Spice Girls reunite – but there’s no Posh!
Tickets have gone on sale for the Spice World 2019 tour – but will it be the same without Posh?
FOR the past 18 years fans have been telling them what they really, really want is for them to stop wasting our precious time – just get their act together and we’ll all be just fine. Because we want it to last forever – friendship never ends. And we wanna, we wanna, we wanna, we wanna, we really, really, really wanna . . . see the band get back together again.
It’s the Spice Girls we want! Come and spice up our lives again!
Finally, they heard us. Ginger, Baby, Scary and Sporty announced they’ll go on a stadium tour of the UK next year and there have been hints of a new Greatest Hits album and a TV show too.
Only Posh is missing. Victoria Beckham declined to join her former besties but wished them well as they revive the hits that made millions of teens go bonkers in the ’90s. Here’s what they’ve been up to since bursting onto the scene.
GINGER SPICE GERI HALLIWELL (46) NET WORTH: £30 MILLION (R555 MILLION)
LIFE AFTER SPICE Geri was the first member to leave in 1998. She released three albums and wrote a series of children’s books that followed the adventures of nine-year-old Ugenia, based on herself. She also branched out with her own series of yoga and exercise videos, and developed a swimwear collection for Next clothing.
Geri, who featured as a judge on Australia’s Got Talent, has been working on a new solo album for years but has delayed releasing it several times. THE SPICE OF LIFE She wed Formula 1 boss Christian Horner (44) in 2015 and their son, Montague, was born last year. Geri also has a daughter, Bluebell (11), with screenwriter ex-boyfriend Sacha Gervasi (52).
Geri and Christian divide their time between a home in Hertfordshire and a country estate in Oxfordshire, where she tends to her chickens, goats and donkeys.
SPORTY SPICE MELANIE CHISHOLM (44) NET WORTH: £27 MILLION (R500 MILLION)
LIFE AFTER SPICE Mel C used her voice – widely regarded as the strongest of the Spices’ – to launch her solo career with When You’re Gone, a chart-topping duet with Bryan Adams, and has released seven albums since.
Like Mel B, she’s had stints as a judge and mentor on reality shows such as The X Factor Australia, Superstar and Asia’s Got Talent. THE SPICE OF LIFE After flings with Robbie Williams (44) and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Anthony Kiedis (56), Mel C settled down with property developer Thomas Starr for 10 years and had a daughter, Scarlet (9). She’s now dating fitness guru Joe Marshall, who’s also her manager.
Sporty is still living up to her name – she’s an avid triathlete and often shares clips of her gruelling workouts on Instagram.
Victoria Beckham declined to join her former besties but wished them well with the revival
SCARY SPICE MELANIE BROWN (43) NET WORTH: £7 MILLION (R130 MILLION)
LIFE AFTER SPICE Mel B had a handful of mediocre tracks from her solo albums and featured in a few forgettable movies, including the British drama Burn It and Seat Filler with Kelly Rowland.
She eventually found success in reality TV with her own show, Mel B: It’s a Scary World, and went on to be a judge on Australia’s Got Talent, the British version of The X Factor, as well as America’s Got Talent. THE SPICE OF LIFE Her personal life lived up to her Spice Girls nickname. She was married for two years to Dutch dancer Jimmy Gulzar with whom she has a daughter, Phoenix Chi (19).
The marriage ended in her laying assault charges against him.
A 2006 dalliance with actor Eddie Murphy (57) produced a second daughter, Angel Iris (11), but Eddie refused to acknowledge her until a blood test proved paternity.
Mel B then hooked up with producer Stephen Belafonte (43) and they wed in June 2007. Ten years later she filed for divorce, accusing Stephen – father of her third child, Madison (4) – of “emotional and physical abuse”.
Earlier this year, Mel announced she was checking into rehab to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the divorce. She also admitted she’d been abusing alcohol “to numb” her pain.
BABY SPICE EMMA BUNTON (42) NET WORTH: £30 MILLION (R555 MILLION)
LIFE AFTER SPICE Emma had a hit with What Took You So Long off her 2001 solo album, A Girl Like Me, but was dropped by Virgin Records due to poor sales.
She released two more albums, Free Me and Life in Mono, but neither made waves.
Emma found steady work in TV, featuring in the hit comedy Absolutely Fabulous from 2003 to 2012, and as a judge on celebrity ice-skating show Dancing on Ice. She’s also found a niche on British radio and now has her own Sunday evening slot.
Her eco-friendly baby product company, Kit and Kin, earns her an extra few bob. THE SPICE OF LIFE Baby is a mama these days too, sharing Beau (10) and Tate (7) with her long-time partner, singer Jade Jones.
Emma and Jade (38), who was part of boyband Damage, have been together for more than 20 years. They got engaged back in 2011 but have no plans to wed “although we do talk about it”, she says.