It’s already been a long day for some Melanie C fans. After waiting patiently for a signing session at Crash records, they now find themselves in another long queue.
This time, they’re outside Project House, one of Leeds’ newer venues based in a former tile distributor’s warehouse in Armley.
As venues go it’s wonderfully spacious and, on arrival, generations of pop fans are treated to a DJ working through chart hits across the decades, from Wham! to CeCe Peniston, from Jamiroquai to the Scissor Sisters. The crowd is soon singing along to Shania Twain’s “Man! I feel like a woman!” as they dance around in leather side-tie trousers, embroidered silk jackets and a rose gold mirror ball helmet.
The DJ set finishes and a full drum kit, Roland keyboards and an acoustic guitar are set up. This initially distracts the crowd from the unexpected appearance of Mel B with husband Rory McPhee. They are watching at the side of the stage as we wait for Mel C to take the stage and many fans don’t know where to look!
It’s been 30 years since the Spice Girls debut album but Melanie C is still looking fit and full of energy in a vibrant blue Adidas track suit and orange Adidas vest. With a slightly blue hue, her tattoos may be the only thing hinting at the passage of time.
Here to promote new album “SWEAT”, Melanie C is also looking to reward her audience for their patience. She is drawing heavily on her Sporty Spice persona and the music she grew up with, but despite the dance electronica sound of her latest songs, she is performing with live musicians. We soon find out why as, after showing off her six-pack singing “Sweat” and “What Could Possibly Go Wrong”, she belts out one of her first solo hits “Never Be The Same Again” – in response the audience matches her energy, joining in with every lyric.
Further songs from the new album, “Undefeated Champion” and “Attitude” follow, with Melanie C playfully lifting a mic stand as if it was a dumbbell and pulling her long wavy hair into a high pony tail in a further nod to Sporty Spice.
In another crowd-pleasing throwback, Mel sings another song – “Northern Star” – from her debut album, but even as she encourages the audience to wave their arms along to the anthem, the arm wave picks up the pace until it feels like a work out.
At this point the burning, unanswered question in the room is: Will Mel B take the stage? Will she actually perform? It seemed an unlikely time for a reunion at the start of the night – despite being in Mel B’s home town – but the crowd erupts with delight as – yes – both Mels are now on stage to perform a very pared down yet chaotic version of “Spice Up Your Life”, a Spice Girls number one banger.
Melanie C responds to the crowd’s reaction with a characteristically blunt, Northern “Let’s crack on” as she returns to her final new song of the night “Drum Machine,” a euphoric love song to 70s disco and 80s dance, including unmissable references to Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love”.
The set ends with a final solo hit “I Turn To You”, which gets the audience singing loudly and jumping up and down with all the energy that British people can muster after a few drinks on a bank holiday weekend.
It’s been a memorable gig, not because of the venue, which is ultimately quite basic with black curtains barely covering the breeze block walls. It’s not been that memorable a stage show – though it’s been fun to watch Mel C running up and down the stage like a younger Axl Rose and doing athletic poses and high kicks… No, it’s more about watching someone absolutely confident in where they have come from, leaning in to what they love and drawing on their strengths.
It’s also been heartening to see the vulnerability of Melanie as she catches her breath between songs, to see a human being as well as a popstar.
It’s clear that 54-year-old Melanie has put in a lot of effort into not only making the new album but also into looking like a model of physical fitness. What made the show so compelling, however, is not how youthful she (and Mel B) still seem to be, but the journey that got her to this point.
There are no short cuts to the relationship she has built with her fans, as well as the time it takes to develop an appreciation for who and what has sustained her along the way.
From her audience reaction, it’s clear that the music she has made or been a part of, as a member of the best-selling female group in history, is something that has sustained generations and, for pop music fans, Melanie C remains a must-see artist.
Learn more about Melanie C and her new album “SWEAT” https://melaniec.net/
Learn more about Project House and Galleria at https://projecthouselds.com/info/
All photography by Jazz Jennings.
