. He has helped us girls a lot.
If you were a real perfume, who would you be, and why? TopGyre
It’s like a Smash Hits question. I am very proud of the various things I have done in my career. You know, he’s obviously working in musical theater and music and being a DJ, a little bit, on the radio. So I guess I’m flexible. Maybe like five spices? A little bit of everything. Let’s go with that.
Will the Spice Girls have a chance to steal the term ‘girl power’? Shampoo? again and again
Well, I’m surprised that this question doesn’t come up often because, obviously, we all know that Shampoo had a single called Girl Power back in 1996 (it reached No 25). I don’t remember how we ended up with it. But we love shampoo. We were big fans.
At what point did you know life would never be the same again? CatzPyjamas
It was when we came back from Japan in 1996. Wannabe was released in the UK and went to No 3. We were already on Surprise Surprise with Cilla Black and I thought everyone would recognize me the next day. I went to the shops and no one batted an eye. I was very disappointed. Then we went to Japan for two weeks and during this time Wannabe went to No 1 and stayed there. So when we came back, everything had changed. There were fans at the airport. This is where Spice mania really hit.
Salt and pepper chips or scouse? id1983
It should be a scouse (roast, stew). It’s a food that when I smell it, it immediately takes me back to my childhood. My mom usually has one on the stove when I get home. You can get chips anywhere, but you can get proper scouse in Liverpool. But do you know what’s funny? I haven’t been there yet. Lately I’ve been thinking about asking my mom to teach me.
I remember being at a festival in the 90s and singing Chaos in the UK but to sing, ‘I am the antichrist. I’m a sports fan’. Am I dreaming this? ApolausticAndy
This happened. When I was in LA doing Northern Star, I met Steve Jones from the Sex Pistols. At the time, he was in a band called the Neurotic Outsiders and had a residency at the Viper Room. He played every week and invited people to go on stage. People like Billy Idol would wake up and one week they woke me up and I did a couple of Sex Pistols songs. So I included it in my set. It was actually V99. So the man was not dreaming. (That celebration) was a baptism of fire. I went in completely unknowingly and received a couple of bottles… probably containing urine.
In retrospect, you regret: ‘I can’t live without my phone, but you don’t have a home’? very much
No, of course not. And when I wrote this (on the 2000 single If That Were Me), it was less. Now, that is an amazing fact. So I have no regrets. There have been times in my life where I felt insecure and sometimes it was because of music, so I regret it. But not on this new record (Sweat, this week). DJing has changed my life forever. It makes me very happy. It also connects me to a 17-year-old girl who used to go out for fun. I get the chance to play the music I love. I dance my socks off and get paid. It’s bloody brilliant.
How strong are you? How to bench press, for example. Girgensohn
Oh, I have this in my phone, actually. Let’s see; so my bench press is 38kg and dumbbell is 40kg. Is that what I’ve always done? I had an incident at school. I was very thin when I was a child and there was a girl who hated me and wanted to beat me. They didn’t win. But I asked my dad to get me a weight bench that year for Christmas from Argos. That’s when I started my strength training journey because I just thought: “I want to catch myself.”
Do you feel that you have a problem with fraud in the work you have had, and you think that you will leave the ‘sporty’ tag, or do you want to? bluelambretta
I think all people have a delusional disorder, and if you don’t, you’re a psychopath. It’s just part of human nature. When I released Northern Star, I was determined to be seen as an individual, and I wanted people to see that there was more to me than just Sporty Spice. I was disappointed that people weren’t ready for the Spice Girls to be solo artists. I admit it now, and I love Sporty Spice, I realize it’s a big part of who I am as a player.
Would you like the Spice Girls to share a role? Salt-N-Pepa? It would be a good idea now that you are both regular campaigners. PeteTheBeat
Very nice. I love Salt-N-Pepa. I remember going to a Spice Girls concert, before we had a manager, listening to them. I walked the streets of London, shaking my head. So it would be amazing for the Spice Girls and Salt-N-Pepa to get together. They have a DJ, Spinderella, so we can go back.
