Straight or gay?  Sporty or naughty?  Spice Girl or nice girl?  front
had a natter with Mel C to see what's going down.


Sitting in the middle of a massive blue couch, Mel(anie) C toys with
her cropped, bleached hair.  Dressed in white t-shirt and green
combat pants, her outsize trainers are built for posing, not for
running.  The new Melanie C doesn't look so sporty.
Mel has just flown in from Los Angeles, a city where she hangs out
with crinkly old rockers who, if our maths is right, are old enough
to be her dad.  Which is perhaps just as well.  Melanie played a gig
at a small club last night and her mum stood and the back and clapped
and cheered as her daughter and her band pounded out the monster rock
that is her solo career.
Melanie has grown up, and the only off-limits subjects are Posh's
Man U mates and Gerard Houllier's Liverpool revolution.  As for stuff
like tatts, getting tanked, and shagging blokes and birds, well...


So, all the talk about you being gay - are you?

I'm not aware that I am.


How do you feel about the gay stories?

At first I was surprised because it was a revelation to me and I
thought it was funny.  Then the stories started to get on my nerves.
People are narrow-minded about the way I look and treat me as a
stereotype.  Okay, I don't have a boyfriend but I have short hair,
tattoos and muscles, so they automatically assume I'm gay.  It's
also rude to gays, because what does a gay person look like?


Does it matter if you're gay or not?

Not at all.  It's no-one's business, is it?


So why did George Michael hide himself in the closet for so long?

That was his choice.  As manufactured as people think some bands are,
I have my own mind.  There was the big thing about Stephen from
Boyzone.  He had to come out before he wanted to because of tabloid
pressure.  It's sad the media can have so much power.  So what if
you're gay, if you choose not to tell, that's your choice.


Do all your showbiz friends suffer from unfriendly media pressure?

People I know celeb-wise say it's the worst part of being a celeb.
It's fantastic being successful and being written about, media
coverage isn't something you want to complain about - there are
people out there with far worse problems.


What about when you read that you've slept with Anthony Kiedis and
Robbie Williams?

I wish it were true.  It's probably because they're both friends of
mine.  One day I'm shagging every rock star on the planet and the
next I'm gay.  So which is it?  I know I'd rather be shagging the
rock stars - so long as they're good-looking and good musicians.


Who did you snog at Posh and Beck's wedding?

No one.  I didn't drink either.  I was doing my album so I couldn't
get wasted.  I sat with my parents, a couple of friends, and didn't
snog any footballers - they were all Man U players anyway [Mel's a
Liverpool fan].


Do you get much time to yourself?

Some - I live alone so that gives me time.  And I train a lot, which
gives me time to think.  My life is forever changing and when I'm
really busy sometimes I do fancy a night on my own in front of the
telly.


What's with the gold tooth?

I've always wanted one, so when I could afford it I got one.  It's
just capped, so if I get fed up with it I can have it removed.
Actually, I forget it's there.


What did your mum say when you came home with it?

The same as when I had a tattoo.  She didn't like the idea and didn't
want me to have another one.  Then, as soon as I have another one,
she loves it.


How many tattoos have you got?

Six: three on my arms, one across my shoulders, one on my belly and
one on the base of my spine.  The Celtic armband was first, the
phoenix on my shoulders, last.


You have two scars - one on your knee and one on your forehead.  Like
a scrap, do you?

No, the one on my knee happened when I fell off my brother's BMX.
The one on my head I got at playschool - someone pulled a chair out
and my head got in the way.


What did you listen to when you were growing up?

My mum has been in a band for years and there's always been a lot of
music around the house.  She's got a great vinyl collection, loads of
Beatles records, Tamla Motown, Average White Band, Deep Purple.  I've
always been a fan of Madonna - not always her music, but as an icon.
Wham! was the first band I was into and when I met George Michael I
was drunk and he was talking to me about Geri - he's lovely.  I'm
grateful to him because he looked after Geri when she had a hard time.
His boyfriend, who I know a bit better, is great too.


Did you used to wriggle in front of the mirror with a hairbrush as a
mike?

Yeah, but not to Wham!, to Madonna.  I still do!  My favourite Madonna
song, Bad Girl on her Erotica album, was never put out as a single.


So why have you gone all rock?

My mum's always been in a rock-soul band and I think it's probably the
most emotive music around.  To be honest, I just like head-banging.


Who's your favourite heavy-metal band?

Oh gosh... what was it that my brothers always used to listen to?  Oh
yeah, Def Leppard, but they're quite soft aren't they?  Er, Aerosmith
is another rock band I like, but they're not really hard either are
they?  Um, Whitesnake!  I just love rock bands, big bands and guitars.


You got up on stage with the Neurotic Outsiders in Los Angeles.  Did
you know who any of those guys were?

Yeah.  I didn't know Steve Jones [Sex Pistols] until I met him but I
knew John Taylor from Duran Duran and Matt Sorum and Duff from Guns
N' Roses.  It was excellent.  Then, at my gig in LA, Steve got up on
stage with me and we did Anarchy In The UK - "I am the Antichrist, I
am Sporty Spice" - brilliant!  Steve's such a poser!


What's the biggest audience you've played to?

At Wembley Stadium we played to 55,000.  I always get nervous and go
all silent, the girls laugh at me.  It's a bit of a band joke.


Do you use performance-enhancing drugs?

Only herbal ones!


What goes through your mind when you're about to walk on stage in
front of that may people?

"Oh, f***!"  It's hard to imagine doing it.  You don't think that you
can get through the show, but you do.


What's the smallest crowd you've played to?

Probably my warm-up gig at the Leadmill in Sheffield - that was in
front of 800 people.  In a small venue it's far more intimate and I
can feed off the audience a lot more - you can even see the whites of
their eyes.  In an arena or stadium the energy is lost because the
venue's so huge.


Is doing your show different from being on stage with the Spice Girls?

Yeah, very.  I have more freedom.  And I can do my own dance steps -
dancing and singing at the same time is well hard!  With the Spice
Girls I feel a lot more responsible because I don't want to mess up
for the others.  Although with my band, even though everyone is
coming to see Melanie C, if I get the words wrong I feel really guilty.


Are you still mates with Geri?

I do call her up.  I haven't spoken to her in a while, but we do keep
in touch.  I'm sure we'll bump into each other on the circuit soon.
I'm looking forward to seeing her.


What would you chat about?

I'd want to make sure she's okay, and catch up on the gossip.


What was it like when she left?

The media likes to blow everything out of proportion.  We were very
sad to see her go but life goes on.  No-one has been hard done by.
She has gone on to be successful and we have continued to be
successful.  The fans have got the Spice Girls and Geri now.


Do you have a lot of mutual friends?

The only friends we shared were within the group.


When was the last time you got wasted?

When I played V99.  The second day, as soon as I came off stage, I
got f***ing bladdered, mate.  I sat there and chewed the ear off James
from the Manic Street Preachers for over two hours.  It was very
embarrassing.  Next time I see him I'm going to have to hide.


What's your poison?

Beer.


Are you a sad drunk of an annoying drunk?

I never remember that!  No, I'm definitely not sad, I just get a
little bit louder!


Tell us something we don't know about Bryan Adams.

There's a lot of misconceptions about Bryan, especially in the UK,
where he gets a lot of rough press.  Everyone thinks he's pretty
boring, but he's such great fun and a great person to work with.  When
we were in New York we had a night out on the town.  He's such a
laugh - he forever jokes about.  You can never take him seriously.


Would you be into working with anyone else?

If the chance of a collaboration comes up in the future and I was into
the idea, then yeah.


Robbie Williams or Anthony Kiedis?

I'd love to.  That would be cool.


You up for anything then?

If I'm into something and it's good, sure.