Sean Smith - Spice Girls

HarperCollins Publishers

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First published by HarperCollins Publishers 2019

FIRST EDITION

Text © Sean Smith 2019

Cover design by Claire Ward © HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 2020

Cover photographs © Harry Borden/Contour by Getty Images

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

Sean Smith asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

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Source ISBN: 9780008267582

Ebook Edition © November 2019 ISBN: 9780008267599

Version: 2020-07-02

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Page numbers taken from the following print edition: ISBN 9780008267568

Ed Sheeran

George

Adele

Kim

Tom Jones: The Life

Kylie

Gary

Alesha

Tulisa

Kate

Robbie

Cheryl

Victoria

Justin: The Biography

Britney: The Biography

J.K. Rowling: A Biography

Jennifer: The Unauthorized Biography

Royal Racing

The Union Game

Sophie’s Kiss (with Garth Gibbs)

Stone Me! (with Dale Lawrence)

To Megan

1 Cover

2 Title Page

3 Copyright

4 Note to Readers

5 Also by Sean Smith

6 Dedication

7 Contents

8 PART ONE: THE WANNABES

9 1 Irrepressible

10 2 Casting the Net

11 3 Mein Herr

12 4 In Search of the Magical Key

13 5 Melanie Chisholm Superstar

14 6 A Model Girl

15 PART TWO: HERE COME THE SPICE GIRLS

16 7 The Student House

17 8 Making It Happen

18 9 The Big Fight

19 10 Hang On to Your Knickers

20 11 The Power of Girls

21 12 The Genius of Geri

22 13 Spice All Over the World

23 14 A Schedule Not a Life

24 15 Stop Right Now

25 PART THREE: SPICE WOMEN

26 16 Nightmares and Fairytales

27 17 Dark Clouds

28 18 Baby Love

29 19 Look at Me

30 20 Reasonable Doubt

31 21 The Return of the Spice Girls

32 22 Olympic Gold

33 23 Spice World Again

34 Last Thoughts

35 Spice Stars

36 Acknowledgements

37 Select Bibliography

38 List of Searchable Terms

39 Picture Section

40 About the Publisher

Landmarks CoverFrontmatterStart of ContentBackmatter

List of Pages iii iv ii v 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74757677 79808182838485868788 8990919293949596979899 100101102103104105106107108109 110111112113114115116117 118119120121122123124125126127128129130131 132133134135136137138139140141142 143144145146147148149150151152153154 155156157158159160161162163164165166167168169 170171172173174175176177178179180181 183184185186187188189190191192193194195 196197198199200201202203204205206 207208209210211212213214215216217218219 220221222223224225226227228229230231232233 234235236237238239240241 242243244245246247248249250251252 253254255256257258259260261262263264265 266267268269270271272273274275276277278 279280281282283284285286287 289290291293294295296297298299300302 303304 305 307308309310311312

The five young women who would become the Spice Girls didn’t need to be outstanding singers. Nor was proven dancing ability essential. They didn’t have to possess supermodel looks or have the wit of a stand-up comedian. They needed to be ordinary girls with a sparkle that could turn them into something extraordinary. They were not easy to find.

Melanie Brown, an irrepressible eighteen-year-old from Leeds, was the first name on the Spice Girls team sheet. She had a spark and exuberance that could poke your eye out. She had no idea that she had the ideal profile to become a member of a new five-piece girl group when she left her parents’ house in Kirkstall at the crack of dawn to catch the early coach to London.

She had seen the ad for a ‘female pop group’ in the Stage newspaper – or, at least, her mother Andrea had – but she was just as interested that day in trying out for a spell as a cruise-ship dancer. That job was for the summer months so there would be sun and sea for starters, as well as a regular wage. Still, she had never come across an advertisement for a girl band before so it was worth taking a look at that as well, especially as it was in the same building off Oxford Street.

This was traditionally the time of year when stage-school wannabes would try to secure work for the summer – seaside shows or cruises were the most popular so this was something different. The advertisement didn’t mention that one of the places would ideally be filled by a young black girl.

Her colour had seldom been an advantage for Melanie, growing up in some of the tougher areas of Leeds. She was mixed race – not black – an important distinction. The locals were confused by her heritage, not sure whether she was black or white, but that didn’t stop her being the innocent target of prejudice and bullying – even being called the N-word. Fortunately, the insults didn’t curb her natural high spirits.

While such treatment was upsetting, it didn’t signal an unhappy childhood – far from it. She had a loving and supportive family, as well as a best friend, Sherrell Russell, who lived round the corner on the council estate in the Hyde Park area of Leeds where Melanie spent her first few years. The modest family home was a mile from the famous Headingley cricket ground. Sherrell was also mixed race and the two girls became inseparable, forging a lifelong bond. It helped that their mothers were also best friends.

Melanie’s parents always encouraged her to fight her own battles, fully aware of the hurdles she would face. Life had been much more difficult for them in facing the full wrath of ignorant discrimination. Her father, Martin Wingrove Brown, was from Nevis, an island in the Caribbean renowned for its beautiful beaches and its reputation as a safe tax haven. As a baby, Martin was left behind to live on a small farm with his grandmother while his parents formed part of the Windrush generation of the 1950s seeking a better life in Britain.