Mel C, also known as Sporty Spice, has revealed she was nearly kicked out of the Spice Girls after a heated exchange with Victoria Beckham at the 1996 Brit Awards. The incident occurred before the band had released any music, when tensions flared over Mel C's appearance.
The Brit Awards Clash
On The Louis Theroux Podcast, Mel C, now 52, recounted how the group policed each other to maintain their image. Host Louis Theroux, 56, described the moment: 'You'd taken your hair out, so you no longer had a ponytail. This was before you even had released any music, but you were at the Brits... your fellow bandmates thought, "What are you doing? You're f*****g with the look of the band." And they criticised you, and you told one of them to f**k off, and then the next day they all came on very heavy, telling you that you were out of line, your behaviour was disgusting.'
Mel C admitted the confrontation sent her into 'terror,' fearing she might lose everything: 'Those dreams as a child, which now were a possibility, I might have f*cked it all up.' She explained that the group, all under 24 at the time, had consumed 'a few champagnes' before the incident. 'I just turned around and said to Victoria, "Oh, f**k off." Unbeknownst to me, go home, go to bed, wake up the next morning, and I was in a lot of trouble.'
Manager's Ultimatum
Mel C was living with Mel B in Watford, with Geri Halliwell nearby. The next morning, they confronted her, expressing disgust at her behaviour. She recalled: 'You know when you've had a night out, and you wake up in the morning, and you've got beer fear... I didn't even have that. I just woke up going, "Oh, last night was fun," where I had completely brushed off that situation. But obviously, it had really affected people in a way I hadn't realised.'
She was summoned to manager Simon Fuller's office, where he said 'in no uncertain terms' that 'if anything ever happened like that again, I would be gone.' Mel C described the shock: 'That completely freaked me out, one, because I didn't realise I'd done anything that terribly bad, and two, because my actions may have led to me losing everything I'd ever wanted.'
Aftermath and Legacy
The incident blew over, and the Spice Girls went on to release three successful albums before their hiatus in 2000. Over the years, they have reunited in various configurations, though a full five-piece performance remains elusive. Responding to rumours of an ABBA-inspired hologram show, Mel C said: 'That would be an amazing thing for us to do, for that legacy to be able to live on, but personally, I want to see us on stage together. I think we need to do some more live stuff, while we still can. There's so many opportunities, we could do Glastonbury, we could do the Sphere [in Las Vegas], there's lots of things I'd like to do and I'm working on them.'
Mel C is currently embarking on her first world tour in 20 years, following the success of her solo album Sweat. She added: 'I love performing, anyone who knows me [knows that]. It just doesn't stop and I'm having the time of my life. Once I get up there, honestly, it's given me so much energy, it reminds me of why you do it. The people who appreciate your music, it's the best thing.'
