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Sporty Spice Mel C not leaving after all

Freitag, 9. März 2001 / 12:22 Uhr

London - The Spice Girls are not splitting up, the British pop group's PR agents insisted on Friday, following a comment from Sporty Spice Melanie Chisholm that she was finished with the all-girl band.

Chisholm, 27, has a successful solo career and was reported to have said she no long felt "comfortable" with the group. "I don't intend to do any more work with the Spice Girls," Chisholm said during an interview with the Reuters news agency. She added she had not felt comfortable for the past two years and wanted to "do things my own way".

Last year similar comments from Chisholm also provoked talk of a split. But it was immediately denied. Mel C, as she is also known, is considered the best singer among the four and is known to dislike her Sporty Spice label, particularly as it focuses attention on her weight and figure. But the PR agents responsible for the group insisted it still had a strong future.

"Melanie C hasn't left the Spice Girls ... As everyone knows, the Spice Girls are pursuing their own solo projects but the Spice Girls still exist," spokesman Alan Edwards said. Chisholm's departure would fatally damage the group, leaving only Victoria Beckham, the wife of England football captain David, Emma Bunton and Melanie Brown - Posh, Baby and Scary Spice respectively.

Geri Halliwell, known as Ginger Spice and perhaps the most vocal of the original group of five, left in May 1998, citing personal differences. Relations with the remaining four have remained sour. Although its popularity has waned recently, the band has maintained an extraordinarily high profile since 1996 when it first topped the charts.

The group's third album, Forever, was a flop when it was released in November. Their film, Spice World - The Movie was condemned by many critics but brought in about 50 million pounds (75 million dollars) at the box office. (la/dpa)