Mel C almost lost out on a place in the Spice Girls due to tonsillitis.
Mel C almost missed on a place in the Spice Girls due to illness
The 48-year-old singer has revealed that she very nearly didn't become Sporty Spice in the globe conquering pop group because she was struck down with the viral infection and couldn't make it to her second audition, leaving her heartbroken.
Speaking on the Changes with Annie Macmanus podcast, she said: "I completed my three years at performing arts college, and I was going out and auditioning for West End shows and different things, and you know, not really getting anywhere, starting to get a bit frustrated, and I was at a place called Danceworks … someone hands me a flier that says ‘are you between the ages of 18 and 24, can you sing, dance, are you outgoing?’ … It’s an audition for a girl band. So I turn around to my mate and go, 'That’s it. That’s what I’m going to do.’
“I was sick, and I couldn’t make the recall. So I begged my mom to get in touch and say, 'Please, Melanie really wants the opportunity to see you guys again.’ I had tonsillitis, so I couldn’t even speak, let alone sing.
“And they were like, 'No, sorry, we’ve chosen the girls now, it wasn’t meant to be.'"
However, fate intervened and Melanie got a second chance when one of the singers intended for the group didn't work out and she got given a second chance to a Spice Girl.
She added: "When you’re a performer you get used to getting let down. Then a couple of weeks later I get a call, and they said, 'One of these girls hasn’t worked out, could Melanie come down and sing for us again?’”
After Emma Bunton, also known as Baby Spice, joined the group shortly after, the rest was history.
Mel revealed: “It completely was [a dream come true] … from the minute Emma became a part of the band … it was like something clicked. There was just this energy, and I feel quite emotional thinking about it and talking about it — goosebumps come up. Even now, if we’re all in a room together, there’s a spark. There’s just something that happens.
"People always go, 'Oh, the Spice Girl that didn’t make it,’ or, 'Oh, the girl who was in the Spice Girls before.’ And it’s like no, it wasn’t the Spice Girls then. We were called something else, and then Emma came along, and that’s when the Spice Girls began.”
The Spice Girls line-up was completed by Scary Spice Mel B, Posh Spice Victoria Beckham and Ginger Spice Geri Horner, formerly known as Geri Halliwell.