Melanie Chisholm

LOVE STORY: THE TABLOIDS CLAIM THAT SHE ONCE WENT OUT WITH TWO BROTHERS ONE AFTER THE OTHER, BUT SADLY AT THE PRESENT, SHE IS WITHOUT SOMEONE SPECIAL.

CLAIM TO FAME: OBSESSED WITH FOOTBALL. MAD FOR BALLET. WON HER PLACE AT DANCE SCHOOL. SESSION SINGER AND DANCER. NEARLY MADE IT TO CATS.

- Take care of yourself and have fun, just don't push it too hard!
- Try and beat the boys at their own game...don't give in. If you can't beat'em, join'em!
- Get a bike and get around...it's ecologically friendly and gets you fit!
- Eat a healthy diet and listen to your body. But don't bother dieting, it doesn't work!
- Do exactly what you wanna do and don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

- What is your favourite saying?   "You'll never walk alone!"
- How do you win an argument?   "I DECK 'EM!"
- How do you meet guys?   "I give a shy glance then flex my biceps. I'd chat him up with 'I've got two tickets for a Liverpool match, do you fancy commin'?'"
- What about toilet Hygene?   "Me? I use the urinals mate!"
- What do you do before bedtime?   "I do 50 stomach crunches!"

"I'm very shy when I meet people and I have a recurring nightmare that someone will come up and start talking to me when I'm buying my tampax in the supermarket. It's a good job it hasn't happened yet, because I'd just die of embarrassment! You might not believe that from watching me on stage, beacause when I'm up there I'll do anything. It's not the same as a one-to-one encounter.

"The weirdest thing about everything that's happened to me in Spice Girls is that when I see a picture of myself in the papers it doesn't connect that it's me. It's the same when I watch a video. I think only I can see it and it doesn't register that all around the world millions of people are watching it too. It helps me keep my feet on the ground, I suppose. I never have any expectations and just take it all as it comes. Everything we do just seems to get bigger and bigger, but all I can think is that we're five dead normal girls just writing a few tunes. It's incredible that so many poeple have bought our CDs.

"I seem to have come a long way from auditioning for endless chorus lines and not getting anywhere, although I never lost faith in myself. I'm not a great singer or a great dancer, but this all I want to do, it's all I can do. I could never go and work in a shop, so I always found the strength to keep going. I'll always remember how fate took a hand though. I was down to the last five for a role in 'Cats' and couldn't go to the audition because I had tonsilitis. They rejected me and then almost straight away I joined Spice Girls, so how lucky was I? Even though I'd danced since I was three I'd always wanted to be a pop star, so that was a lucky break. My mum was in a band called 'Love Potion' years ago and she even released a couple of singles, so I think it's in the blood. She still sings in clubs today.

"The music is probably the only thing I take seriously about my life. I listen to our album every now and again and although I'm dead proud of it, I can't help cringing when I listen to a couple of bits where I think the singing's a bit ropey. I think there's a lot more to our music than most of the pop stuff we get lumped in with though. A lot of groups are just writing the stuff they think the public want, what's going to sell. We're not interested in that. We're just writing what we want to write. What kid wants to hear slushy stuff like 'I've never felt this way before'? What kind of person wants to hear that stuff?!

"I don't have musical heroes, but I'd really love to meet Madonna. I really, really admire her and I'd love to have a normal conversation with her, ask her how the baby is and all that. It's a bit weird really, because I'm not mad about her music and I didn't like the 'Sex' stuff either. I'm not prudish. I can talk about sex all day long, but when it's personal I get a bit shy. I'd be embarrassed getting my kit off. I'm actually bothered about my legs more than anything else, but I don't know why.

"Madonna's been doing her thing for so long, I'd like to think we could match that. It would be great to be together in ten years' time. We all want families so maybe we could take time out for that at some stage and then get back together. But who really knows? I like to have goals but it's pointless looking too far ahead. Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and decide that I've had enough of Spice Girls.

"What could be better in my life? My love life. I know it will be difficult with the amount of work that we do, but I'm sure I'll find time. Not that I'm worried about it. One thing being in Spice Girls has taught me is that you don't necessarily need a man. Anyway, how can I complain? I think we're the five luckiest girls on the planet, so that's not too bad, is it? Mind you, it's really hard work. I was at home the other night watching telly and I was so tired that when I decided to go to bed, I couldn't physically stand up. I had to literally crawl to bed. No matter how tired I feel, though, I know I'll never stop performing. You can guarantee I'll be a sad old bag up on stage still trying to sing when I'm 60!"