Mel C -
Heat Interview - October 2003
Instead of
promoting her new single, Mel C is laid up at home with an injured knee. Emma
Messenger popped round with a bunch of grapes to see how she was feeling.
You could
be forgiven for mistaking Mel C’s mum’s house in
Alas, Mel C
won’t be going anywhere far a while, not since she was floored by Miss World, Azra Akin, in a judo bout while taking part in The Games, Channel 4’s celebrity
sporting competition. Mel suffered a
serious injury to her knee and was whisked away to hospital screaming in
agony. She couldn’t continue in The Games, has had to put all her work
plans on hold and will barely be able to move for next few weeks.
Which is
why it is remarkable that, less than a week after it all happened, heat finds her on such incredibly
cheerful form. But then Mel C is a
survivor. For years she has fought
battles against depression and an eating disorder; battles she has finally won
thanks to a combination of therapy, acupuncture and Prozac. Not to mention the love of a good man,
35-year-old construction firm director, Thomas Starr who has brought great
happiness to Mel’s life for the last year and a half.
And, as heat found out, Mel is not about to let
a damaged knee get in the way of that happiness. In fact, as she sets the record straight to
us about her injury, her career and her relationships with the other Spice
Girls, it is clear it would take a whole lot more than that to bring her down.
First things first, how is the knee
doing?
It’s
OK. I had surgery on Friday...it was
quite a major operation. It’s going to
be a long recovery.
What exactly did you do to it?
I’ve
ruptured my cruciate ligament and damaged two other ligaments in my knee. The surgery was amazing…it was keyhole. They’ve taken a part of my hamstring and made
a new ligament, plus I’ve got a bit of metal work in there and a couple of
staples and a screw.
Was it agony when it happened?
Well,
I’ve never had an accident before but I knew the moment I’d done it, it was
serious. I forget the pain now because
the human body has some kind of mechanism that seems to kick in
quite quickly to make you forget it, but the minute it happened I was screaming
my head off.
Are you completely laid up?
Yes,
I’m on crutches. The only time I’m
actually getting up at the moment is to go to the loo
or to go to bed at night. It’s a
killer. I’m going to be in a leg brace
for two weeks. Then I go back to hospital
to have another brace on that has hinges at the side, so I should then have a
bit of mobility. And I will get back to
100 percent mobility but it’s probably going to take about nine months.
Has anyone been looking after you?
Well,
I was in hospital in
Are you going stay at your mum’s for
a few weeks?
I’m
going to stay here for a month then I’m going back down to
With a new single due and a tour
planned, this is lousy timing, isn’t it?
Yeah,
the timing is really unfortunate. I was
all excited about my new single. We’re
going to put the release date back. Fingers
crossed it will be out at the end of October.
I’m hoping I will be OK to do some TV stuff in mid-October…that’s the
plan at the moment.
So, it isn’t, as reported, the end
of your career?
God
no! (Laughs) I can’t believe all the
stupid things I’ve been reading in the press about that. It’s not my voice that’s injured, it’s only
my knee. I’m still able to sing while
I’m sitting down! As soon as I’m fit,
I’ll be back on my feet and back at work.
Do you have any idea when that might
be?
Well,
it all depends on what the doctors say.
The December gigs that I was going to do are still in my schedule. The only thing is that I might not be able to
jump around as madly as I used to. But I
should be walking again in six to eight weeks.
It’s just the crazy stuff: the jumping, twisting and running around on
stage, that’s what’s going to take a while to come back.
Do you regret taking part in The Games now?
No, not at all. It was just one of those
things. I really enjoyed the time I had
on the show. I was gutted I couldn’t
complete it, especially because the last three events were my strongest. I really liked being with all the other
competitors…everyone was a good laugh and we had a lot of fun. I am actually very lucky to have got this far
in my life without ever having a serious injury before. It’s happened now and I’m glad it did while I
am still young and it will heal properly.
It must be really hard for someone
as active as you to be restricted.
I’d
always thought that if I ever got injured I couldn’t stand it. But when it happens to you, you just have to
accept it. At the end of the day, the
priority is your health and my knee is the most important thing. I’ve got to do whatever it takes to make it
better, though I can’t neglect my singing too much, because that’s what keeps
me going in general. But there’s nothing
from stopping me singing. So you might
yet see me on Top Of The
Pops sitting on a stool with my leg elevated. But I’ll still be giving it loads!
Meanwhile, how are you keeping your
spirits up?
I’m
trying to stay really positive. You know
what, all my friends, family and loved ones that I never get to see enough of,
who always get a bit neglected…I’m going to use this time to see all those
people.
How else are you spending your days?
All
the things I never normally have the time to do. I’ve been watching lots of daytime telly. I’ve been
reading. I’ve had lots of visitors. The boredom hasn’t had a chance to kick in
yet. I’ve been having a nice time..enjoying my time off. There are so many things I always put off
doing, and now I can do them. I can pick
up my guitar again and get pracitsing, do some writing, start thinking about my
next album. I’m not going to waste this
time.
What about your social life?
Well,
I was supposed to be celebrating my friend’s birthday at the end of this
month. We were going to go out in
But there must be things you are
missing out on.
Of
course, Like Donna Air had a baby shower the other week but obviously I
couldn’t make it. Whenever she has
parties she gives her guests little pressies. She’s put mine in the post. I don’t know what
it is yet, but it’s on its way. She’s
very thoughtful.
Have any of the Spice Girls been in
touch with you?
I
spoke to Geri a few days ago. She gave
me a call when she heard about my knee.
In fact, I was actually planning on going to LA to see Melanie B before
Christmas but I don’t know if I’m going to make it now, which is a shame. I think
it would be really sad if we didn’t all keep in touch as we do because we’ve
been through so much together.
And you and Emma still living in the
same block of flats, so she can pop in to visit you when you get home?
Yes,
we do. We’re really good mates. We live in Hampstead which is always full of
paparazzi. We live in a complex and the
funniest thing is when I look outside the big gates and see photographers
hanging around, I always text Emma immediately and ask her what on Earth she’s
been up to.
There’s yet another Spice Girls
reunion rumour doing the rounds – is it true?
No
(sighs wearily), it’s completely untrue.
I’d love to get to the bottom of it.
There must be somebody somewhere that just loves irritating us because
the question is raised again and again and doesn’t seen
to go away. I’ve no clue where it comes
from. I’m very happy with my solo
career. It’s just weird, I think it’s
usually the Daily Mail actually,
which is the crappest paper
in the world. It’s as if they don’t have
anything better to write about.
But you have fond memories of your
Spice Girls days?
Of
course I do. Actually, up there on my
mum’s shelf there’s a photo of us all in a frame that Emma got and it says
“Tarts On Tour”.
It’s a good picture because it was taken in the studio at
Plus, without the Spice Girls you
might not be where you are today.
Or
have the fans I do. Having that love and
support from your fans is priceless.
During all my difficult times they’ve been there. I got a lot of stick in the press, but people
would come up to me in the street and tell me to ignore it and that they think
I’m great and I look great. I have to
say my fans have really helped me through.
Now you need them again!
(Laughs)
I know. I just manage to get over all my
personal problems and then I break my bloody knee. But that’s life.