The Spice Girls formed in 1994 and sold more than 100 million records worldwide. Photo / Getty Images
The Spice Girls formed in 1994 and sold more than 100 million records worldwide. Photo / Getty Images
The quintet are no strangers to in-fighting, but the latest row may be the costliest yet if it stops a new tour and a Netflix documentary.
I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want: a chance to bathe in 1990s nostalgia at a mammoth Spice Girls reunion concert.
Unfortunately for me, the group’s other devoted fans, and the five band members themselves, a rancorous feud has allegedly nixed plans for them to celebrate their 30th anniversary with a multi-date tour and a Netflix series worth £1 million ($2.2m) a-piece. It’s a bitter blow for “girl power”.
The alleged row definitely doesn’t mark the first time the fiery quintet – which formed in 1994 – are said to have fallen out, although this could well be the costliest dispute in their colourful history.
But it now sounds very unlikely that we’ll be seeing the highly anticipated Netflix show centred on the Spice Girls, who sold more than 100 million records worldwide, boasted the best-selling album by a female group in history, and scored nine number one singles.
In fact, there were two different shows reportedly under discussion: one a documentary featuring interviews with all the women and their families, another a biopic about the rise of Posh, Scary, Ginger, Baby and Sporty made by Left Bank Pictures – creators of hit royal saga The Crown.
The latter could have resulted in a £1m pay deal for each of the bandmates, however it needed all of them to agree to it, and Geri Horner, 52, has reportedly pulled the plug on the lucrative project. The Telegraph has approached representatives of the group for comment.
Talks involving Horner, Melanie Brown, 49, Emma Bunton, 48, Melanie C, 50, and Victoria Beckham, 50, were apparently going well. But a source was quoted by multiple newspapers as saying that “as negotiations ramped up, the others were told Geri had objected. The plans have basically been thrown out.” Ironically, it’s just this sort of intra-band drama that would make their biopic an absolute must-watch.
Mel B, Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell and Melanie C of the Spice Girls reunited for a tour in 2019, although without Victoria Beckham. Photo / Getty Images
However, Horner reportedly lost her cool after a series of sly digs and explosive revelations directed at her by the always outspoken Brown, aka Scary Spice, or Mel B.
Tensions rose when the latter made a stinging joke by posting a throwback picture of the band with the caption “Happy 75th bday Ginge” on Instagram to mark Geri’s 52nd birthday in August.
It might have been taken as a friendly quip had Mel B not previously claimed that Geri, Ginger Spice, hid her real age. Speaking on a podcast, she said: “No one knows how old Geri is. No one’s seen her passport. I know we’ve travelled the world, but I still don’t know how old she is.”
Publicist Mark Borkowski says he’s not surprised that the rumoured plans have fallen through. “It’s like herding cats, trying to get everyone on the same page at the same time. We’ve seen this on countless occasions. Just because a group is successful doesn’t mean they actually get on. It’s like a family: you get a lot of squabbles.”
Geri Horner reportedly lost her cool after a series of sly digs directed at her by Mel B. Photo / Getty Images
Indeed, this current feud is just the latest salvo.
In 2019, Mel B infuriated her bandmate by claiming that she had been intimately involved with Geri.
The Leeds-born star, who previously dated film producer Christine Crokos, and who has said she didn’t need to be defined as “lesbian, bisexual or heterosexual”, told Piers Morgan: “[Geri] is going to hate me for this because she is all posh with her country house and her husband [Christian Horner], but it’s a fact. But it wasn’t a thing, it just happened and we just giggled at it.”
Mel B, who had also mischievously revealed that Geri “had great boobs”, added: “She is going to kill me”.
Geri immediately released a statement saying it was “very disappointing” to hear such rumours reignited, that the story was “simply not true and has been very hurtful to her family”. One source close to the band accused Mel B of cynically grabbing headlines in order to sell more copies of her memoir, Brutally Honest.
It must have made for a frosty green room on their subsequent reunion tour, which took place later in 2019 and featured just four of the line-up; Victoria, aka Posh Spice, chose not to participate.
Spice Girls fans have been waiting a long time to see all five back together. In 1998 Geri left the band citing “differences” among the group, although they later reformed for a concert tour in 2007-8 and, four years later, a one-off appearance at the 2012 London Olympics closing ceremony.
Despite their enormous success, the Spice Girls, it seems, have almost constantly been at odds.
Mel C, otherwise known as Sporty Spice, claimed she had felt bullied into doing the 2007 tour, explaining that she was scared “that [she] would be the villain” if she said no.
Geri reportedly infuriated everyone by halting video shoots so she could meditate, while Victoria allegedly made sure everyone knew how important she was by travelling with a large entourage and taking constant phone calls from celebrities like Donatella Versace.
Mel B was said to have been livid when Victoria decided to skip the 2019 tour, but did a Vogue fashion shoot wearing outfits that paid homage to Spice Girls looks. The former got her own back by dressing as Victoria for Halloween, complete with a sign reading: “No I am not going on tour”.
In 2022, while appearing on Channel 4’s The Big Narstie Show, Mel B said of Geri: “I love her to bits but she’s really f****** annoying”.
But even with that chequered history, it sounds like the relationship between Scary and Ginger, in particular, has reached a new low. Geri allegedly told one friend that she “can’t bear to share the stage” with her.
Undeterred, Mel B has been constantly chivvying the other girls to agree to a 30th anniversary tour. However, that may have backfired.
Mel B revealed on gameshow Never Mind the Buzzcocks in October that her bandmates had kicked her out of their group text chat because, she claimed: “I’m northern and say what I think and feel and I’m constantly saying to the girls ‘we need to go back on tour’”. She branded the other Spice Girls “d***heads” for ditching her.
It sounds like relations have worsened considerably in just the last few months.
In March, adopting a markedly different tone, Mel B told the Telegraph: “I’m planning on reuniting with the Spice Girls but there’s no announcement yet. The Spice Girls is one of my priorities in life.”
The following month, the quintet were all smiles as they celebrated Victoria’s 50th birthday at a star-studded party at private members’ club Oswald’s. The former chart-topping girl band danced together to their hit song Stop.
The Spice Girls were dancing and singing to hit song Stop in a video shared by David Beckham on Instagram. Photo / @davidbeckham
Now, it increasingly seems like those were fleeting glances of unity.
Another reason for why Geri might be reluctant to commit to a Netflix show, or to courting more publicity via a major tour has emerged: her husband.
In February, Horner, principal of Formula One team Red Bull, was investigated following allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards a female colleague.
Although he was ultimately cleared of all wrongdoing by Red Bull, it’s been a stormy time for the couple. “Geri knows the amount of attention a Spice Girls reunion would bring – that’s the last thing she wants,” observes Borkowski.
It had been rumoured that she and Horner were planning their own fly-on-the-wall series, but he firmly refuted that in April, saying: “There are absolutely no plans to do a family documentary”.
Besides, it’s not just Geri who is reportedly reluctant to commit to further Spice Girls projects. Victoria has her own empire to focus on, from her various Netflix deals to her rocketing fashion brand.
David Beckham said in June: “All the girls have got their own things going on. They will do certain things together at certain times. But Victoria’s full on with her beauty and fashion business. If anyone’s busier than me, it’s her.”
That chimed with Victoria’s comment on any possible anniversary activities: she was happy to meet for a celebratory “dinner or a lunch, but it won’t be any more”.
Geri’s husband, Christian Horner, was investigated following allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards a female colleague. Photo / Getty Images
The glaring financial disparity between the bandmates may be another point of tension.
The Beckhams have a joint net worth of £455m ($993m), according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List, thanks to their combination of David’s revenue from Inter Miami and stake in Authentic Brands, Victoria’s now-profitable fashion and beauty business, various endorsement deals, Netflix series, and the couple’s property portfolio.
Similarly, Geri and Christian Horner are estimated to be worth £440m ($960m): Horner is reportedly the highest-paid principal in F1, and the couple have also profited from their horseracing firm OMBI. They own two country piles and a £2.1m ($4.6m) London flat.
In sharp contrast, Emma, aka Baby Spice, and husband Jade Jones share a net worth of £24m ($52m). Mel C is also thought to be worth £24m ($52m), while Mel B’s fortune has been appraised at £4.7m ($10.3m) – reflective of the financial struggles she endured following her 2017 divorce from film producer Stephen Belafonte.
A judge ordered her to pay £270,000 ($589,000) in legal fees and more than £3000 ($6650) a month in child payment, but it transpired that Mel B was broke: she was forced to sell her Hollywood mansion and, in 2019, move back in with her mother in Leeds. She later described having “nothing” in her bank account at the time.
But while a reunion might be welcome for her, for the other well-moneyed bandmates a reunion could come at too high a cost, Borkowski says.
“The price of that is a lot of exposure – and most celebrities reach a zenith where what they really want is control and privacy. They actually don’t want to be talked about.”
Besides, he notes, they may have different priorities in life now. “I suspect Geri doesn’t want to find herself back in a project that she’s moved on from.”
It’s also a big risk. “There’s a level of excitement purely because the Spice Girls haven’t been together for so long. But what if it’s a disappointment? You’re back doing something you last did in your prime, and you’ll have to deal with judgment from vicious social media trolls.”
It does seem to have worked out for other groups, like Robbie Williams rejoining Take That, or the delirious response (and sales) garnered by the Oasis reunion, so there’s still hope for all five bandmates to spice up our lives once again.
Still, if it all came together too easily, it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun.
