Victoria Getting Better

Posh Spice Victoria Beckham is back in the studio recording after her bout of meningitis.

The Spice Girls star was struck down with viral meningitis almost a month ago.

A spokeswoman said: "Victoria is slowly getting better, but the doctors have told her it will take time to get completely back to normal. She went into the studio last Friday and will be there for a while recording."

The spokeswoman denied reports that the singer had been forced to pull out of an appearance at London Fashion Week because of the illness.

Victoria was put on the catwalk by one of her favourite designers, Maria Grachvogel, last year, when she modelled a pair of tiny hotpants and a stunning flamenco-style dress.

Not So Healthy After All

Victoria is still feeling unwell, otherwise she would be here."

Posh was supposed to join her mum and dad Tony at the show for one of her favourite designers at Harrods in London.

But when she failed to turn up, Jackie admitted: "It comes and goes but it's more serious than people thought."

Last night one of the singer's pals added "Victoria's not 100 per cent.

She has good and bad days. She gets light-headed and feels a bit faint. She just has to rest a lot."

Posh announced she was suffering from a viral form of meningitis on September 1.

At the time, experts believed she would be over the illness very quickly - the vast majority of victims make a full recovery within a fortnight.

But her pal admitted the forecast had been too optimistic, and the singer had also been hit by a bad bout of flu.

Husband David Beckham is also on the casualty list - he was covered in blood when he suffered in a clash of heads during Manchester Utd's game against Chelsea on Saturday.

Last night Posh's spokesman admitted: "It's taking a little longer than we expected for her to get better."

Posh appeared in public for the first time since the scare last week when she was spotted in a bandana, but did not look in the best of health.

She had planned to attend yesterday's event at Harrods, where favourite designer Maria Grachvogel was launching her new range of clothes.

Earlier this year the Spice Girl famously made her debut catwalk appearance at one of her shows.

Mel B's Album Track By Track

Here's your first chance to find out the real deal on Mel B's first solo album, as the Spice Girl gives an exclusive track-by-track rundown of Hot, which hits UK stores on 9 October.

Feel So Good

'That's probably one of the most poppy songs on the album. I worked in Minneapolis for two weeks and got to spend Jimmy Jam's 40th birthday with him and sing with the cake alongside Janet Jackson!'

 

Tell Me

'This was produced by Rodney Jerkins who's done 70 per cent of the Spice Girls album. It's a very truthful, very honest account of what I've been through the last two years. On this album and particularly on this single I've expressed how I feel and how I think, and I think it's very disrespectful if I say, 'This song's about that person and that song's about that person.' I don't want to lower myself and be like that.'

 

Hell No

'This was written with Sisqo in LA. It was fantastic fun working with him, he's a ball of talent, energy and genius! We had a right laugh and Phoenix was there with me, singing and bopping along, which was brilliant. The song's from a girl's point of view, about sadness, being left and ditched!'

 

Lullaby

'I co-wrote this with Biff who co-wrote Wannabe with us. We were in Ireland for a week and I had a fantastic time, it was brilliant to have a chance to work with the people I'd worked with on the first Spice album. The song's about my daughter, saying that she's the best thing that's ever happened to me.'

 

Hotter

'I co-wrote this with Sisqo, it's a very upbeat, powerful song about a girl saying she doesn't care if you've got money or style or class, cos it's more about the person inside. So you could drive a Bentley and be the worst kind of guy to me, it's what they give off as a person that counts.'

 

Step Inside

'That was done with my boyfriend Max here in London. He sent me a track about a year ago and finally I got back to him and said I'd love to do it. He produced it, wrote it, played all the instruments on it and got a full orchestra in which I was very amazed by.'

 

ABC 123

'Written by Teddy Riley. We worked with him in Virginia for two weeks in the middle of nowhere, with him and his fantastic team. That was the first time I stepped out to do the solo project and I did three songs with him. That was 14 months ago.'

 

I Believe

'Written by me and Teddy Riley. He did all the beats and production himself, and it's a bit indie and funk/poppy! I love it!'

 

I Want You Back

'Written by Missy Elliot, this was the first time I'd even considered doing anything by myself. I was on tour with the Spice Girls when she called me up and said 'Melanie, I've got a song for you, will you come and record it with me?'. I checked it with the girls and within a month I was out there, I recorded it in a day, did the video, then came back. She's a genius.'

 

Pack Your S**t

'It's about a love affair - I get cheated on, cos he's fancying my friends that come round the flat. It's a heavy song and it's very hard to sing cos there's a lot of high notes and I don't do high notes very well, but somehow I did them!'

 

Feel Me Now

'That is supposed to be me being sexy! When I recorded it I lay down on the floor, lit candles and had a little bit of wine cos the verses are just flowing and gushing with whatever I'm thinking. It still makes me cringe a little when I listen back to it!'

Watch Mel B's full video interview on worldpop from Monday evening.

Mel B's first solo single, Tell Me, is on sale now

Mel B In Trouble-No Way!

Mel B has confessed that she once got arrested for pinching knickers from a high street store.

Scary Spice felt the long arm of the law after a pal dared her to shoplift the undies.

The singer admitted the crime in a new interview, when she was asked whether she'd ever been in trouble with the police.

The singer, who these days is worth £10million, confessed: "Yes - for nicking underwear from BhS when I was about 12.

"I got off with a caution. I did it with my partner-in-crime and she's still my best friend to this day.

"We didn't really want the underwear. We were just daring each other."

Mel's mum, Andrea, has long worked for a rival store, C&A.

Scary Spice is now a mum herself to 18-month-old Phoenix Chi. Yet she added that she was quite a handful as a child.

She told Q Magazine: "I was hyperactive, naughty, but clever at the same time.

"I had a loud laugh, so I got blamed for everything. I used to get put in the 'Naughty Corner'."

And as if we didn't already know, she admitted to having a fiery temper and said that she sometimes attacked people - but only if they taunted her.

"If I'm provoked, I will punch people," she said. "But I never throw the first punch.

"A couple of months ago I had a fight with a girl because she pulled my hair for no reason.

"So I twatted her. It was in a club in Leeds. I'm a Leeds lass from a council estate - I look after myself."

Mel is now dating actor Max Beesley following her split from hubby Jimmy Gulzar, dad of Phoenix Chi.

She said of her new love: "He's a man who knows what he's doing - and knows what he likes."

Spice Girls AOL Chat

According to the Virgin Records America site, the Spice Girls will be holding a chat on AOL on October 4th.

They're Still the Same Spice Girls

No picture was accompanied by this article, but they are most likely referring to them in their new "Holler" Video.

Back after three years, the world's biggest female band look more girlie than Girl Power

These are The Spice Girls - spiced up as never before and showing more girlie power than Girl Power.

Emma Bunton has dropped her child-like ponytail in favour of flowing blonde hair extensions and Mel C is no longer sporting her trademark tracksuit.

Instead, she looks as though she's stepped straight off the set of Seventies American TV series The Brady Bunch, complete with fly-away hair.

Both Victoria Beckham and Melanie B have changed their image too, as they prepare to launch Forever, their first album in three years, on November 6.

The world's biggest-ever girl band have been writing and recording the album for the last 14 months.

They travelled to a variety of studios in London, Miami and Los Angeles, teaming up with some of the top studio men in the business - including producers Rodney Jerkins, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

After a series of solo records and duets, the girls are back together with the first single from the album.

They release the up-tempo and funky Holler and ballad Let Love Lead The Way as a double A-side on October 23.

The video for Holler seems to be taking a leaf out of the Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue school - with The Spice Girls squeezed into leather and looking mean and moody for director Jake Nava.

In the promo to the song, which is their ninth single, the girls represent the four elements, Mel C is Earth, Victoria is Air, Mel B is Fire and Emma is Water.

To add to the excitement of the new Spice releases, Irish boy band Westlife have threatened to release their new album on the same day as the new Spice long player, triggering a chart showdown.

The Sligo boys, who have topped the charts with all their releases to date, want to end the Spice Girls reign at the top of the British pop scene. Westlife's new album will be called Coast to Coast and their singer Kian Egan admitted: "We're really going all out to beat the Spice Girls to No.1 with our new album.

"There is nobody bigger than the Spice Girls, perhaps with the exception of us. It's our time and it's their time to move over."

The Spice Girls say they have no fear of the Irish newcomers. Mel C says: "We are stronger after being apart for a while and we're very happy to have been back together in the studio.

"This strength will show on this new album, which I think is our best yet."

Their track record is formidable - they released their first album, Spice, in 1996 and the follow-up, Spiceworld, was accompanied by the film of the same name and a sell-out world tour.

Since then, the girls have sold over 38 million albums world-wide and eight UK No.1 singles, among them three successive Christmas No.1 singles, a current all-time record.

In 1997, they received two Ivor Novello songwriting awards and stole the show at the Brit Awards, bagging Best Video, for Say You'll Be There and Best Single for Wannabe.

They also topped the American Billboard chart with Wannabe, another first for a debut UK single.

In 1998, their trophy cabinet became even fuller when the Spice Girls won two MTV awards for Best Pop and Best Group.

They were also given the special Outstanding Contribution To British Music Award at The Brit awards this year.

There is also the small matter of the pounds 25-million each notched up in royalties.

And lets not forget the departure of original Ginger Spice star, Geri Halliwell to pursue her solo career.

Since the completion of the world tour in 1998, the remaining Spice Girls have all been kept busy with their own solo projects, too.

In October 1998, Melanie B became the first solo Spice to get to No.1 when she released her collaboration with US R&B diva Missy Elliot - I Want You Back.

Her new single, Tell Me, will be released on Monday, followed by the album Hot this October.

Meanwhile, Melanie C's double platinum selling album Northern Star has spawned four four top five hits - two of which have been No.1.

The album still nestles in the UK Top 5 nearly a year after its release.

Emma Bunton provided lead vocals on Tin Tin Out's version of the Edie Brickell hit What I Am which made it to No.2 in the charts last October.

Victoria finally made her bid for fame, without the Spice Girls in tow, when she released last month's single Out Of Your Mind with Dane Bowers and The Truesteppers.

She also had a taste of TV presenting last year, when she hosted Channel 4's Victoria's Secrets - interviewing Sir Elton John, Michael Parkinson, Vinnie Jones and Ruby Wax.

Each of the girls had little experience when they answered an advert in Stage magazine, placed in the search for a female version of Take That.

But a lot has happened to them since they stormed to the top with their debut hit, Wannabe.

Melanie B, now 26, wed Jimmy Gulzar at the height of the band's fame - before taking time out.

She became mum to little Phoenix Chi only to split from the dancer husband she had fallen for during a UK tour with the band.

Mel C, meanwhile, was dogged by rumours that she was a lesbian and that a publicised romance with Five star J was rigged.

And you would have to have been holed up on Mir not to know that Victoria wed David Beckham, becoming mum to little Brooklyn.

Victoria admits she could never have enjoyed a fairy-tale marriage had it not been for her Spice Girls fame. And she admits the Manchester United star is the driving force behind her solo work as well as her continued faith in the Spice Girls.

Signs that the Spice Girls are still a force to be reckoned with, despite their lengthy absence as a band are easy to find.

Last year alone, the girls each earned pounds 6 million - despite no official releases by the band.

Meanwhile, ITV are to show exclusive fly-on-the-wall footage of the Spice Girls before they were famous in a Christmas TV Special - after bidding pounds 300,000 for the embarrassing footage.

It shows the fledgling Spice Girls holed up in a semi-detached home in Maidenhead, Berks.

Although the footage will show the girls bickering and struggling to come to terms with being thrown together after auditions, each of them insists they are the greatest of friends to this day.

That could keep them together as a group for years to come.

But Mel C says: "Who knows how long the Spice Girls will last? Victoria has been in the studio and we all have solo projects.

"Mel B's got her album. Emma is hoping to do the Sleeping Beauty movie and soundtrack and we'll continue solo records."

"But the new album is the best Spice songs we've ever written. Things happen so quickly in Spiceworld. It only seems like five minutes since we were on tour."

Victoria Steps Out

Victoria Beckham was snapped yesterday for the first time since her meningitis scare - sporting a new £1,000 hairdo beneath a bandanna. The 26-year-old singer was forced to cancel a string of appearances after being diagnosed with a viral strain of the brain bug. But she celebrated her recovery by splashing out on the Pocahontas-style look, which involved adding multi-coloured extensions made from imported human hair to her own long black locks. Hairdresser Feleny Georghio spent four hours creating the dramatic Red Indian style at Victoria's parents' home in Goff's Oak, Herts, yesterday. But when Posh emerged later she had covered most of it up with the trendy bandanna.

Feleny said: "The last time she had her hair extended it was just to the shoulder. But now she has gone for the Pocahontas look and it is much longer with lots of different colours. It's a complete transformation. She looks lovely." Posh - mum to soccer hubby David Beckham's baby son Brooklyn - has battled back from the meningitis bout, which struck earlier this month. Feleny, who runs a salon in Chalk Farm, North London, said: "She's a lot better. She's quite a tough cookie. She'd been really ill and had a very bad headache, but she wants to get back to work."

Chain-Mel Is So Sexy

Sexy Mel B proves she's steel a stunner as she glistens in a skimpy chain-mail bikini on the cover of her first solo album, Hot. Scary Spice, 25, donned the not-so-full metal jacket while recording it in Los Angeles. She says the album helped her get over her bust-up with hubby Jimmy Gulzar, 31. "It was my survival tactic, my therapy," she said. Out on October 9, the album includes the song Tell Me which slams Gulzar with the angry line: "You promised me you didn't **** her." But male fans are delighted that, however tough Mel is, there are still plenty of chinks in her armour.

 Mel B Becomes Outraged

Mel B is threatening to sue lads' mag Loaded, claiming they doctored a photo to make her look naked. She hit the roof after seeing the cover of the new issue, which shows her starkers except for a swarm of bees. (see picture to your left) Scary Spice insists she wore a bikini for the picture which she says was later "airbrushed" out with computer trickery. And now she is warning she will call in her lawyers unless Loaded publishes an apology. Speaking on Sky 1's Smash Hits TV show, to be screened this Saturday, she claims: "Loaded have airbrushed my bikini out and I am suing them. "I've got picture approval and I don't like it. It's not a good look so they're getting it." Mel is just the latest star to claim she has fallen victim to picture tampering.

Minogue and Melanie Sykes both complained their undies "vanished" in shots for mens' mags. Kylie threatened to sue GQ after it printed a shot of her mimicking the famous '70s poster of a knickerless tennis girl scratching her bottom. She claimed the undies she wore while posing had disappeared and added later: "I was a bit surprised that between doing the shoot and GQ appearing my knickers had got lost." Boddingtons babe Melanie lashed out at Maxim after alleging her bikini had been airbrushed out and replaced with a splash of water. The mag headlined the snap Melanie Sykes Nude Bathing but she later insisted: "I did not pose naked." A spokesman for Loaded refused to comment last night. But Mel B's spokeswoman said: "We've been assured Mel will be getting an apology."

Emma Is One of the Boyz

Boyzone's Stephen Gately and Baby Spice Emma Bunton are teaming up to record a duet.

Stephen has already written the song and sent it to Emma over the weekend.

He is now waiting to hear what she thinks of it before they go into the studio.

He admits: "I am doing something with Baby Spice. I wrote a song with a duet in mind. It's a lovely song. We'll have to wait and see what she thinks.

"She only got a copy of the song over the weekend, so I don't know whether she's had the chance to listen to it yet. She's probably going to call me any day to tell me what she thinks."

A source close to the singer added: "He's looking forward to doing the song with her. Stephen and Emma are friends.

"She is really busy at the moment and he has struggled to contact her recently.

"But he did manage to speak to her the other day and they talked things over briefly.

Details of the song are being kept a secret, but friends say Stephen is very pleased with it.

The Boyzone star has wanted to team up with other artists ever since launching his solo career and even joked about recording with Madonna.

The duet is unlikely to hit the shops until next year, because Emma will be too busy promoting the Spice Girls' new single, Holler.

It's the first single to be released by the Girls since December 1998 and looks sure to go to No1 when it goes on sale on October 23.

The Spices will then release their third album on November 6 - meaning Emma won't be available to work on any other projects until January or February at the earliest.

The duet will be Baby's second effort without the rest of the Spice Girls since teaming up with Tin Tin Out last November.

That track, What I Am, got to No2. It was held off the top spot by her former Spice pal Geri's Lift Me Up.

Scaredy Spice

Mel B has stalled the release of her debut album - because she fears it has no chance up against Radiohead.

Scary Spice's solo CD Hot was due to hit stores the same day as the doom rockers' eagerly-awaited fourth album.

But Scary turned scaredy after aides spotted the clash and record company chiefs agreed to delay the release. Hot will now ship on October 9 - a full week after Radiohead's new CD, Kid A.

But she could still run into trouble because the revised date means she will now clash with the new Beautiful South album, Painting It Red.

Bosses were originally going to put it back two weeks, until they realised it would then be up against All Saints' latest, Saints And Sinners.

A source at Mel's record label Virgin tells me: "We don't think she'd stand a chance against Radiohead after the success of OK Computer and it would have been suicide to go head to head with it."

Mel is desperate to hit No1 after the disappointing sales of her last single Word Up, which reached No14 last summer.

In November the Spice Girls release their third album - and Mel and Posh will have another battle on their hands because that release is set to clash with the new Westlife, Fatboy Slim and Blur CDs.

Mel's release date runaround comes just a month after Posh Spice pleaded with record chiefs to stall her debut solo single Out Of Your Mind.

She panicked after realising it would clash with Spiller's summer anthem Groovejet.

Despite her protests the tracks still went head to head - with Spiller winning the race for top spot.

Sources tell me Radiohead are already working on another album for release next year which is expected to have a more commercial feel.

Thom Yorke and the boys recently took two of the top five places in Virgin's All Time Top 1,000 Albums Chart - second only to The Beatles.

The Making of Holler Holler

Check out this footage of the Spice Girls shooting their new video Holler Holler. (Realplayer is required.)

"Hot" Tracks

Check out this tracklist to Mel B's solo album "Hot"

1. Feels So Good
2. Tell Me
3. Hell No
4. Lullaby
5. Hotter
6. Step Inside
7. ABC 123
8. I Believe
9. I Want You Back
10. Pack Your Shit
11. Feel Me Now

Mel B's Racist Hell

Mel B has revealed for the first time how racist neighbours made her life hell.

The 25-year-old pop singer said she was subjected to abuse at her pounds 2.5-million country mansion in the tiny village of Little Marlow in Buckinghamshire.

Mel has received more than a dozen letters containing sickening threats and insults such as "Get out of our village or else, you black bitch".

Mel contacted police after the letters were posted to the luxury home she shared with her now-estranged husband Jimmy Gulzar and their daughter Phoenix Chi.

Speaking about her ordeal, which began almost as soon as she moved into the quaint old English village, Mel said: "We were the only black people in the area. At first, I got hate mail, saying 'Get back to Brixton' and all that. I was more angry than upset."

Police were called in to investigate but no one was ever charged in connection with the crime.

A close friend said: "Mel was extremely saddened by the reaction she got from certain sections of her new community.

"Coming from a mixed-race background, she has faced ignorance all her life, but she was shocked at the blind hatred she encountered in this picturesque village - it was hardly inner-city Leeds.

"She was so angry, especially as she had gone out of her way to show the villagers that, despite her pop star lifestyle, she was just a normal person."

Mel was often seen in the local pub, talking to neighbours in the street and doing her shopping in the village stores. Her friend said: "What annoyed her most of all was that no one would say these things to her face. Everyone knows Mel is plain-speaking and expects the same from other people."

Despite the upset, Mel decided to keep the threats quiet, fearing any publicity might worsen the problem.

"Mel is settled in Marlow now," her friend added. "She gets on with the villagers and bears no grudges."

Mel bought the 16th-century home, set in seven acres, in June 1998, and she spent tens of thousands of pounds on renovations and security upgrades. Locals believed the house was cursed and haunted, but Mel was determined to make it her dream home.

The house was the setting for her fairytale wedding to ex-Spice Girls dancer Jimmy in September 1998, but the couple separated last January and are now locked in a divorce battle.

Dutch-born Jimmy, 30, is said to be claiming a pounds 3.5 million share of the Spice Girls' estimated pounds 22-million fortune.

Mel has refused his claims, and, despite the attempts of lawyers to work out a mutually-agreeable settlement, it looks like the couple are heading for a messy and public divorce hearing.

Mel, now dating actor Max Beesley, was further angered by Jimmy selling his story to a downmarket newspaper last week for a reported pounds 100,000 fee.

Mel is not the first Spice Girl to receive threats at her home.

Posh Spice Victoria Beckham and her footballer husband David have been plagued by a succession of death threats at their Hertfordshire mansion, her parents' home nearby and the couple's Cheshire penthouse.

Victoria Asks For Faith

Victoria Beckham plans to visit a faith healer in a desperate bid to overcome her health problems, the diary can reveal.

The 26-year-old pop singer was diagnosed with a strain of viral meningitis two weeks ago and told she needed complete rest. Even then she was warned she may be ill for over a year.

Now friends say Posh, who has already had acupuncture sessions and consulted a Chinese herbalist in London over her various health problems, is discussing with her husband David Beckham and her family the possibility of seeing a faith healer.

"Victoria has been knocked sideways by her illness and is willing to try anything," a close family friend said. "She's desperate to get back to work and to be able to look after Brooklyn properly. She thought she was getting better last week and went up to Manchester with David but that just left her exhausted again.

"She used to be very sceptical about alternative medicine. She and David cracked jokes about it when there was all that fuss about Eileen Drewery and Glenn Hoddle.

"But over the last year she has learnt a lot more about it. She's had acupuncture and seen a Chinese herbalist about her skin problems."

After a relatively quiet year, Victoria is now in the middle of her busiest work schedule since the Spice Girls first took off. The band have a new single out next month before facing an exhausting world-wide promotional push on their farewell album.

Spice Girls Plan To Make You Holler

The Spice Girls are to unveil their new single ‘Holler’ and it’s accompanying video on their official website on Monday (September 11).

The spectacular FX-laden video, shot in London recently, features the girls acting as the four elements, with Melanie C taking the part of Earth, Victoria Beckham representing Air, Mel B starring as Fire and Emma Bunton playing Water. The video is also said to feature a dancer who looks uncannily like Beckham’s footballer husband David.

The quartet will also premiere an exclusive behind-the-scenes movie featuring footage of the photo shoot for the album and Posh, Scary, Sporty and Baby strutting their funky stuff at dance rehearsals for the ‘Holler’ video.

The footage also features revealing interviews with the girls talking about the recording of their new album, ‘Forever’, set for release on November 6.

‘Holler’, written by noted R ‘n’ B producer Rodney Jerkins, will be released as a double A-side single with ‘Let Love Lead The Way’ on October 23. It will be the first Spice Girls single since their Xmas ‘98 Number One ‘Goodbye’.

The song will be previewed on the band's website at 8:10 am on Monday. To listen to the track at that time and watch the video click onto http://c3.vmg.co.uk/spicegirls/.

Also according to reports you can view the Spice Girls new video on MuchMusic(not sure if MuchUSA is going to) September 12 at 12 pm/11a.m. central.

Spice Girls Plan Tour

British pop idols The Spice Girls want to kick off their 2001 World Tour in Dublin, Ireland.

The tour will promote their third album "Forever," which Sporty Spice Mel C. reveals is completed apart from a few finishing touches.

She says, "The new album is nearly finished, so the first thing we need to do is get out there and see what the reaction is like.

"We should be touring by next summer at the very latest."

The group's last world tour kicked off in Dublin's Point Theatre, and Mel C. wouldn't mind doing the same again.

She adds, "It would be great to do that again, we all love Ireland. There's a real possibility we could do it again."

Victoria Sick At Home

Training commitments with Manchester United mean he can't be at her side until after Tuesday's game with Bradford City.

Victoria, 26, is trying to cope alone at her parents' home in Hertfordshire while David frets about her 200 miles away at their flat in Cheshire.

He is phoning non-stop as she fights viral meningitis, a non-lethal but still nasty form of the brain illness.

Victoria's dad Tony said yesterday: "David's not likely to see Victoria until after the game because they have training on Monday as well.

"But he's phoning all the time to check on her."

It's believed doting David saw his wife briefly on Saturday night after flying home from England's 1-1 draw with France.

But he is not thought likely to risk another run-in with Sir Alex Ferguson by staying away from the training ground. Fergie dropped him recently after he took time off when his toddler son Brooklyn was ill.

Posh was improving yesterday but will still be laid up for at least a week.

Tony added: "She is sleeping a lot, which is helping, and she is eating well. She has been told she needs complete rest."

Victoria will decide at the end of next week whether she can go back to work. It can take a year to fully recover from viral meningitis.

There were fears Brooklyn also had the illness but doctors told the family he was just poorly. He was doing much better yesterday.

The Beckhams are known as one of the closest star couples. In an interview given before her illness, Posh tried to explain why David loves her so much.

Asked for five reasons, she said: "One, I'm the most faithful person he could meet. Two, I put my family before anything. Three, I'm honest and supportive and encouraging to him. Four, I'm kind. And five, I'm really rich!"

Victoria insists she and her husband aren't bothered by widespread criticism of their success.

She candidly calls herself "boring and talentless" and says: "I don't mind taking the p*** out of myself - everyone else does.

"What do they call us now - thick 'n' thin? Let 'em say it.

"David isn't thick. There's a difference between being thick and being shy."

R'n'Mel B

Mel B spoke with Worldpop, and here is what she had to say:

My lyrics aren't controversial
Mel B: I wouldn't say Tell Me is controversial. The songs on my album are about everything I've been through, so some might call it controversial, some might call it boring, some might just call it a bit of life. I'm a very honest person and I want to sing things with conviction so I write from the heart. When you write music it's like writing a diary.

My style's Pop Mel B R'n'B!
Mel B: It's not really R'n'B, it's kind of Pop Mel B R'n'B. You've got R'n'B in America which is slammin' so I'm not in that league but I'm kind of getting there with the R'n'B flavour! I don't have a favourite album track, I love them all! I've written a song about my daughter and there's a censored song because I've used a few swear words. I know that wasn't very good but at the time I was feeling very angry. There are songs about love and hate and anger. I'm bitter and twisted!

I had to audition for my film role
Mel B: I saw my short film, Fish, two days ago and I like it even though I'm only in it briefly three times! I'm a fishwife from a council estate so I'm playing me but a little bit more common. There are a lot of racial issues in the film and the story really got to me so I thought, 'I want to be a part of this, can I audition please?' I had to read from the script at the audition. It was on the spot, I had to just jump into being Angela!

I still want to work with Prince
Mel B: I got to work with some pretty amazing people on my album who I was shocked even said yes, like Sisqo and Teddy Riley from Blackstreet. Unfortunately I didn't get to work with my two idols who are Prince and Mary J Blige so hopefully on the next album, I'll work with them. And I want to get Foxy Brown to do something cos I love everything about her. It's a bit presumptuous of me to be thinking about the second album already isn't it?!

I'd love to tour next year
Mel B: I've already got my band together so it's just a case of rehearsing and waiting to find out how people react to the album first. I nicked the band from Beverley Knight! Once the album's out and I get a bit of feedback, I'll know whether it's worth touring or not. I love performing and hopefully Spice Girls will be doing some performances next year as well.

I'm always on the phone to the other Spices
Mel B: It's great to be with the girls again but I think people get confused. We're not 'getting back together' because we're never out of each other's lives. We run a business together and even though we've been away from the public eye as a group, we're friends, we call each other up and we hang out together. It's not like we appear to do a TV show and it's like, 'Hi stranger!

The new Spice singles are slammin'!
Mel B: What are my favourite tracks on the Spice album? The singles Let Love Lead The Way and Holler are slammin'! And Oxygen which we did with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis is really nice. We all went into separate corners in the studio and wrote down how we fell in love and what we think love is, so everybody's written their own bit about their own relationship in that song. Because we've all done solo stuff, we're more confident about our voices. We'll each sing a verse and join together for the chorus. The harmonies are tighter and it's more of a mature, powerful sound, even if I do say so myself!

Melanie B's new single, Tell Me, is out on 18 September with her album, Hot, following on 2 October.

Mel B: I Never

Mel B has reacted outrageously to suggestions from her estranged husband Jimmy Gulzar that she has undergone breast surgery.

Speaking exclusively to Dotmusic this afternoon, Scary Spice categorically denied reports in the tabloid press today that her troubled marriage to Gulzar sunk after she had an operation in America.

Speaking to one of the wide-eyed journalists, she even offered to prove the doubters wrong insisting "my breasts are real. Do you want to have a feel?"

Having declined the offer, the bamboozled reporter pressed-on with the questions and Mel then told us: "My sex life is booming".

Viagra Was No Help For Mel B

Mel B has revealed the real reason why she is divorcing husband Jimmy Gulzar... it's because he refused to make love to her.

Mel became depressed over dancer Gulzar's lack of interest and in a bid to save their troubled 15-month marriage bought him Viagra to give their love-life a boost.

But after months of frustration she became convinced that the 30-year-old Dutchman was just not interested in sex.

Divorce papers lodged by the singer's lawyers outline the breakdown of their love life and cite irreconcilable differences.

A close friend of 25-year-old Mel said last night: "So much rubbish has been written about why this marriage failed. Mel wants to put the record straight.

"She loved Jimmy very much but when the physical side of their relationship broke down she became deeply concerned. It began to effect her self-esteem and she started to feel very low. If they'd been married for years maybe it would have been a different matter, but they'd only been together for 15 months. Even at the beginning their love life was not great.

"The Viagra was a last resort, but even that didn't work. Mind you she's not even sure if he bothered taking it.

"Mel is clearly a very attractive girl, so she knew something was profoundly wrong. The only explanation she could come up with was that Jimmy's interests lay elsewhere."

Mel told the Sunday Mirror: "My friends did try and warn me not to take things so fast, and in hindsight it's easy to see I made a mistake.

"Marrying someone I'd only just met on tour was not the smartest thing I've ever done. When the relationship broke down it was a complete nightmare. We both really wanted to be a proper happy family but it seemed destined not to work.

"There was a lot of pain and even with my friends and family around me I often felt isolated and alone. But you have to find the inner strength to carry on. Somehow I did it but it nearly killed me."

She added: "What I'm basically saying is that he didn't love me and to be honest I now don't give a s*** any more. It's a sad situation but that's the reality."

The revelations come as the couple are locked in a bitter dispute about money. Gulzar is said to have asked for a pounds 10million settlement - almost half Mel's estimated pounds 22million fortune - but the demand was refused.

Instead, he was offered pounds 750,000 in cash and a pounds 500,000 flat in London. But the dancer is said to want to maintain the lifestyle he became accustomed to when the couple were together and is holding out for a much larger sum.

Mel has hired Douglas Alexiou, Fergie's divorce lawyer, to represent her. She has told him to "do everything in his power" to ensure she gets the outcome she wants when the case goes to court.

Mel met Gulzar in 1998 when he was hired as a dancer for a Spice Girls world tour. Mel became pregnant after three months and they were married within a year.

But the relationship ran into money disputes when Gulzar went on spending sprees, earning himself the nickname Jimmy Goldcard.

In an effort to resolve their problems the couple had joint marriage guidance counselling sessions and Gulzar later visited a psychotherapist. They planned to take a second make-or-break honeymoon, but it never happened.

Following a series of blazing rows they parted on the first day of the new Millennium. She left their pounds 2.5million mansion in Little Marlow, Bucks, and flew to America with their 18-month-old daughter Phoenix Chi. Mel has since found new love with actor Max Beesley.

Gulzar's cash demands are said to have particulary angered Mel because when they met he was penniless. He came from an immigrant family living in a poor suburb of Amsterdam. By contrast, Mel was already worth millions and was building a solo career that will earn her another fortune.

A source close to Mel said: "It's very unlikely that there will be any out-of-court settlement now. It's going to be one hell of a dust-up with a lot of dirty washing being aired in public."

The marriage break-up is highlighted in the lyrics of Mel's new single, Tell Me. She sings: "What made you think I would be a fool? I see through you and you're the fool.

"The saddest thing I thought there was no help for me because you made me feel I wasn't worth anything. Now I see. You didn't have no self-esteem and all you loved was Mel B's money."

Mel said: "The song is about when a relationship goes wrong and believe me I know what that feels like."

Following their separation, speculation has been rife as to why the marriage failed. Friends say that the couple's trouble began when Mel was made aware of Gulzar's colourful past.

She is said to have particularly disapproved of some of his gay and transsexual acquaintances. While she has a down-to-earth set of friends, he is more familiar with the decadent gay clubs of Amsterdam where he used to work.

Mel is said to have objected to his friendship with an extrovert 6ft dancer whose real name is Martin but is known as Kentucky Martha.

It was Martha that Gulzar turned to after a row with his wife before Christmas. During a break in Amsterdam he spent hours talking about the problems in his marriage, and Martha tried to cheer him up by taking him to some of their old haunts.

Last week Mel accused Gulzar of being "unmanly" by demanding the multi-million pound divorce settlement. She feels he is effectively trying to take money from their daughter.

Mel said: "The only thing I feel angry about is that my money isn't my money, it's my daughter's. Everything I own is going to be hers and he's trying to take that away, which I don't think is very manly of him.

"But he's the father of my child and a very good dad, so I will help him out because Phoenix will be staying with him a lot and I want her to be in a nice, clean, safe environment. But beyond that, I think that's where my responsibilities stop."

Gulzar was involved in further controversy two weeks ago when he was arrested for allegedly punching Mel's sister, Danielle Brown, while he was holding his daughter.

He denied assaulting the former Emmerdale actress and was not charged.

Meanwhile, Gulzar has sold the story of his marriage to a newspaper for pounds 100,000. He plans to betray the most intimate details of their romance.

A close friend of Gulzar said: "Jimmy's main motivation here is obviously money.

"He's kept his silence for quite a while but he's now decided the time is right to put his side of the story across.

"He has no qualms about betraying the trust he once shared with Mel. She has been saying quite a lot about him lately and he now feels it's time for some redress. He wants people to know what Mel is really like."

Gulzar's agent Clare Powell confirmed his story had been auctioned. She said: "Several publications were interested and there were bids up to pounds 100,000.

"Jimmy has a lot to say and he plans to say it as soon as possible."

Mel B Defends Swearing On Her Album

As Mel B's solo single, Tell Me, continues to dominate airwaves, Mel has told worldpop that 'writing music is like writing a diary'.

'I wrote all the songs on my album,' Mel explains, 'and I wrote about every feeling, every thought, everything I've been through. Some might call it controversial, some might call it boring, some might just call it a bit of life.'

With one album track entitled Pack Your S**t, Mel admits she refuses to censor her emotions. 'I've used a few swear words which I know was not very good but at the time I was feeling very angry,' she concedes, adding, 'I want to be able to sing with conviction so I write from the heart.'

Mel also fills worldpop in on her fishwife film role, the new Spice Girls album and her future collaboration plans. Clue, they don't involve Glammakid despite his much voiced wishes.

Mel B's solo single, Tell Me, is out on 18 September with her album, Hot, following on 2 October.

Spice Girls Makes A Point

The Spice Girls want to kick off their 2001 World Tour in Dublin. The series of dates will promote their third album Forever - which Melanie C reveals is completed apart from a few finishing touches. She said: "The new album is nearly finished, so the first thing we need to do is get out there and see what the reaction is like. We should be touring by next summer at the very latest."

The band's' last world tour kicked off in the Irish capital's Point Theatre - and Sporty Spice wouldn't mind doing the same again. She added: "It would be great to do that again, we all love Ireland. There's a real possibility we could do it again." And despite her solo success, the singer is desperate to get back with her pop pals again. She said: "We love doing our own thing, but I wouldn't swap my place in the group for the world. I love being in The Spice Girls."

Old Spice

Spice Girls fans in the UK are to get a Christmas treat courtesy of ITV, who are broadcasting a new "before they were famous" documentary.

The programme cost the channel $450,000 and shows two years (1993-1995) in the lives of the Wannabe group.

The film documents the power struggle between Geri Halliwell and Mel B and reveals that before she married soccer star David Beckham, Posh fancied Beckham's Manchester United's team mate, Ryan Giggs.

The film ends just before the group became famous in 1996.

Victoria Becomes Sick

It has just been revealed that Victoria Beckham is suffering from viral meningitis.
Spice fans needn't panic though. Victoria's form of meningitis is not dangerous and requires no treatment but rest. As long as Victoria stays in bed and drinks plenty of water, she should make a full recovery in a couple of weeks.

Victoria flew home from Germany this morning where she was in the middle of a promotional tour with Dane Bowers. Originally, she thought she was suffering from nothing more than migraines and stress but after being checked out by a doctor, she was diagnosed with meningitis.

Ironically, Victoria and David Beckham are both patrons of the Meningitis Research Foundation and have stated that meningitis is one of their biggest fears, not for themselves but for their son Brooklyn.

With promotion for the first Spice Girls single in almost two years, Let Love Lead The Way/Holler, starting any day soon, Victoria doesn't really have time to be ill. But the Spicer is receiving plenty of TLC from David and her mum and should be back on her feet before too long.

If you missed Victoria and Dane's video interview on worldpop you can still watch it here and find out all about their growing friendship.

Let Love Lead The Way/Holler is released on 23 October.

Victoria Goes Home

Stressed-out Victoria Beckham bowed to doctor's orders yesterday and dramatically cancelled a series of TV appearances.

Victoria, 26, had a head-splitting migraine attack during filming in Germany. She pulled out of a string of performances and interviews due to have gone out on music stations yesterday and hired a private Lear jet to fly her back to Britain.

A friend of the singer said last night: "The poor girl had a very, severe migraine - worse than any she has had before. She had a blinding headache and simply could not carry on."

The health scare follows a failed legal bid to ban part of a new book about her life with footballer husband David.

The Beckhams claimed Andrew Morton's unauthorised biography contained secrets supplied by their former bodyguard Mark Niblett, who had allegedly broken a confidentiality agreement.

But the couple dropped their action on Wednesday after reaching an agreement with Mr Morton that 200 words would be cut, rather than the 2,500 they wanted.

Victoria's friend said yesterday: "She is under such stress. As well as the legal action, she has had endless promotions to do and it has all taken its toll on her.

"As for Niblett, she feels sick and betrayed by what this man has done to her."

The strain told as Victoria was filming at a studio in Cologne on Wednesday evening.

A doctor was called out on two occasions and on his advice she cancelled further performances and booked the jet to take her home that night.

Victoria and David have been left with a £100,000 legal bill after seeking a High Court injunction against Mr Morton and Michael O'Mara Books.

They alleged that by speaking to Mr Morton, Mr Niblett broke an agreement not to discuss what he had seen and heard while working for them. The 224-page book is due to be released in October at the same time as the Manchester United player's autobiography.

Last night Victoria said: "Our main concern was to see that Mark Niblett, who was in our employment and who we feel abused that position of trust, did not benefit from this whole episode.

"We never attempted to ban this book, so I was astonished to see reports on Sky TV etc yesterday about how Andrew Morton had won the battle of the book we tried to ban."

Amid Victoria's own problems, though, she made an eleventh-hour attempt to save Manchester United goalkeeper Mark Bosnich's troubled marriage.

She secretly took Mark's wife Sarah on an away-from-it-all sunshine break to Spain, The Mirror can reveal.

A friend said : "Victoria knows all about the pressures of being the wife of a Man Utd star, she and Sarah are good friends and she wanted to help.

"She was a shoulder to cry on."

But the mission backfired when 29-year-old Sarah struck up a friendship with Victoria's pop partner Dane Bowers, 20.

Dane's girlfriend, 22-year-old model Jordan, was devastated and called off her year-long romance with the Truesteppers singer.

Jordan - real name Katie Price - said: "I need to spend some time on my own - this whole thing has really hurt me. It'll be hard to trust anyone again."

A spokesman for Dane said: "Any suggestion that there is anything more than innocent friendship between Dane and Sarah Bosnich is wide of the mark."

Sarah, meanwhile was at her parents' home in Plymouth. Her mum Diana Jarrett said: "Things are not good between Sarah and Mark at the moment."

Bosnich, 28, said at his Manchester flat: "Sarah doesn't live ..here any more."

Beckhams Start To Settle

David and Victoria Beckham have abandoned attempts to prevent the publication of a book about them by the biographer Andrew Morton. The celebrity couple had launched the High Court action against Mr Morton, objecting to 2,500 words contained within the 60,000 word book Posh and Becks.

The Beckhams claimed that this information had been passed on by their former bodyguard Mark Niblett, who was in breach of a confidentiality clause in his employment contract.

This will, of course, be an unauthorised biography of the claimants

Geoffrey Robertson QC The Beckhams lawyer, Michael Tugendhat QC said in no way did the settlement mean the couple "endorsed or approved the contents of the book" but accepted that - with the principles of freedom of speech - it would be published in October.

Speaking from the High Court in London, BBC correspondent Carole Jones said it was understood the 2,500 words in dispute would - in the main - be printed.

Geoffrey Robertson QC, acting on behalf of Mr Morton and his publishers Michael O'Mara Books, told the court:

"This will, of course, be an unauthorised biography of the claimants, who may not agree with its contents but accept what the law allows in a society which holds fast to free speech principles."

The court heard proceedings against the couple's former bodyguard for breach of contract would continue, but in private.

Earlier the court heard the Manchester United footballer and Spice Girl singer were planning to publish their own book in the autumn.