Spice Girl Melanie C’s Northern Star album retrospectively reviewed

1999 was a transitional year for the Spice Girls. Ginger was gone (to the shock and horror of millions of young girls and gaybies), and the remaining four Spices were ready to embark on solo ventures of their own. Melanie C, “the Sporty one”, had already started to cut her
teeth in such avenues, having achieved a big hit with Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams.

‘When You’re Gone’ was a huge international success and helped to establish her outside of the group that made her a household name. With fire under her feet, Chisholm began work on her debut album — the aptly titled Northern Star — which would become the most commercially successful solo Spice record to date.

Chisholm’s blueprint for the album was simple: an indie record inspired by Britpop chaps Blur and Suede with a dash of Madonna’s magnum opus Ray of Light. She achieved just that, pulling in the likes of producers William Orbit (Madonna, All Saints) and Rick Rubin (The Strokes, Red Hot Chili Peppers). Sporty re-emerged as Soft-Punk Spice, and grungy lead single ‘Goin’ Down’ gave the public a taste of her new sound and image. Gone were the tracksuits and black tresses of her Spice Girls persona, to be replaced by tartan skirts and spiky blonde hair.

The album, which would peak at number four on the UK album chart and shift almost 2.5 million copies worldwide, birthed four more top-10 singles. The introspective title track is a thoughtful commentary on the pitfalls of fame and the media’s viciousness — it’s on ballads like these that Chisholm’s vocals are truly given a moment to shine.

‘Never Be the Same Again’ became her first number one as a leading solo artist with the help of late TLC rapper Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes. The laid-back R&B number received positive critical acclaim and became a top-five hit in Australia, Germany and Italy, among other territories. ‘I Turn to You’ was given the remix treatment upon its release as a single, transforming it into an early 2000s trance masterpiece thanks to legendary producer Hex Hector. The track would become an instant club classic and appear on the soundtrack to British footy comedy Bend It Like Beckham.

“How can you ‘look’ like a lesbian? I find it very rude and offensive to gay people” – Melanie C

The “new” Mel C caused a (typically overblown) stir, with interviews around the release plagued with impertinent questions about the singer’s sexuality. “People said I looked like a lesbian because I had short hair,” she said at the time. “But how can you look like a lesbian? I find it very rude and extremely offensive to gay people… It’s a stereotypical thing.”

Chisholm’s allyship would further blossom through the years with the singer stating in 2022 that, in hindsight, she appreciates the “affinity” the gay rumours gave her with the LGBTQ+ community. From touring with drag collective Sink the Pink and performing at countless Pride events around the world, Chisholm continues to be the ally we all need.