In her first interview since receiving rave reviews for her West End debut, Spice Girl Melanie C tells Olga Craig about fame, fortune and being a responsible role model.
They are not, it has to be said, exactly an appropriate adornment for a dowdy, apron-clad, 1950s mum who is paid a pittance and has five squalling mouths to feed in a Liverpool slum. "I know," wails Melanie C. "I have to cover them up every night on stage with camouflage cream; it takes for ever. But they would look a bit out of place, wouldn't they?" All 11 of her body tattoos, that is: each charting a particular turning point in Ms Chisholm's wildly successful musical career.
"I do regret a bit having them done," she says ruefully, skilfully stroking concealer cream across the array of arcane symbols that she has collected over the years. (Decorum dictates that she doesn't reveal the whereabouts of them all.) "Especially when I'm on the beach. Or when I'm hoping to be incognito and I can't take my coat off in the sweltering heat because everyone will know it's me when they spot them."
Ms Chisholm, formerly Sporty Spice, the Spice Girl in the tracksuit who could actually sing and had a penchant for acrobatic back flips on stage, has recently altered course once again – though this time she isn't contemplating another tattoo to celebrate. But she could be forgiven if she did, because, oh boy, has it been a big success.
When she stepped on to a West End stage for the first time in the autumn to perform the aforementioned arduous role of Mrs Johnstone – the down-trodden, working-class mother who, for financial reasons, is forced to give up one of her twins for adoption in Willy Russell's celebrated musical Blood Brothers – she did so to an unprecedented standing ovation from the caustic-tongued review critics. Many of whose pens, one must remember, had doubtless been dipped in poison, expecting Ms Chisholm to falter under the weight of a meaty role that calls not just for a terrific singing voice, but superb acting, too. To their credit, however, they not only acknowledged her terrific performance as the indomitable matriarch, but were deliriously effusive in their praise. The London Evening Standard said Chisholm made an "utterly terrific stage debut"; while the Telegraph's Charles Spencer described her performance as "absolutely sensational". And as for the audiences, they left the theatre tearful but enraptured.
Chisholm had big shoes to fill: Kiki Dee, Barbara Dickson and Carole King have all played the part. But few have so expertly encapsulated the beleaguered Mrs Johnstone with such heart-tugging empathy. Truth is, she fills Blood Brothers' forlorn melodies and hopeful ballads with real heart and soul. And she is the first true Scouser to play the part to boot.
Her stint – which continues until April – is an enormous departure for Chisholm, whose career began with the Spice Girls, the five-strong female band who turned the music world on its head in the Nineties and coined the phrase "Girl Power". They went on to sell more than 60 million records worldwide. To cap that, Chisholm launched a successful solo career when the Girls went their separate ways in 1997. Today, still just 35, she is the female singer who has sold the most singles in Britain, and is pipped only by legends Lennon and McCartney as co-writer of the most number-one singles.
"It is rare to launch a solo career that is successful after years in a band," Chisholm concedes. "So it's been brilliant that I've been able to keep writing and performing my own songs and that the public love them. But acting? That took me out of my comfort zone. And, ah, we won't mention Spice World…" she jokes, sotto voce.
Spice World, you may recall, was the Girls' one celluloid venture. It wasn't exactly a performance success, let's say, but like all Spice ventures, it was a massive hit with the fans.
Chisholm admits that, with only two weeks to rehearse for her new role, she was terrified on her first night. "Just after I accepted the role, I went to watch Blood Brothers. When I came out of the theatre I was petrified. Sod that, I thought, I will never be able to do it. I really had no idea what my capabilities would be on stage. My big terror is forgetting my lines. I've had a few minor fluffs but nothing big, and the cast are so generous with their help."
Chisholm's route to taking on the role was bizarrely coincidental. After touring Canada in 2008, she and partner, property developer Thomas Starr, decided the time was right to try for a baby. "I'm madly organised," Chisholm says. "We sat down and I said we have to fit the baby thing into our schedules. Tom laughed and said it doesn't work like that, you know. But, in fact, we were lucky. I got pregnant right away. Everyone knows I have had problems with being underweight in the past, so it really was good luck that it happened so quickly."
Baby Scarlett was born in February last year, and for the next seven months Chisholm was content to be a stay-at-home mum. She discussed perhaps taking on a role in a musical with her voice coach but didn't take the idea any further. Over dinner with the other Spice Girls, when the conversation turned to musicals, Chisholm said the part of Mrs Johnstone in Blood Brothers was a terrific – if strenuous – one. Out of the blue, 10 days later, her voice coach called asking if she wanted to audition. "I was fine with the singing, although some of the songs are a little low-pitched for me so I've had to work hard at them. But I was a nervous wreck doing the reading. And the last time I'd done an audition I was 19. This time it was truly daunting."
Although friends suggested that, as a name, she could dictate how many performances she would do, ever the professional, Chisholm insisted she would appear in them all – eight a week. "I said no, I'm one of the cast, just like the rest. I don't think I have ever had a prima-donna reputation and I don't intend to start now. I'm new to this and I have to pay my dues."
It's a refreshing attitude; Chisholm is nothing if not down to earth. Fame has, of course, brought financial rewards. And anything else? "Well, I still can't always get a table in restaurants," she laughs. "Although I do have a trick up my sleeve. I always say Victoria [Beckham] is coming when I book. There is always a table free then."
Motherhood, she says, has changed her a lot. "No one can explain to you that bond of love you feel for your child," she says as she sips peppermint tea and toys with a plate of chocolate-chip cookies. "And it has helped me understand the role, too. When Mrs Johnstone must give up one of her children, I think of ever having to lose Scarlett, and my heart literally bleeds.
Being a mother has increased my confidence in a funny way. I never exactly felt under pressure but the press was always speculating about when – or if – I would have a baby. And what with the sporty image, there was this notion that I was the aggressive, masculine one, the tomboy, which isn't me at all."
Chisholm laughs at the years of speculation that she was a lesbian, not in the slightest upset about it. "People still think we were some sort of manufactured band but each of us simply reflected our personality in how we dressed – Victoria in the little black dress, me in a tracksuit. That was how we sold ourselves."
With instant success and the growth of Girl Power, however, came the responsibility of becoming role models for millions of young girls. "It was something we took seriously," she says. "It's hilarious because we were criticised for being provocative or wearing revealing clothes a decade ago. Just look at girl bands now – they're so sexual. We were tame by comparison. And, yes, you had to be so careful with what you said. Kate Moss came under fire recently for saying 'Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels'. It's just a stupid line that's been around the fashion industry for ages. But when a model says it, it's deemed irresponsible."
Chisholm has never denied suffering from eating disorders – nor that she sought treatment for depression in 2002. "The latter is something you always worry will come back, and I was concerned that I would be susceptible to post-natal depression. Touch wood, I was fine. When I was originally diagnosed, I was shocked because I've always been an extrovert. Then I was relieved. Simply because what was wrong with me had a name and could be cured. I had felt I was going mad. It took medication and counselling but I got there. Someone once told me it had probably taken about seven years to get ill and it would take seven to get completely better, and that was so right.
"As for eating, that was a pressure thing. We girls were in the public eye all the time, there was pressure to be slim. So I got into a cycle of dieting, then bingeing then over exercising [at one point, she was a size six]. As for alcohol, I never really had a problem but there were times I drank far too much. Now I have everything in moderation."
It would have made commercial sense to keep the band together, she admits. But by the time the girls decided to split up, all of them needed space. "To be honest, when we first split I didn't see the other girls for a couple of years. Then we began calling each other, and when we did the reunion tour we rediscovered how close we really are. And motherhood has mellowed all of us. Now we meet when we can. We still fight, but usually after a few too many drinks."
Chisholm finishes the peppermint tea. It is almost six o'clock and the theatre is calling. She has been eyeing the cookies all afternoon. "I'm dying to eat these, but I daren't because I'm singing soon," she says as she delves into her handbag, pulls out a plastic bag and stuffs the cookies inside.
"The second I'm off stage, I'm scoffing them," she laughs.
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1 comments:
It will be great to watch Blood Brothers, i have bought tickets from
http://ticketfront.com/event/Blood_Brothers-tickets looking forward to it.
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