Spice-Tacular!

Tell us about the single then?
Geri: Spice Up Your Life is a real united colours of the world song. It doesn't matter what race you are, whether you're a yellow man in Timbuktu or a Tribal spaceman, whether you're Pakistani or Irish, whatever jig or dance you do, let's do it together...
Mel C: You can imagine how much fun it'll be to dance around to!

Tell us about your new album, Spice World?
Emma: There are influences from all over the world, we picked them up, brought them home, and wrote about them...
Victoria: There are some absolutely fantastic tracks on it - not that we like to blow our own trumpets! There are a lot of positive messages and a lot of fun. I'm excited about people hearing it...
Geri: We may be a bit biased, but we worked bloomin' hard on the album and I think we've stepped up a gear. This album is quality.

Has fame changed you?
Emma: We met Madonna and we were talking about having fun with fame, dancing onstage and things. She said we were totally right. I don't really think about being famous. I'm still the little girl who gets told, "Your room's a bloomin' mess and you haven't done this." Anyway, in rehearsals we keep being told how we can't dance and that keeps our feet on the ground!
Mel C: We're the same five girls who got together three years ago, who wanted to make music and have a laugh. I can't understand, explain or accept being one of the most famous women in the world - we just get on with the job at hand...
Geri: But we have grown up and we're closer as a unit. I've developed a bigger sense of humour about things, learned to take things easier, not get uptight, chill out...
Victoria: Yeah, it's made me want to have fun more. I used to be a lot more serious, now it's me in rehearsals who keeps getting told off for laughing too much. All our attitudes have rubbed off on each other, but I don't think of myself as that famous...
Mel B: Me neither. All I do is try hard and do my best. If people notice me for it it's excellent.

Has Girl Power taken over the world?
Mel B: We've got our Pepsi, our crisps...
Mel C: Hopefully we've given a lot of females the strength to stand up for what they believe in. We get letters saying, "You really inspired me to dump that boyfriend who was no good for me," or "You inspired me to revise for my exams". Anyway, it got us where we are today, so it works, dunnit?
Mel B: ... Our cameras, our t-shirts ...
Emma: I think everyone is thinking a lot more about life and how we've got to be more positive about things.
Mel B: ... Our album, our tour ...
Geri: Something really positive has happened, people saying they've got Girl Power, people geeting what we're going on about, normal people in everyday life. We've provided a catchphrase.
Mel B: ... Our deoderant ...
Victoria: I'd like to think our attitude has spread throughout the world. Have a laugh, life is too short, so have fun and be colourful. Well, the others are colourful. I usually wear black. Hopefully the fun element will take over the world.
Mel B: There's going to be Spice everything, everything you can possibly think of!

Are you still having a laugh?
Mel C: We still make each other laugh...
Emma: Even in our singing classes we're in fits of giggles, getting wrong notes. We're always laughing...
Geri: I'm the person who everyone laughs at. Yesterday Victoria wrote "Girl Power" on my arm with a marker pen, then she wrote "Dickhead" on my other arm. She didn't realise it was permanent and now it won't come off!

Ooh dear, erm, how's your love-lives?
Mel C: I'm in love with my job, that's about it. No men on the scene I'm afraid. I'm far too busy!
Emma: I haven't had a man for a long time... this is the time of my life to be young, free and single!
Mel B: I'm not young, free and single at the moment! I wouldn't say I'm in love, just happy!
Geri: I'm in love with the world and in love with my pals. But I'm not in love with a boy...
Victoria: I am. I'm very lucky. I've got someone who treats me really well, is really considerate and really down-to-earth as well. I'm the first to admit I've said I never wanted to go out with a famous person but that's what David (Beckham - v. famous English footy player) is. He isn't going out with me because I'm Posh Spice. Half the time I see him I look anything other than posh! We're on the phone a lot and when we do see each other it's quality time. If a relationship is meant to work it can work however difficult it is. Anyway, I can just pick up the papers or turn on satellite TV to see him!

Ah, bless. So, are you still all best pals?
Victoria: We accept each other more for our differences, unlike right at the beginning. When the others are fretting about their things I'll be fretting about my dry-cleaning!
Geri: We do really stupid things together. The other day we had to get up really early and we were standing in front of the mirror having a competition to see who could pull the ugliest face. We sometimes sit down together and have heart-to-heart talks about life...
Victoria: ...They have to respect that my dry-cleaning is a very important factor for me, like "Have they shrunk my Gucci shirt?" That would be a bit of a tragedy.
Emma: It's now got to the point where we're like sisters, we know we love each other...
Mel C: And me and Mel B haven't had a fight for weeks. We're probably too tired!

Time to spill the beans, what's the best bit in the movie?
Mel C: I didn't want to give too much away, but there's loads of funny stuff in the film. My fave bit is where we dress up as each other...
Emma: What about the scene with Michael Barrymore where he gives us a dance lesson? We also did an army assault course, clambering over walls and up ropes. At the end we had to do this rope-swing over this pool of water onto a mat...
Mel B: We all ended up in the water!
Geri: My fave bit is the bit I don't want to give away. The movie is brill and the thing about it is that whether you're a fan of ours or not you'll find a lot of comedy in there. It made us laugh.
Mel C: Hollywood should look out for Victoria.
Victoria: Hmm. For me one of the best bits will be the premiere in London.

Enough movie madness. Are you looking forward to the live shows?
Emma: That's the one thing we've all been looking forward to. We want to prove to everyone we can do it. We're going to work really hard and do our best for the fans. This is a time we can give back all the support and all the things they've given us, give them an exciting, big live show, like they're coming to a big party...
Mel B: Yeah, it's going to be completely brill, getting up there and shaking your arse about. I went to dancing classes when I was younger and this is what it was all for.
Geri: I'm not the world's best dancer, but I've been working really hard...
Mel C: It's one of those things that although you're nervous you want to do it so much that you have to overcome your fear.
Victoria: I can't wait. It's what everyone enjoys, getting up there and really going for it and singing, seeing the reaction of the crowd...
Geri: It'll be Spice-tacular!

So, new single, new album, is it time for new nicknames?
Mel C: I should be "Lazy Spice", really.
Emma: I'll be "Gets-Away-With-Murder Spice".
Geri: I'd be "Change-My-Hair-Any-Colour-I-Want Spice".
Victoria: "Posh-Half-The-Time Spice".
Mel B: Maybe I should be "Abrupt Spice" or "Pain-In-The-Arse Spice"! Sorry.