Melanie C will pass a huge milestone in the music industry in 2026 as the Spice Girls debut single ‘Wannabe’ reaches 30 years old. It’s hard to believe that Melanie, aka Sporty Spice, has been in our lives that long and during that time she’s gifted us plenty of music as part of the record-breaking group and as a solo artist. With new album ‘Sweat’ on the horizon for 2026, and the set’s title track garnering plenty of attention, Melanie is busy on the promo trail. Before she gets into the full swing of promo for the album, the Spice Girl made time for a unique concert at St Paul’s Cathedral, hosted by HSBC in support of homeless charity Shelter as part of the Candlelight series, presented by Fever.
The concert by candlelight promised to be something very different, and when a string quartet opened the show with an instrumental version of ‘Wannabe’, it was clear this was going to be no ordinary show. Melanie later explained that the Spice Girls’ classic was a tough one to perform solo, so she found an inventive way to include it in her set. Arriving on stage to huge applause, Melanie launched into ‘Blame It On Me’, a single from her self-titled 2020 studio album. It set the scene perfectly for a night of music that the audience knew, performed in a way they’ve never heard before.
Number one smash ‘Never Be The Same Again’ was up next, with the band incorporating a bit of Justin Timberlake’s ‘Cry Me A River’ into the mix. Melanie C was on fine vocal form, even if she did tell the audience she was feeling a bit croaky. The nerves were clear with the singer admitting between songs that she felt she had to raise her game to match the musicians on stage, and do justice to the grand setting she was performing in. ‘Into You’, a song Melanie admitted she almost cut from the set, was an early highlight allowing that unique voice we all know to shine.
One of the night’s surprises was ‘Reason’, the title track from her second solo album, released in 2003. The piano ballad sounded gorgeous with the string quartet playing on it and Melanie sound fantastic. The song moved nicely into ‘Northern Star’, the title track from her huge-selling debut solo album, and in the setting of St Paul’s Cathedral the song packed an extra punch of emotion. ‘Nowhere To Run’, a moody album cut from 2020’s ‘Melanie C’, paved the way for a trio of Spice Girls songs – ‘Too Much’, ‘Viva Forever’ and “Say You’ll Be There”. At this point in her career Melanie is used to singing the songs solo, so she’s mastered arrangements that honour the original recording but play to her strengths as a singer.
As the night entered the final furlong, Melanie performed her monster hit “When You’re Gone”, which she recorded with Bryan Adams, before closing the night with ‘a banger’ in the shaper of ‘I Turn To You’. That final song got the audience on their feet and it was a euphoric end to what turned out to be a rather special night.
Seeing Melanie C at St Paul’s Cathedral by candlelight really was something special. The fact that the evening was to raise money for a worthwhile cause was an added bonus. Of all of the Spice Girls, Melanie C is the only one that has really consistently pursued a solo career in music, with the rest of her bandmates dipping their toes in and out over the years. Sounding better than she ever has, Melanie put on a fantastic show and it’s one she, and her fans, will remember for years to come.
Set list: 1. Wannabe (instrumental) 2. Blame It On Me 3. Never Be The Same Again 4. Into You 5. Reason 6. Northern Star 7. Nowhere To Run 8. Too Much 9. Viva Forever 10. Say You’ll Be There 11. When You’re Gone 12. I Turn To You Venue: St Paul’s Cathedral Performance date: 29th October 2025
