WALKING through the halls of Hinchingbrooke hospital, Mel Coloma hears the Spice Girls hit Spice Up Your Life come on the hospital radio.
Singing along Mel, 50, opens the door of the operating theatre prep room to double check the supply list while she tends to a patient.
“I love the,”;; says the patient, before complimenting Mel on her singing skills.
Mel hides a cheeky grin because little do they know they’re talking to a former Spice Girl themself.
Three decades ago, the now mum and staffer was one of the original members of the best-selling girl bands in the world – The Spice Girls — before she was replaced by
“I made it through the final eight at the Spice Girls auditions in 1994 now I’m an NHS hospital worker and a mum-of-two,”;; she says.
“I lost my place in the iconic girl band to Posh Spice because my voice was too strong.
“I was there when all the band members auditioned. I can’t believe it was 30 years ago – for me it feels like yesterday.”;;
But Mel isn’t resentful of her former bandmates, in fact she counts herself as a fan.
“I can’t wait for the Spice Girls to ”;; she says.
“My son won’t want to come but I am sure I can convince my teen daughter to attend with her mum.
“I’ll be going even if Victoria Beckham isn’t taking part. Posh may have hung up her mike but I’m still performing all over the country.
“Music is in my DNA. It’s why I will never give it up. It’s why I know how the other Spice Girls want to get back on stage again.
“The Spice Girls audition was amazing. I’ll never forget it. There will never be another girl band like that.”;;
Last month, it was revealed the iconic girl group would be reuniting for a world tour to celebrate 30 years since the release of the debut single Wannabe next year.
Last week , revealing that one member still ‘needs more convincing’ to take to the stage.
While Victoria Beckham is 90 per cent out of the running’ Mel C couldn’t hide her excitement about the chance to reunite with her band mates.,
Speaking on the No Filter with Kate Langbroek podcast, says, “Next year is a big year for us and we have to acknowledge it in some way.
“So, we are talking about what that’s going to look like and for me, , I know for sure, and [Bunton], we’d be back on stage.
“But sometimes other people need a little bit more convincing.”;;
The now hospital staffer Mel says: “I wouldn’t need any convincing. I should offer to step in for Posh instead.
“I understand why Posh is more focused on her fashion empire. But come on Victoria – just one more time for the fans.
“If she is determined to stay away, the other girls should consider me. All they need to do is call. After all, I was in the final eight.”;;
Mel was just 18 when she queued with more than 400 teen girls to audition for a new girl band in March 1994
She and hundreds of other wannabes had all responded to an ad in The Stage newspaper which read R.U. 18-23 WITH THE ABILITY TO SING/DANCE R.U. STREETWISE, OUTGOING, AMBITIOUS & DEDICATED HEART MANAGEMENT LTD”;;
“I remember circling the ad and getting the train from Huntingdon East Anglia where I lived with my parents,”;; she says.
“I was desperate to break into the music industry and would attend up to seven auditions a week.”;;
The Spice Girls audition was held in the top floor studios at Pineapple Studios in Marylebone London.
“There were all shapes and sizes of girls there,”;; Mel recalls.
“Some were experienced and I’d seen them at other auditions and others were clearly newbies to the try-out scene.”;;
Mel and the other girls were taken into the studio, and each had a chance to sing for producers.
“When it was my turn, I sang the ballad ‘And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going’ before passing the mike to the next person,”;; she explains.
“Some of the girls trying out were super confident, others shy and some clearly trained dancers. It was competitive.
“We all wanted to be noticed. You had to stand out and bring the magic.”;;
After sitting through 400 auditions the casting agents called out the names of the girls they wanted to see at the next audition.
“I held my breath hoping for a call back,”;; Mel says.
“And then the casting director called out Melanie Chisholm, Melanie Brown and Victoria Addams.”;;
As a disappointed Mel grabbed her portfolio to leave an assistant tapped her on the shoulder and said she was wanted as well.
“We want you too – you must stay,”;; she said.
Mel and the seven other girls who made it through to the next round of auditions were making global entertainment history – the creation of The Spice Girls.
In the first round Mel sang a solo and then the girls got broken into groups of 10 to dance to the song ‘Stay’.
I could have made millions, married a football player and ended up with houses all over the world
Mel Coloma
Mel explains: “My group included Melanie Brown or ‘Scary Spice.’
“She and I hit it off. We chatted about other auditions. I remember thinking she was a great dancer and had a great look.”;;
Mel’s second audition as part of the final eight at Nomis Studios in Shepherds Bush in London.
who would become Ginger Spice had missed the first audition and blagged her way into the second try out in April.
“We had to sing again,”;; said Mel. Then we were put into groups of three.
“My group was Geri, myself, and another girl. The third girl was quite confident, but Geri and I worked well together.
“It was a teamwork exercise in making up steps as a group. She and I really got along. We’d both been doing the audition rounds and made the team exercise work for us.
“Mel C, Geri and I were like all the other girls doing auditions then. You showed up, auditioned, and then headed off to the next try out. You never knew when you’d hear back.”;;
The auditions had been organised by Chris and Bob Herbert who ran Heart Management and wanted to create a girl band that could compete with boy bands dominating the UK pop charts at the time.
Together with financier Chris Murphy they wanted five different girls who would appeal to different segments of the audience.
“We were told the audition was for a group called Touch.
“Touch never made it, but instead the Spice Girls were born.
After the second audition Mel was told her voice was too strong and may dominate a group.
“I remember thinking Mel B performed incredibly well at the auditions and Geri had reddish hair and was full of energy,”;; she said. “I knew my style was like those girls.
“At the time it was just another audition.
It wasn’t until two years later that I switched on the TV and saw the video for Wannabe and saw someone that looked familiar.
“Mel B’s face flashed up on the screen and everything fell into place. This was the group I’d been a part of.
“I’d assumed it hadn’t come to anything because it had been two years, and I’d never heard anything about Touch. But there they were.”;;
With hits like Wannabe and Mama, they were to become the world’s biggest girl band, a symbol of female empowerment and an iconic part of music history.
But their decade of dominance ended abruptly in 2000 when the band announced their decision to go their separate ways.
Since then, Mel, 50, who is separated and still based in Huntingdon, has never forgotten how she could have been the real Posh.
“I could have been a Spice Girl,”;; said Mel. “Instead, I’m a mum of two and work in a hospital.
“People are stunned I got to sing with Geri Halliwell and Mel B making it through to the final group. It was an amazing experience.”;;
Mel’s career didn’t suffer either.
“I got signed to a girl group and we recorded one song,”;; she says.
“Then I became a lead vocalist for a cruise line performing in the Caribbean, South America, and the Mediterranean on cruise ships.
Mel toured Britain in the ‘What A Feeling’ stage show as an understudy for the then pop star Sonia.
However, Mel feels that the music industry has changed dramatically since her audition.
“The music industry is so different today,”;; she says.
“The rise of AI technology and factory style bands has changed music forever.
“The Spice Girls auditions offered anyone who showed up the chance to be a star. I loved that.
“Today it’s who you know, how much money you have behind you all with a lot of help from auto-tune.
“I perform at weekends at weddings and posh events. My brother Warren Lacchoee, 43 and I are a duo called The Decanters, and we’re regularly booked for music festivals, restaurants, and nightclubs.
“Singing is in my DNA.
“I could have made millions, married a football player and ended up with houses all over the world.”;;
Instead, Mel lives in a three bed, semi-detached terraced house, she doesn’t regret not being picked and has not given up on performing.
“I have two amazing kids,”;; she said. “I travelled all over the world as a singer and dancer. I’m still singing on the weekends.
During the week Mel is a hospital operating theatre store manager looking after surgical equipment and supporting staff at Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon, East Anglia.
I was as good as any of the girls. I had a strong voice
Mel Coloma
In June 2003 Mel’s son Elliot, 22, a joinery company staffer was born and in August 2009 she welcomed her own ‘sporty spice’ daughter, Madison,now 15 who plays for Ipswich Town Football Club and pursuing a professional football career,
“I married and then sadly we divorced,”;; she says. “I knew I needed to focus on my children’s needs.”;;
But she’s always followed The Spice Girls.
“I am thrilled for the Spice Girls and knew when they pursued solo careers what pressures would have made them make that decision,”;; she adds.
“My kids just roll their eyes when I talk about The Spice Girls.
“I know it could have been me who was picked. The finalists were all evenly matched.
“I was as good as any of the girls. I had a strong voice.
“When we left the audition no one knew it would end up being an iconic part of the Spice Girls history.
Now history is going to be made again with the 30-year celebration of the group’s first single.
Mel says: “I am so proud to have been in the final eight. We were all as good as each other.
“That’s real girl power – Viva Forever I say.”;;
