Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware - S9 Ep 30: Melanie C

Episode Date: August 26, 2020

I tell you what I want....Sporty Spice in mum's back garden dressed in her best sports gear, midriff showing with a champagne in her hand. Well, for our last episode of the series (don’t worry we’ll be back with another serving VERY soon!) The wonderful Melanie C came over for afternoon tea, for a real life, face-to-face chat & it was such a treat. Melanie spoke about leaving home at 16, initially missing out on getting into the Spice Girls, being in the studio with the legendary Left Eye Lopez and how she can’t resist a Tommy’s Margarita. Mum made a delicious lemon drizzle cake with mashed potato (yes really) and we sipped pink champagne. What a dream.Go and listen to Melanie's new single 'In and Out Of Love' now. Table Manners will be back next week with a special 'Highlights' episode, and we’ll see you for the next series very soon. X Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello and welcome to Table Manners. We are together. Jessie. What? I'll tell you what I want. What I really, really want. So tell me what you want, what you really, really want. I want your friggin' phone not to go off when we're doing a bloody podcast. Is it mine? Yes, Mum. Yours is the most annoying ringtone. It's like, I'm here. I'm here. I'm important.

I am important though darling well i was gonna say it's time for two to become one mum is it yeah well actually three become two actually it doesn't work um we are finally together first podcast together since the old lockdown in my garden al fresco socially distant yeah a spot of afternoon tea with a spice girl spicy i'm really excited to have this woman on i listened to her desert island discs and i wanted to be her friend but also i love how much she has done since leaving the spice girls whether that be bring out like rave tunes brilliant is it a noughties classic baby when you're gone uh play one of the best roles in blood brothers i may ask her to sing what mary magdalene oh yeah absolutely yes some huge musical roles she is melanie. She is making new music. It is really great.

We've got Sporty Spice. We've got Melanie C, Mum. Okay. The artist formerly known as Sporty Spice. Actually, she's kind of been... She's been Melanie C. She's been Mel C. She's been Sporty Spice. But yeah, we've got Melanie C coming up on Table Manners.

Do you want to go and get that? I've had a lot of a med. Do you want to go and get that? I've had a lot of a mug. We have Melanie C in our garden in Clapham. And we've got a dodgy table that's going to be really annoying for our producer, Alice. But we've already got the champagne out. Actually, Melanie bought a lovely bottle that we've cracked open. It's a nice pink one.

Let's do a cheers before we start. Cheers. Lovely to meet you. Cheers. It's a nice pink one. Let's do a cheers before we start. Cheers. Lovely to meet you. Cheers. Cheers. To be here. Cheers. To COVID buggering off.

To a version of normality. But anyway, it's such a pleasure to have you. We're so excited. It's so nice to be here because I've listened to many. Have you? And I was like, oh, I'd love to do that. And here we are. Well, I heard you're on your Desert Island Discs and that was bloody good.

Do you know what? Was it like therapy? It's it like therapy on it is but there's something really strange it's really lovely because you know obviously Lauren's fantastic but the whole team it was all women so you feel like you're in a really safe space and you just feel compelled to delve really deep into your soul and I I literally uncovered some things I didn't even realise. You know, when you're just in that headspace and, you know, these little realisations come. But yeah, I was exhausted at the end of it. Well, I had a similar thing when I did Elizabeth Day's How to Fail.

Have you done that yet? I've not, but I've been talking about doing it. But it is full-on therapy. And you know when you're like, what did I actually say in that interview? And like, did I just say the wrong thing because you felt so free and I always think it's it's kind of credit to the interview because they've obviously done a really good job and yeah and it's always quite nice to feel so relaxed that you can yeah just be very open but I hate that thing with you know

I have it less as I get older but when I was younger you do an interview and then the anxiety afterwards or you wake up in the middle of the night thinking, oh, I said that. You know, because sometimes you say things and you don't mean it or it could be taken the wrong way and it's like awful. But do you mean when you were with the girls

or was it like post when you were, Mel C, that come out of Spice Girls? Because I can imagine like if you... I was going to say come out of the closet then. No, no, no. I was going to say Jess. Come out of the Spice Girls. Bloody hell.

No, I've had one sip of champagne i'm like um no but so when you were with the girls was it kind of everyone had their place of everyone knew when they were going to speak because you were always i mean you were all quite vocal weren't you but like yeah i think there's stronger personalities in the band and definitely a dynamic but I think one of the things about us girls was we never had media training. It wasn't a thing when we came out. And I think all artists have it now, all, you know, young bands. So we just said anything and spoke over each other and everyone loved it, I think,

because it was quite chaotic. So it was part of the, you know, the appeal. But we have met the other Mel B. Oh, yes, you have. She was fucking late. You were the earliest Spice Girl we had. She was nearly two hours late for a roast. Can you imagine? Love her. Naughty girl.

Love her, but she was fucking late. She wasn't two hours, Mum. She was 50 minutes. Was she? Maybe an hour and a half, I'm not sure. An hour and a half. But always forgiven. And she did have the longest boots I've ever seen in my life. They came up to here. She did look fantastic. I'm always a little bit late, but not, I'm never on time.

Just a little bit late. Yeah, I think like, I think when you've got kids, it's difficult. Because there's always something, you know, you have this plan and it never goes out. So you've got one little girl and two stepchildren. And how has, I mean, I'm kind of bored of this question, but I kind of feel like, I mean, actually, I'm not even going to ask it because I've been asked it so much. You've been promoting music in lockdown. Yeah.

And it's been a lot, like having a family and. I literally, I have to be honest, I feel like I'm quite close to the edge. The edge of what? You've got a holiday book. All the time. I'm going to go up north next week. On your own. Because I haven got a holiday book. All the time. I'm going to go up north next week. On your own.

Because I haven't seen my mum for the whole time. Where are you from? I'm from, we're just outside Liverpool, a place called Witness. I grew up. But she's just in between Liverpool and Manchester. And I'm taking just me and my little girl. And I'm going to see my mum and my mates and my dad and my sister. And just chill.

It's my holiday this year. So I'm going to the Costa del Witness, which I never thought I'd be so excited to do. So, Melanie, growing up in... Witness. Witness. Witness. That's down the East Lancs Road.

Oh, yes, it is. Of course. So to get from Manchester to Liverpool, when we had to get to the Cavern, you went down East Lanx Road. I only ever went once. Where did you go and see it, the Cavern? No one special.

Well, you might have seen my stepdad, because his band used to play on the Cavern. And they played the same night as the Beatles a few times. He was in a band called The Addicts. The Addicts. And what kind of music was it? I think it was similar, really. Kind of Mersey beat. It was all kind of Mersey beat rock and roll.

Yeah. Amazing. So growing up, what was on the dinner table? What's like a really early memory of food? Who was cooking? My mum's a great cook. Is she? Yeah.

And she cooks everything from scratch. It's like she will search high and low for every ingredient she needs, which was amazing as a kid because I just grew up I'm not a great cook but I have like these basics and I think it's really important it's an important life skill isn't it and um she used to make like Chinese food and you know yeah and I think in the 80s that was like oh I don't think so adventurous you've never tried Chinese even now just about I do a few noodles a sweet and sour you do

yeah yeah but that was one of our sweet and sour pork that was one of the staples but it's funny because it was a it was a mix between

like the wonderful home cooked food and baking or Finder's crispy pancakes I think it depended on time everybody loves

Finder's and what did you prefer I think probably the mix. Having a bit of both. I remember the microwave coming in and just being obsessed. Doing the microwave chips. Disgusting. Pieces in the microwave.

Disgusting. They are. And so would you say you're a good cook then? I think if I put my mind to it my other half is a very good cook so I've got quite lazy right and I think when you get lazy you lose your confidence. He's looking so pleased. He has a go at me because I'm like a well a backseat driver passenger seat driver yeah um but he's like a passenger seat cook you You know, I mean, you could be like, are you chopping the onions like that? I'm looking at him. He's head chef. He's head chef. Yeah. Right. It's really irritating.

So were you, I mean, I know that at the beginning of lockdown, I was, I was eating like a frigging queen. I was going, cause I, for me, it was, it was kind of cherished time with my kids that, you know, was imposed on us, which was amazing. But it also made everything, you know was imposed on us which was amazing but it also made everything you know everything stood still but I was getting all the because there were loads of amazing food boxes going out and you were kind of because I wasn't going to um supermarkets so I was cooking so much meat and I was cooking really great food and my husband was like this is like I mean I shouldn't say this but he was like this is like we're on holiday like you literally cook it we just moved out of here because we were getting our house done and we and my husband was like, this is like, I mean, I shouldn't say this, but he was like, this is like we're on holiday. Like you literally are cooking.

We just moved out of here because we were getting our house done and we were cooking and eating and consuming. And it was kind of almost to the point where I was like, OK, maybe we need to have soup for a week or something like that. What were you cooking during lockdown? Did it change? Absolutely. And I felt exactly the same. And I think because, you know, well, it still is. There's such uncertainty and also, you know it was it well it still is there's such uncertainty

and also you know a lot of fear and we kind of felt like we needed to comfort ourselves didn't we you know drinking more yeah you know eating more but it was funny because like I always order my food online and then of course there was a time when you couldn't get hold of anything yeah so I was down Waitrose give them a little plug and um you know doing my shot which i quite enjoyed but i thought this is like the shittest christmas ever isn't it because you just buy all the things you'd only ever buy at christmas that's brilliant um but i just yeah i mean i i'm interested about how music is feeling now because...

Yeah. Oh my God, there's so much to talk about. I mean, so much of that conversation, I'm like, oh, I want to say this and that. So talking about standing still, I think in most people's lives now, we're so busy, we never stay still. And I think in our career, we travel so much, we're so busy, you've got work, you've got kids, and you would never self-impose that much stay-at-home time. In fact, I think this is the most I've ever been at home in my adulthood, you know, since my career started. How old were you when you started?

Well, Spice Girls, we got together in 94, but I left home when I was 16. And I know, I'd never let my daughter leave home. And I was a little girl. I was in digs at the time so we were with families I went to performing arts college in Kent so yeah looking back I was way too young to do that but that kind of started my nomadic life because I was moving you know when you're a student you're all over the place aren't you moving from one place to the next and then Spice Girls happened and we continued to do that. And then with the traveling and touring and everything.

So to be in one place for that time was a bit of a novelty at first. I was like, this is amazing. It's wonderful. And like hanging out with my little girl, putting her to bed every night, getting up with her every day was lovely to the point where I just thought, hmm, there's a reason I do the job I do. And that's because I don't like staying in one place for too long. You know, one of the reasons.

And also there was that whole thing of I had music ready to go. Yeah. Did it affect when you put it out or anything? Well, I was, when everything started to gather pace with COVID, we were in Australia and I'd started my promotional tour. And I had such a fun trip. I'd organised all these cool airbnbs we were going we were doing Australia LA New York Montreal my little girl was going to come out for a bit it

was all really really fun and we did Australia and that all went fine and there was lots of toilet roll jokes because that was at the point when all the toilet rolls disappeared and it was my very last interview the day before I left for LA that got cancelled because somebody was diagnosed at the station and then by the time we got to LA it was like a ghost town and it was so weird so we'd lost all of this incredible promotion we had to get home and then we just had to think what we're going to do and we thought should we delay it but actually we couldn't because we were too far into it to do that so we just had to get really creative on and how we were going to promote it and actually in some

ways it's a bit of a blessing because you might have found this as well you can you can promote internationally you know from the comfort of your own living room and get to places we probably never would have been able to go to so I've been having these days where I go I'm today I'm in South America and on Tuesday I'm in you know and then yeah I'm in like I'm in the US at the end of the week so it's kind of it's been interesting and fun in that way but it is starting to get a bit tedious and I miss people and I miss performing to people you know as you have done lots of online stuff yeah live streams dj sets I mean but there's something really great because it's fully in your

control which if you were going to go and record in a tv studio you'd be like sorry can I can I do one more take and they'd be like sorry everyone's got to get out I'm sorry that's it well done you'd be like shit I just was a bit atuney on that on this you're like in control of your performance and and I don't know for me I always get so terrified when I do tv I'm sure you you are not petrified because you had to do so much in your life trust me I am it never goes away yeah I think maybe when I was with the girls we were doing such a volume of it and we were so I think we were so exhausted that you you know, obviously our lives, we live on adrenaline. And I think you get to a point where you're so exhausted that you haven't got enough adrenaline to get nervous.

You're just like kind of not going through the motions, but you're in survival mode. And I remember that. And I remember sometimes thinking, I actually prefer it when I'm really tired because I'm not as nervous. But now I do because my life and my work is much slower paced so yeah I freak out everything I do I mean I I just wonder because really the Spice Girls how long were they to you together like it well you were together for a while but like you did two hours you did a tea I mean you did everything but it was in quite a compact it was time frame well wannabe was released in july 96 i remember it so well my levers barbecue um year six levers barbecue

yeah i remember it so well yeah cute um yeah so that was when wannabe was released that was 96 and then jerry had gone by i mean i don't even know when it was 98 probably spring summer of 98 yeah because we were on tour so um yeah so kind of two years two albums a movie like evening with the Spice Girls like you know international whole world promo it was yeah and then like thinking about like I know what it's like when you get back from like a long tour and I'm talking about a long tour being like six weeks or something and I haven't done that for years and um but the impact on your like your health and you and you're just you were doing the Brit Awards you were doing TV I mean you must have been absolutely shot I can't even imagine how knackered you were and it must have been I know what it's like when you get off tour and they're

like tall blues I mean would it was it wild how weird it was once it called it quits? For that, you know, from the moment we started until we came off the American leg of the tour. So that was just the four of us then. So I think that was, gosh, I can't even remember when that was. It was Melanie and Victoria were pregnant. So we had like a natural break. We did three months in the US without Joey and yeah that was the first time we'd stopped in over two years and to be honest with you I fell

apart you know it was I think because we had been living in this survival mode and our lives had completely changed we were living in this very bizarre existence that it took a long time to, I called it integrating back into normality. Yeah, I bet. So when you, you were at this arts college and then how did you get picked for the Spice Girls or did you see an audition? We want to put together a girl band yeah I was um I was at Danceworks it's called it's in um just off Oxford Street and there's lots of you know dance classes there and auditions I was there auditioning for something else and someone handed me a flyer and it was for this girl band and I just looked at my mate and said that's it that's what I'm going to do because I was getting really frustrated because

I was auditioning for lots of western shows and different things but nothing was musical theater yeah oh yeah and nothing was happening so I was I was getting really annoyed and I always wanted to work in music that was like my mum's also a singer is she yeah so both my mum and my stepdad had been signed in the well he was the 60s I think my mum's band was maybe in the 70s early 70s what kind of music was your mum making she started off doing folk stuff, but she does everything. I mean, she still goes out and gigs when she can. What's her name? Her name is Jonah Neal, and she's had many band names.

I think it's just called Jonah Neal Band right now. But she did a Tina Turner tribute for a few years. Oh, how fab. Wow. She's got a voice. She's got an amazing voice. She must have good legs too. She's got amazing legs, yeah.

That's what you need for Tina Turner, eh? Yeah. And big hair. She does sound like her. It's really weird. I don't think she sounded, she started sounding like her. You know, started off with just years of gigging and, you know, terrible monitors. And she just got so raspy that she's got this, yeah.

Oh, wow. I know. Bonkers, right? But my mum, she won't mind me saying she's 71 now and she will still go out and gig and i just think that's that's amazing isn't it absolutely yeah like me she's fabulous she's kind to the monitors bloke your best friend right so you saw this flyer yes so i saw the saw the flyer. And you're how old then? I was 19.

19. I think 19. I was 94. So maybe I was 20. And yeah, I said to my friend, that's it. That's what I'm going to do. And I went along to the audition. And it's really funny.

The first thing we had to do, there was hundreds of girls. And we had to just freestyle dance to, oh, my gosh, what was the band called? Oh, Eternal. Do you remember Eternal? Oh, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Which song was it? Stay.

Oh, stay. Stay. Tune. Absolute tune. Absolute tune. So we had to freestyle to that. And then, you know, obviously so superficial, it was all on look. So they were like, yeah, you stay, you stay, you stay, you stay you stay wherever and then the people who were chosen to stay got to sing so I

sang I'm So Excited Pointer Sisters as it was the only thing I had sheet music for my mum used to sing it and there's there's tapes flying about there's stuff on the internet you can see you can see all of our auditions and I was recalled but when the recall happened I was sick because I was getting um tonsillitis quite a lot at that time from what just singing so much or just being being a student yeah right living and you know in you know not the best environment and um I get I was sick so I couldn't even speak let alone sing so I was like mum please you know speak to them please just let them see me in a week. I really, you know, want to do it.

Mum, speak to them. Mum, speak to them. Did she call up? She called them and they said, no, sorry, we've chosen the girls now. I didn't know this. Bloody cheek. I know, no. So how did you get in?

So I was like, oh, well, there you go. I think because when you've, you know, grown up as a performer and auditioning, you always get to come and go, right? Yeah, yeah. And I think maybe a couple of weeks later I got a call to say, oh, one of the girls hasn't worked out. Could you come back down and sing for us? Oh, my goodness.

Just you out of all those people. Who is that person and have you ever met them? I haven't met her, no. Have they ever tweeted you? I think she's a backing singer. I think, you know, she's had a good career being a backing singer, but I've never met her. She's a Welsh girl.

And I was invited to go down. I think it was, was it NOMIS, that one? Studios, that's where we did the showcase. And what were all the rest of the girls there? So, Geri was there, jerry was there mel b was there victoria was there and a girl called michelle and i went down and i sang sign seal delivered and that was it i was in the band it was kind of it was a done deal sign seal delivered it was exactly and uh yeah it was so surreal because it was so like that yeah that's it bang you're in and

i was like okay and then we stayed in this b&b it was so weird the yeah, that's it, bang, you're in. And I was like, okay. And then we stayed in this B&B. It was so weird. The management at the time lived in Surrey. And they put us in, I mean, it's such a long time ago. Now I'm having to, you know, remember all these details. And we stayed there, I think, for about two weeks. And we rehearsed and we sang and, you know, we choreographed dances and stuff. Did you choreograph your own dances?

Yeah, we did in the very beginning yeah the wannabe dance no i think no that was a little bit later down the line we had a choreographer at that point but we kind of i mean especially mel's such a great dancer we always had i mean even in the studio we were coming up with little ideas and you know if you look at the spice girls dances they're not complicated. I could do them and I was really proud to do them. Hey, Geri can do them. Oh, maybe she can't. She won't mind me saying. Are you all still good friends?

We are, you know. Yeah. We actually got together a couple of weeks ago. I know Emma's spoken about this because we kind of done it on the down low because anything we ever do, if anyone knows about it, it just goes. So we were like, look, we don't want to do pickies. I mean, obviously, we're all very sensitive about social distancing as well at the moment. So we just said, look, this is just our little moment.

But yeah, the five of us with Victoria and we'd not actually all been together, the five of us for a couple of years. But I want to know, I'm really interested. You go to the Performing Arts College in kent very far away from your mum um step dad what are you eating when you're in digs at the age of 16 was it a shocking diet yeah it really was and what i found most shocking because i was at performing arts college where it was predominantly dancing that we were doing where obviously you need energy the aesthetics important so you could really do with having an education on nutrition right which i think is much better now there's a much better understanding but this was like 1990 and we just left home my mum had always fed me well i had you know i had a good understanding of how to eat well but you leave home and it's all McDonald's Chinese takeaways and yeah just rubbish I mean when we were very young we were with a

family so she would cook but she wasn't the best cook um no disrespect um she was feeding a lot of girls there was seven of us in a house with a family of four so that was yeah chaos and it was it was lots of stews that kind of stayed on the stove all week and like tinder beans got added oh right and jacket potatoes that had been cooked earlier in the day then we got home from like college and we like we dig see who was first in the microwave and like yeah reheated microwave um baked potatoes so it wasn't the best oh my god and then we used this is this is a lovely little memory. So one of the girls, Emma, she was from Scunny, sunny Scunny.

And her Nana always sent her luncheon vouchers. And we'd always go with the Chinese. Those were fantastic. What were luncheon vouchers? People used to get them from work, luncheon vouchers. And you'd go to cafes that had LV on this, a round sign that said LV. And you could pay for your lunch with your luncheon vouchers. So she must have saved them up and then sent them to her.

And you'd go and go, oh, that's so sweet. Which town in Kent were you in? Sidcup? Oh, yeah, Old Ed Cup. Does anyone want a piece of lemon drizzle? Okay, do you want to talk about your lemon drizzle? No. No, because I feel like you need to...

It's gluten-free. Lovely, thank you. I don't know if... Let's try it and then you tell her what the thing that's in it. Right. Just taste this and see if you know what the added ingredient is. Oh, it's so good. Can you guess what the added ingredient is?

I want to say lemon curd. I mean, it tastes... Mashed potato, babe. No way. Mashed potato. Actually, mum, that's bloody good. This is excellent. It's so, so good. It's really good. It's so moist. I'm not really a baker.

Whose recipe is this? Because I feel like we need to shout them out. Is it a BBC Good Food? All right. Oh, I always gravitate towards that one. Me too. Oh, it's like you know where you're at with it. That is really good. That's bloody good.

Yeah. You wouldn't know it was mashed potato, would you? No. I think that gives it the starch. Melanie. Melanie, I'm really appreciating this cake, but I've got a lot to get through with Melanie, Mum. Sink the Pink.

Oh, yes. The funnest. Glynn. Oh, my God. We need to talk about Glynn. What a legend that man is. But I just, I want to know how that happened. What is Sink the Pink?

Sink the Pink, you explain to my mother. So, Sink the Pink is an East London creative collective. And basically, it started as a club night. Where did they start? In the Worker Men's Club in, was it? Bethnal Green. And. Is as a club night where did they start in the working men's club in was it in Bethnal Green and is it a gay night it's drag well no was it always drag though oh well I think it's yeah there's yeah amazing drag queens but it's super inclusive so it's the whole spectrum lgbtq plus and um they have these amazing club nights and it grew from like a tiny little thing

in a working men's club to selling out the Troxy. They do really big nights, always sell out. They're amazing. It is incredible. Lots of performances. Everybody is so dressed up.

So how many times have you done it? So I was invited to go down and just sing a few songs, just do a bit of a PA. And I was quite nervous because I was following them on social media and not knowing a lot about them, but seeing all these, you know, incredible drag queens. They just look so fierce. And I just had this thing where it was like, I always kind of thought that drag queens could be tricky, you know, a bit.

I don't know. I don't know what this image I had of a drag queen, but I thought, you know, I was a little bit scared. So I went down there for soundcheck in the afternoon. And as soon as I walked in, this like, just like love. And it's just such a beautiful environment. She's an icon, mum. Yeah, of course she is. Well, their love is five scale down there, definitely.

So that was lovely. And but I was just really blown away with how inclusive it was. They look after you when you do it. They really look after you. And everyone's like so into it. You know, they put so much time and effort into the performances, the choreography, the rehearsals, their costumes. Because everyone dressed up. Yeah. Who did you have when you did sink the pink who did you have like when you have to do the vote um the judging did you have people when you judge the walk off like basically drag race it's that you know it's the it's the walk it's the ballroom i do want more

but i'm not going to thank you so much um um but who was on your thing because i had denise van outen and talisa and it like blew my mind and it was fantastic. I think that's the beauty of Sink The Pink. It's like, it's so random. Just like anyone and everyone just fits in. Yeah, absolutely. It's this beautiful space where we can all be happily together. But you went on tour with them around to all the Pride shows because that looked so fun.

It was so fun. So Sink The Pink, my first experience was a little performance at a club night yeah and then and that was just a dream it went so well and then they invited me to perform at the Mighty Hoopla which is the big festival they do every year in Brockwell Park and yeah and that was the first time I performed with the drag queens and they came on then there was never going and going back after that, it was quite momentous because we did a couple of Spice Girls tracks and they just, it just went down a storm.

It was one of those moments, you know, you get these sometimes on stage, you know, when you just feel it, you know, when the audience is just like really engrossed. And yeah, we had that magical moment and we were just like, you know what, we need to do this more. And then, you know, with Glyn's help, we wanted to magical moment and we were just like you know what we need to do this more and then you know with Glyn's help we wanted to go bigger and better and we put together a 45

minute show it's quite theatrical and we toured prides and I went out I flew out to Sao Paulo three days after completing the Spice Girls tour last year so that makes sure that you don't get tour blues you're like come on let's go that's amazing it nearly killed me but I'm so glad we did it because it was amazing and performing with the drag queens and working so closely with people from the pride community obviously you know an audience that has supported the Spice Girls from day one and all of us as solo artists I'd never worked that closely with, you know, drag queens, non-binary people. And I just learned so much. It was such an education to me. And it was, it had this really profound effect on me because I found self-acceptance through working with these people

that obviously had had some struggles growing up that I could never imagine and it was just an incredible experience because I knew it'd be fun I knew we'd have a great time but I've actually walked away with from it with so much more that's amazing yeah I get emotional when I talk about it because I love them all so much they're such incredible people yeah but when I mean I guess you knew when you're in the Spice Girls but you you knew what your LGBTQ plus following was huge, right? But were you aware of that when you were putting out your solo music? I think it's been this knowledge that's grown over the years. Because I think when we started, well, we started talking about girl power because we experienced sexism in the industry.

Because we were just five girls. We wanted to be famous. We wanted to be pop stars and you know quite quickly we were being told yeah girl bands don't sell records you can't be on the front cover magazines because you know girls buy records by boys and we were like seriously don't say that to the Spice Girls that's like you know red rag to a bull so that's when we started talking about girl power and we knew knew, actually, we had a really important point to prove. And it was great because it gave us fire in our belly.

But then quite quickly, we realized that we had quite a big gay following. And it became more than girl power. It became people power. It became about equality. And we knew that at the time, but we didn't realise how important it was and the impact that it was having. And I think it's been over the last 10, 15 years. You were young, right? And it was a whirlwind. Yeah.

I mean, my brother was in your mama video. Ah, that was easy. He's what, how old is he now? Well, he's 32 now. He was young and he wasn't out then, was he? He was 10, probably. I think we knew, but yeah. I didn't.

But anyway, I think he always talked about that moment being in the Mama video as a defining gay moment for him. He loved it. I've been reading a lot about Donna Summer recently, and I don't know if you know much about Donna Summer. I mean, we know all her songs, but I didn't realise she was part of musical theatre. Oh, I didn't know that.

And I feel like there's so many comparisons with you and Donna. She did Hair Musical. She went to Munich for years to do the German version of Hair, and she was obsessed with musical theatre. Do you know what's so weird? I think I'm a bit psychic. I was listening to your album today which I adore. Thank you so much. And I was thinking about Hair the musical. Well I because I tried to basically try and make the last song like Hair the musical so thank you so much. It's so beautiful yeah it's really lush and 70s but there's a bit of an 80s vibe going on yeah i love it but so i want to talk about musical

theatre because i jesse was in music well i mean i was in school musical theatre i did not go to performing arts but there's always possibility you might be able to get a big part um but i i've been really impressed by the the roles that you've taken i feel like they've been really impressed by the roles that you've taken. I feel like they've been very decided. Like, you know, you were Mary Magdalene and you were in Blood Brothers and like those are brilliant roles.

The best, yeah. You see, I came back to musical theatre. You haven't done Chicago, have you? Haven't done Chicago. And would you? I'd do it on Broadway. I completely know what you mean. You're not going to do it at the Adelphi, are you? I'd do it on Broadway. I completely know what you mean! You're not going to do it at the Adelphi, are you?

Christ. Such a snob. No, I understand that. I love Chicago, but I think the problem with Chicago is they went through a phase. There's been this thing, God bless theatre and please God, we can keep it after this horrible pandemic. and, you know, God bless theatre and please, God, you know, we can keep it after this horrible pandemic. But there was a time with musical theatre when lots of people from the telly were going into musical theatre

and I think it cheapened some roles. Yeah, especially Chicago. Yeah. Everybody did it. Yeah. But back to you. OK, which role have you not played that you would like to in a musical theatre?

Maybe, is her name, gosh, I've forgotten her name now. Is it Sally in Cabaret? Oh. That's a goodie, isn't it? I mean. Well, that would be fabulous. Yeah. When you do musical theatre, I mean, you're a fantastic dancer, clearly, and you're trained.

Thank you. So you want a role that shows off both bits, really. As I'm getting older, I want to do less dancing. Do you? It stresses me out, the dancing. Does it? Yeah, it's funny because that was... You look really in good shape.

Oh, thank you, but it all hurts a bit, doesn't it? I'm really glad that I got to see the tummy tattoo today. I'm really happy. I feel like you are. You are giving me 90s realness. I'm really thankful that I got to see Andrew. But actually, your hair looks gorgeous. Oh, thank you. Did you have it cut during... I just had it chopped I got to see Andrew. your hair looks gorgeous. Did you have it cut?

I just had it chopped. Yeah, for my new shot video. It looks beautiful. Yeah. Oh, how was it? Did you have to do a COVID video where?

We did. We had to stay a metre apart at all times and everyone was in PPE on set, apart from the performance, obviously. It was nice to be together. Oh,

it was amazing. It was like kind of normality. It was incredible. We shot at Ali Pali. Oh, nice. Which, if it wasn't for lockdown,

we probably wouldn't have had that opportunity. So, you know, there are silver linings everywhere. And for what song is that for? So the video is for my third single and it's called In and Out of Love. So third single off the record. And when's the record coming out? So the record's out in October.

Have you got plans for a tour yet? Or have you kind of, you're waiting? Christ. I always plan to tour 2021 thank goodness yeah so that would just be like oh when do we do it do we do it spring so we're just kind of yeah feeling it out. Who did the record with you? So I did it I've got a whole new team that I'm working with this is the first album I've done with all my you know behind the scenes people including my A&R who's wonderful Frank Frank Tope. Frank Tope is one of the most tasteful, he knows about music, Mr. Frank Tope. The most amazing thing I've found with him is, you know, obviously we got to know each other a little bit before we started working together.

But he put me, you know, not only with the right people stylistically, things that are going to work, but also personality wise as well. So every session has been so productive because you can often there's a bit of trial and error isn't it you know because I always collaborate with people yeah that's and that's what I always say I always say when you have your first collaboration with with a you know another writer or a team it's like a first date you always get your best song because everyone's on the best behavior oh my god I've never thought about it like that that's so true yeah so who did you work with on the record so i've worked with lots of new people um before we talk about the new people i'll talk about the person i went back to which was so lovely do you know biff richard stannard no you need to know biff so biff is

from matt and biff who did lots of spiceice Girls stuff. So Wannabe, Spice Up Your Life, Goodbye, Viva Forever. Oh, wow. I mean, so many of the big, big biggies. And he's wonderful. He's got a gorgeous studio down in Brighton. And I worked with him on not my last album, but the album before. So it had been a while. So we got together.

But he does a lot of stuff with Kylie. I mean, he's worked with so many brilliant artists, but he started bringing in younger producers. And I just found that working with a lot more like younger writers and producers, it's really helped me freshen everything, which is what I wanted to do. It feels like a new chapter for me

because so many things have changed. That was all so right. So a couple of guys I've been working with called Bill and Ted, who co-wrote and produced Blame It On Me, which was the second single. And some great top liners I've been working with as well. Niamh, who's also an artist, and Poppy Bascom, who's incredible.

So yeah, it's just really exciting. Isn't it the best when it feels like a family and it doesn't feel like business? Yeah, and when it's easy. And it's like, it feels, you know know I've been lucky enough in my career I've had those moments where something feels quite magical um I've had those moments when things feel quite shit also but those magical moments like when I made my first solo album Northern Star it was like it just feels like everything's right you know it's just as it be. That was with I Turn To You and stuff. Yeah. And Never Be The Same Again.

That was the one with Left Eye? Yes. Left Eye. What did you eat in the studio with Left Eye? We didn't eat in the studio, but we hung out in her hotel room. And she ordered loads of lobster and loads of seafood. My girl. Yes, Left Eye.

It was seafood and white wine. Amazing. Which always works for me. Oh, my God. I mean, that is the thing. It is a bit, there's more budgets now, isn't there, babe? I know. Is there a memorable meal from the 90s that you...

Sorry, a bird has joined us. It's a magpie. Magpie? Fuck off. I'm like... I'm interviewing Melanie Sears. We need another one. One for sorrow.

Oh, is that sorrow? Shit, don't look at him don't look at him oh god he's having a chat with his mate it'll turn up yeah um he's calling him over um so yeah is there any memorable because i you know all we hear about now and you must hear it too like the budgets and da da da da and everything's you know on a budget and look we're still having a good time um but the 90s must have been mental for that the 90s was amazing if you think about it right so so myself and you know we're all from differing backgrounds but predominantly working class backgrounds all of the Spice Girls so you know personally I grew up in a family where my mum worked all week and then she gigged all weekend

just to put food on the table yeah you know there was no extravagances that's just the way it was you know growing up in that area did your mum have two jobs yeah she she's worked for the nhs for years and then singing at the weekend as well there's his mate over there could be the parakeets whatever the downside of recording a podcast in your garden yeah but yeah go on so yeah so then of course when we finally got our album together and we had management and we were looking at getting signed by labels everyone wanted to schmooze us so we were still you know we weren't earning any money so we were actually on the dole and I think Jerry was homeless at the time you know sleeping on couches and stuff but we were being flown to by Virgin Records, staying at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, being picked up by stretch limos. Ordering everything on room service.

It was crazy. And yeah, going to these incredible restaurants. And something the Spice Girls or being a part of the Spice Girls taught me, and I always say this to people, I'm such an old lady now with my advice, is that you should never feel uncomfortable in any environment. Because, you know, we came, some of us, from nothing and had never experienced a five-star hotel or a swanky restaurant. But because we had each other,

we just rocked up and we just enjoyed it. And so I feel like I know people feel intimidated to go into certain environments and I just want to say don't. because, you know, we all deserve to. Do you ever get told off for being too loud? Do we? I don't think anyone ever does. It's funny because I get asked quite a lot about the Me Too movement and about, you know, that within the music industry.

And if I ever experienced anything, I was like, are you kidding me? No one would come near the Spice Girls because they were petrified of us. Were they? Well, they knew that. If you, you know, I think often with these situations, there can be vulnerable people that are targeted, aren't there? Which, of course, there are some vulnerable people in Spice Girls, but because you knew if you mess with one of them,

you'd have to deal with the other four. So we always have backup. That's amazing. Melanie C, what is your desert island meal? So you're going to go on a desert island for at least six months. Are you going to eat it every day? No, this is one that you eat before you go. Okay, so is this kind of like your last meal, but a bit more positive?

Yeah. So starter, main, pud and drink of choice. Okay. So my starter, I think would have to have scallops. Oh, yeah. I always go for scallops. Me too. Yeah, if you see it on a menu, I'm having it.

Yeah. Yeah. And then... Do you cook them? Do you ever cook them? Do you know what I have done in the past? Yeah, they're easy. Yeah. Yeah. And then... Do you cook them? Do you ever cook them? Do you know what I have done in the past? Yeah, they're easy. Just quickly.

It's always a pea puree and a pancetta, isn't it? Everyone loves that. Yeah. Carry on. Are we talking drinks? Should we do a drink for everyone? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, I love you.

Yes, yes. Well, if I'm going to go for dinner, I'd like to start with a cocktail. Which is your cocktail? Well, I do love a margarita. Oh, or a picante. So do you know a picante? Yeah. They're really good.

And I hate myself. I hate myself for being part of a meme. I know they're bloody good. Why? What do you put in it? They're a Soho. Is it a Soho house special? I know.

And that also makes me feel a bit sick. Yeah. A picante is a chili infused margarita. Then it would not be for me. It's bloody great. Oh, it's fabulous. No. So it's a Tommy's margarita. Then it would not be for me. It's bloody great. Oh, it's fabulous. No. So it's a Tommy's margarita, which are my favourite,

because they don't use triple sec. You use agave syrup. But it has coriander and hot chilli in it. Have you tried to make them at home? Yeah, we did. He makes a good one. Did you get rocked? Because I did, watching Annie Mack and Todd Letty's DJ set

at home with my husband. I was like, come on, babe. I had the worst hangover of my life. It was horrendous. Well, you shouldn't be getting hangovers off tequila, so to say. Yeah, that's a bloody lie. That's a lie. Isn't it?

Okay, so tequila, a little picante or a margarita. A little bit of cheeky picante. Yeah, and then I'll have my scallops. And then, oh, what do I want for my main? I do like a bit of fish. A nice bit of sea bass. I know it's a bit obvious. See, I'd go for or go for a nice steak let's have a steak okay and then some fish how are you having it i want to have it medium yeah with any side i think i need to have

some like fat chips triple cooked or something oh yeah um if we can get some truffle in there that'd be good or something no who that's he likes truffle in there, that'd be good. A little truffle salt or something? Joe Wicks. No. He likes truffle on his chips. And so does Numi Rapace. Yeah. Everyone likes truffle in there. She travels with a truffle salt everywhere. Do you know what? Truffle's really good on scrambled eggs.

Oh, I can imagine that. Fancy. Sunday. Sunday scrambled eggs. I like that. Okay, so you've got steak and chips. Any sauce? Bernays or?

Do you know what? I'm not a sauce kind of girl. Okay. Bit of mustard. Mustard. What sort of mustard of mustard let's go for english i want a bit of english really yeah okay and drink yeah red wine drinks got to be a red yeah i like a ryoka maybe me too majestic make a really good house ryoka that's only 12 quid. Their definition Rioja and it's lovely. Have you been drinking Pet Nat recently? Pet Nat? Oh, Jessie's... I'm hooked.

She's worked. What are you talking about, Mum? It came before champagne, Mum. If you look at all those frigging old paintings, they're all drinking orange wine that's fizzy. It's not champagne. But no one is now till you started. So what?

It's all frigging art. Oh my God, babe, it's amazing. It's just basically natural wine that's fizzy. It's not champagne. But no one is now, till you started. It's freaking out. Oh my god, babe. It's amazing. It's just basically natural wine that's fizzy. It's so delicious. You can get it like rosé. I should have bought some, but there's this one called Astro Bunny, which is phenomenal.

Love the name. And really fun. What colour? That was a bit orangey. And they're kind of different with their different skin to contact. So you can get like a rosy, you can get more of an orangey one. I had a really interesting one that was not cheap. It's not cheap, but it's cheaper than champagne and it kind of does the job. You should try some Petnapp.

It does the job. There's a connoisseur. It does the job. Get it down, yeah. That's what they say when they go to the Grand National. Oh, does the job. Anyway, carry on. Your pudding, please, to the Grand National. Oh, does the job. Anyway, carry on. Your pudding, please, Mel.

My pudding. Oh, God, this is... Oh, I do love a pavlova. And I've had that steak, and it might be a bit heavy, you know, having a steak and then a big old pud, so I think I want to go for a pavlova. With what on the top? Do you like just strawberries, raspberries? I like a raspberry, loads of cream.

I love my cream. Oh, I love it so much yeah do you think you've got good table manners i do i don't know do you think i have the man who sits opposite me i think i pretty much do i think it's difficult isn't it because you look at other people and you go like the kids you're like eat properly yeah i no they're disgusting but um and i think i'm so perfect and then i think but am i if no one's watching i'm not i do like to lick my plate oh i know i'm not judging because i'm just i'm saving the dishwasher i don't want to get my pipes blocked absolutely i like that i like that and what's your worst table manner in somebody else? Noisy eating.

Noisy eating, yeah. There's a thing, what's it called? Oh, misophonia. Yeah. Oh, is it a thing? Yeah, it's a thing. I can't stand hearing people eat apples. Oh, really? Yeah, we struggle with the kids.

His son and my daughter are pigs. Our mates. My daughter's like that. Having been such a successful artist, how has it affected your daughter? Has it not affected her at all? Do you protect her from being photographed and things like that? Yeah, I do.

And I think, you know, obviously I've got very close friends that have a very different way of dealing with it. But I feel like it's not my decision to make if she wants to be in the public eye she needs to make that decision when she's old enough to make it you know but you know I respect that you know people feel differently about these things but yeah I mean I have been through phases where I have guilt because I think it can be a curse that your parent is famous um but with Scarlett, with the Spice Girls thing, I just kind of introduced her to things when she was young.

You know, when she was three or four, she'd watch videos. And so it's just always been in her life. It's her norm, really. And we, you know, we speak really openly about everything. And I think she's got quite a good handle on it. When we did the tour last year, it was the first time she'd seen me as a Spice Girl in front of 70,000

people at Wembley. Did she bring her friends from school? Yeah, she did. She brought a few friends and I think at first she was quite overwhelmed because obviously she'd seen videos and different things but to see all those people going nuts for us all. Surely Scarlett thought you were pretty cool that night, yeah? Oh, she probably thinks you are cool anyway. My daughter doesn't, she

tells me to turn my music off when it's on yeah so my daughter i think she's she's always there's been an element of coolness she gets a bit annoyed she went through this phase at school when people are going oh that's the spice girls kid whatever and it's so on the nerves but when she saw me at wembley stadium she was like yeah my mum's quite cool but that's kind of subsided again so the spice girls need to go back on tour for my daughter to remember that I'm cool. Will they go back on tour? I hope so. I hope so.

We've got to go next time. You do. The show's incredible. Yeah, I mean, I was very jealous. It looked phenomenal. We couldn't get tickets. Next time, I know someone. OK.

Good. Oh, Melanie, what a pleasure to just sit with you thank you for doing this thank you for being our first al fresco yeah thank you for wearing sport wear yeah you know and uh and and thank you for just being the most wonderful brilliant everything that i could have expected and more and i honestly i i'm so in awe of how you have well i mean i've been in awe of how you have, well, I mean, I've been in awe of you since Spice Girls, but just your journey and your career has been so ever changing and evolving and so much. And I just feel like it's kind of limitless for you and you just carry on. And it's just exciting to watch.

That's so lovely because you just, you know, you don't know what people know. You know, your career has its, you know, ups and downs and this little journey and so much of what I do, I think, goes unnoticed. Oh, no. So for you to have that knowledge is so lovely. I just want you back in the musicals. Broadway, Bebo.

This is your prize. A prize. Lucky. The Table Manners tea towel. It's quite scary-esque, isn't it? It is, yeah. She did like it, yes. I love it.

Thank you. What a wonderful woman. Just gorgeous. Just warm, lovely, interesting. Philosophical. Interesting. Interesting, fun. We could have gone on forever.

This felt too tame. I know she's naughty spice, I feel like. We could have gone and had a little picante and then a little something else. Dead normal. Dead normal. She's someone that's done everything. She was always the relatable one.

Do you think? Yeah. Just love her. And she had sportswear on. Yeah, I know. Like, she actually lives and breathes it. She had an Adidas tracksuit on. And I could see her angel tattoo on her very toned abs.

I mean, she looks exactly the same as when we saw her in the Wannabe video. Yeah, she did. She did. Loved her. Thank you so much, Melanie C. Good luck with the record, which is out in October. And we love you. And this is not the end of my relationship with you. I know it now.

How nice, I mean, apart from the magpies and the dogs barking, and the children in the garden playing with the um with the basketball hoop how nice was it to be outside and be together with someone now we don't know how it's going to go from here on in there they may not all be in the flesh but it was a real treat to be face to face with somebody and somebody that we love so much so thank you so much melanie see very good first face to face al fresco table manners alfresco here we come thanks for listening see you next week just text me too oh my god what she say just hey it's melanie oh my god we're friends we're friends Bye.