They're both pop giants and they respect each other's music.  But what do
Mel C and Ronan Keating really think of each other?  In their first ever
interview together, they confess all.


They make an unlikey pair.  Ronan is the ultimate all-round good guy, the
housewive's favourite whos silky tones turn teenage knees to jelly.  Then
there's Mel C.  Once the cheeky, smiley Spice Girl, she's toughened up her
image and now sports enough attitude to make the average Hell's Angel take
flight.
But the duo have more in common than you'd think.  Both are teen idols with
multimillion record sales, both have learned how to cope with the pressures
of being internationally successful pop stars and speculation is rife that
both could soon abandon the bands that made them famous in favour of solo
careers.
Although both have repeatedly denied plans to leave their respective groups,
the recent success of their solo projects - Mel C's Northern Star album and
Ronan's chart-topping single When You Say Nothing At All - may leave them
with no choice.  Pursuing individual projects takes time and if something
has to give, it could well be the Spice Girls and Boyzone.

Both singers, who took time out from their hectic schedules to meet up in
Denmark's capital, Copenhagen, say the freedom and sense of achievement is
the big pull of solo work.  "I think it's the challenge," says Ronan.  "You
really have to prove it to yourself as an individual.  In Boyzone, I share
the responsibility between five people.  On your own, you take it all on
your own back."
"We did very well in Boyzone, and everybody said: "Hey, you should try it
on your own.  You should do it alone."  You kind of put that in the back of
your head.  You never really say that you're in a band and that's the way
it's always going to be.  You have to prove it to yourself - it's something
within.  And, you know, it's a lot more fun, because the control is your
own, and the freedom, and the space.  You don't have four other people
speaking for you - you speak on your own.  It can be difficult when five
personalities are speaking for one."
"What I did in Boyzone, I loved.  But when you hear my new album, it's
different.  I recorded it with different producers in different places.  I
went to Nashville to record some of it.  Some of the best musicians in the
world come from Nashville.  It's still pop songs with melodies, but there
are no samples.  I've been going for a more organic sound and a bit more
Irish influence."

For Mel C, as with Ronan, 22, working alone is a chance to do - and say -
exactly as she pleases.  "Doubling the pressure on oneself is part of it,
but you don't really think about that," she explains.  "The reason why I do
it - and Ronan, too - is to please myself.  I love being in the Spice Girls
- it's great fun - but I'm 25 now.  I'm still young and I want to prove
myself.  I want to go out there and give it a try, see what people are
going to say."
"When I'm on my own, I might want to say things that are a little more
controversial.  Some of the words in my songs aren't appropriate for some
Spice Girls fans.  When we're in our bands, we've got responsibilities.
When we're doing solo stuff, we don't."

Here in Copenhagen, with Ronan's 10-month-old baby Jack and his wife
Yvonne hovering in the background, he and Mel joked and talked like old
friends.  Although they've met before, they rarely get a chance to chat to
one another without being in the public gaze at a party or an awards
ceremony.
"It's good that we've met under these circumstances," says Mel.  "It's
nice to do something like this."
Ronan agrees.  "It's cool," he laughs.  "We bump into each other, like
ships passing in the night, during shows and stuff like that.  We get to
have a laugh and sometimes we go to the after-show parties.  Because we're
doing the same thing, we kind of know what each other is going through, so
we can relate to each other well."

But will their friendship turn into anything professional and are there any
plans for joint projects in the future?
"I'd love to," says Ronan.  "It would be great, cool.  It's always
interesting working with other people and you learn so much."
In fact, the major stumbling block is time.  Both are already working hard
on future solo efforts and Ronan admits that any joint single is likely to
be some time off.
"Something might come along later; somewhere down the road, we might do
something," he says.  "But right now, it's a million miles away for both of
us because we're both recording solo albums.  But you never know what's
around the corner."
"I've got a lot of respect for Ronan.  He's so young and he's done so much,"
Mel pipes up.  "I think it's fantastic - he even manages Westlife.  I know
how difficult that is from being in the Spice Girls.  We've been without a
manager for quite a while.  Having to work creatively and being responsible
for business as well - I think it's amazing what he's done."
And the feeling's mutual.
"I really admire Mel for what she's doing," says Ronan.  "She's probably
done the most difficult thing; to go from the biggest band in the world, a
phenomenon.  To take that on board and pursue a solo career isn't an easy
thing to do.  And she's done it with her head held high.  She's already
got her own identity, because she's such an individual.  So what's left to
say?  Fair play to her."