Melanie C says there’s no escaping the Spice Girls being “caricatures” of their alter egos.
Sporty Spice – who is joined by Ginger (Geri Horner), Scary (Mel B), Baby (Emma Bunton), and Posh (Victoria Beckham) in the iconic 90s girl group – admits she and her bandmates are “d********” because they wear the same clothes and acted just like their respective personas.
Speaking to heat magazine, she said: “When we were rehearsing for the [reunion] tour in 2019 [sans Posh], there were just moments when – whether it’s our behaviour, or what we were wearing – when we went, ‘We’re just d********.’
“Because Mel B will be in leopard print, and I’ll be in me trackies.
“Even just the way we behave – we are caricatures of our nicknames – there’s not getting away from it.
“If anyone ever doubted it or felt that it was a marketing idea, if you spent any time with us, you’d be like, ‘No, they literally are what they say on the tin.'”
While this rings true for the reunited Spice Girls, Melanie previously admitted Victoria was the only one who wasn’t suited for her Posh Spice nickname.
The ‘Viva Forever’ hitmakers were given the nicknames on the back of a Top Of The Pops magazine story in 1996, but Mel believes the now-fashion designer’s showbiz moniker was the least appropriate.
She said: “That is probably the one which rings the least true.”
On the other hand, she claimed that Mel B’s Scary nickname was the most appropriate.
She explained: “Scary makes sense. She is petrifying. I remember at times being on tour, and I am sure everyone has people in their lives when they hear their footsteps coming down the corridor you cower – that is how scary she can be. I love her.”
She admitted, too, that Emma’s Baby nickname was similarly accurate on account of her being the youngest member of the record-breaking band.
She said: “She is the youngest, and she will always be the youngest and the baby. It is quite nice.”
By contrast, she claimed that Geri’s name Ginger has become increasingly less relevant over time.
Melanie said: “She is not the bright ginger she was back in the day, there is definitely some red tones.”
And in regards to her own nickname, the ‘Who I Am’ hitmaker admitted it has always been something she has taken as a compliment.
The DJ – whose real name is Melanie Chisholm – shared: “Obviously one of the great things is that we had our individuality and it appealed to so many different kinds of girls. But my nickname came more from the way I dressed.
“It was just a silly thing in the front of a magazine, and I don’t suppose that the person who thought it up knew it would stick. In America, they didn’t know our names.”