Mel C and Mel B brought back iconic 90s nostalgia on Saturday night, as the duo shared a surprise Spice Girls reunion onstage. Fans screamed in delight as Mel B made an unexpected appearance during Mel C's album launch show in Leeds, before teaming up to perform one of the girlband's most enduring hits.
A Night of Nostalgia
To mark the release of her new solo album Sweat, Mel C, 52, took to the stage to belt out her rave-inspired tracks, showcasing her chiselled abs in a classic Sporty Spice outfit of tracksuit bottoms and a crop top. She was soon joined on the stage by Scary Spice, 50, who wasted no time in heaping praise on her former bandmate, addressing the crowd: 'Isn't she amazing? I've literally been standing over there and singing every word and more or less crying.'
An emotional Mel C took her pal's hand as she said: 'I have to stop because this is such a special moment,' causing Mel B to interrupt: 'Don't make me cry!' 'I know, we can't cry. We haven't done this since 2019 girlfriend. You ready?', Mel C replied, before the pair launched into the famous refrain of 1997 hit Spice Up Your Life.
Timeless Performance
Though it has been nearly three decades since the release of the iconic Spice Girls track, the two singers appeared not to have aged at all as they danced energetically around the stage to cheers from the audience. They found fame in the iconic girl group alongside Emma Bunton, Victoria Beckham, and Geri Horner from 1996 until their split in 2001. Since then, the band reunited in 2007 for a world tour, performed at the 2012 London Olympics closing ceremony, and came together — with the exception of Victoria — for a UK tour in 2019.
Taking to Instagram on Sunday, both the Mels shared videos of the jubilant performance and poignant snaps of them posing together backstage. Mel C voiced her gratitude to her 'Spice sister' for her support, captioning her post: 'Good to be back with my Spice sister @officialmelb in Leeds, thank you for sharing the stage with me.' While Mel B heaped praise on her 'northern sister' in return, as she declared how proud she was of her friend and her new album. 'Went to support my northern sister on the launch of her AMAZIN album SWEAT…. and she only ended up bloody gettin me on stage!' she wrote. 'LUV YOUUU and sooo proud of you @melaniecmusic !!! everyone go out stream order buy her album coz its AMAZIN and so is she!!!! #friendshipneverends'.
Fan Reactions
Fans were similarly thrilled by the mini Spice Girls reunion, taking to the comments to brand the duo 'two absolute icons' and beg them to go on tour. Comments included: 'Like no time has passed- still got that 90s magic!!'; 'Sisters are doing it for themselves!!!!!'; 'Bring Emma and tour'; 'I don't think they realize what we all would do for a reunion tour.'; 'Magical moment for sure'; 'What the people wanna see'; 'if you two just wanna go on tour, we’ll take it!'; 'ALOT of peoples hearts were full last night!'; 'Such special moment!'; 'So iconic @officialmelb @melaniecmusic you both need to go on tour xxx'; 'What freaking year are we in? Yall don't age'; 'What a treat for the audience!'; 'What an amazing night. Two absolute icons reunited. Life made!'; 'Icons being iconic! IKTR!'; 'Dream came true last night!'; 'Forever Spice'.
Future Reunion Hopes
Fans were especially thrilled over the surprise performance as it came only a month after Mel B admitted she may never perform with her former bandmates again. Rumours have long swirled that the Spice Girls were planning a series of concerts to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their debut single Wannabe. Mel C recently admitted she was 'optimistic' about the chances of a reunion, telling The Smallzy Show on KIIS Radio in March: 'We are communicating all the time. We want to do something – who knows when. But I still feel very optimistic and I keep my fingers crossed that you will see the Spice Girls together at some point in the future.'
However, last month Mel B dashed hopes of a Spice Girls comeback, saying she was unsure if she'd be willing to take part in a reunion, despite insisting she had an 'incredible bond' with her bandmates. She told Hello: 'I can tell you [a reunion] is not happening. If it does, it'll be a shock to me, let's put it that way. When I look at that [2019 tour] and at the feeling it gave me, I was in my element, but there comes a time… I'm 50. You can't be nagging everyone to go on tour if they don't want to. I laid that to rest when I turned 50.' While she added: 'I honestly don't know. I've got a lot of respect and love for those girls. I wouldn't be sitting here if it wasn't for me being part of the Spice Girls. They've done a lot for me as a person and in my life. I've got fond memories, but I don't know if I would want to go back up on stage.'
As well as scrapped reunion plans, Mel B also seemingly dashed hopes for the group's proposed Netflix documentary as she took a swipe at her bandmates who 'did not want to be honest' on screen. 'I think we've all been asked and were all thinking about it at some point,' she said. 'But it has to be done in the right way, and it has to be honest – and not everybody wants to be honest.' The rumoured project was reportedly cancelled after the group failed to come to an agreement, with sources claiming Geri in particular had been dragging her heels on whether to sign on. Reports emerged in 2024 that she had derailed the huge deal, which would have netted each of the five members £1 million each, following a 'nightmare' fallout with Mel B, that left the band unable to find a manager capable of 'mediating' to push projects over the line.
The feud began when Mel confessed she had a lesbian fling with Geri during the band's 90s heyday on Piers Morgan's chat show in 2019. Geri denied the affair took place, with Mel accused of dreaming it up to sell copies of her tell-all memoir, Brutally Honest. While Victoria has maintained that she would not join the band again, insisting her fashion career was her focus and reiterating that being in the Spice Girls was just a mere four years of her life. Speaking to Andy Cohen on Sirius XM, last October, she said: 'Before I was in the Spice Girls, I was so self-conscious and they made me feel that I was good enough. But being on stage, I realised as fun as it is, you know, it’s not ultimately what I want to do anymore.' She quipped: 'I don’t know if I could even still sing. I mean, I was never that great. It would be tempting. But could I take on a world tour? No I can’t. I have a job…'
