Melanie C insists 'THE SPICE STORY ISN'T GIRLS OVER!'

The artist also known as Sporty Spice gives an intimate account of girl power

There have been many narratives written about Melanie Chisholm’s life. Since she launched to global stardom as a member of the Spice Girls in 1994, her career, relationships and personal struggles have all been the subject of speculation, yet very few stories have been told from her own perspective.

Speaking from her home in London, Melanie, aka Sporty Spice – who turns 49 on January 12 – is ready to tell her side. With a cup of tea in hand and phrases such as, “You know what I mean?” unfolding in her lyrical Liverpudlian accent, the singer-songwriter may not have physically strayed far from her roots, but as she put pen to paper in her new memoir Who I Am, she finally felt at home in herself.

“I felt a lot of emotions writing this – ‘petrified’ is the first word that comes to mind!” Mel laughs. “But I’m really happy I waited this long because when you reflect over time, things can change and I felt like I could tell my own story.”

Recounting her extraordinary life may seem like a fun trip down memory lane – and it was. “There was so much laughter and fun as a Spice Girl,” she tells. But it also reminded her of the fight she endured to be seen as a person, rather than a character.

In the early ’90s, Mel answered an ad in a UK paper asking for singers for an all-girl pop group. She, along with Victoria Adams, Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton and Geri Halliwell, beat more than 400 applicants to form Touch, as the band was known in its early days.