Record-Mail- September 2000

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Back after three years, the world's biggest female band look more girlie than Girl Power

THESE are The Spice Girls - spiced up as never before and showing  more girlie power than Girl Power.

Emma Bunton has dropped her child-like ponytail in favour of flowing blonde hair extensions and Mel C is no longer sporting her trademark tracksuit.

Instead, she looks as though she's stepped straight off the set of Seventies American TV series The Brady Bunch, complete with fly-away hair.

Both Victoria Beckham and Melanie B have changed their image too, as they prepare to launch Forever, their first album in three years, on November 6.

The world's biggest-ever girl band have been writing and recording  the album for the last 14 months.

They travelled to a variety of studios in London, Miami and Los Angeles, teaming up with some of the top studio men in the business - including producers Rodney Jerkins, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

After a series of solo records and duets, the girls are back together with the first single from the album.

They release the up-tempo and funky Holler and ballad Let Love Lead The Way as a double A-side on October 23.

The video for Holler seems to be taking a leaf out of the Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue school - with The Spice Girls squeezed  into leather and looking mean and moody for director Jake Nava.

In the promo to the song, which is their ninth single, the girls represent the four elements, Mel C is Earth, Victoria is Air, Mel B  is Fire and Emma is Water.

To add to the excitement of the new Spice releases, Irish boy band Westlife have threatened to release their new album on the same day  as the new Spice long player, triggering a chart showdown.

The Sligo boys, who have topped the charts with all their releases to date, want to end the Spice Girls reign at the top of the British pop scene. Westlife's new album will be called Coast to Coast and their singer Kian Egan admitted: "We're really going all out to beat the Spice Girls to No.1 with our new album.

"There is nobody bigger than the Spice Girls, perhaps with the exception of us. It's our time and it's their time to move over."

The Spice Girls say they have no fear of the Irish newcomers. Mel C says: "We are stronger after being apart for a while and we're very happy to have been back together in the studio.

"This strength will show on this new album, which I think is our best yet."

Their track record is formidable - they released their first album, Spice, in 1996 and the follow-up, Spiceworld, was accompanied by the film of the same name and a sell-out world tour.

Since then, the girls have sold over 38 million albums world-wide and eight UK No.1 singles, among them three successive Christmas No.1 singles, a current all-time record.

In 1997, they received two Ivor Novello songwriting awards and stole the show at the Brit Awards, bagging Best Video, for Say You'll Be There and Best Single for Wannabe.

They also topped the American Billboard chart with Wannabe, another first for a debut UK single.

In 1998, their trophy cabinet became even fuller when the Spice Girls won two MTV awards for Best Pop and Best Group.

They were also given the special Outstanding Contribution To British Music Award at The Brit awards this year.

There is also the small matter of the pounds 25-million each notched up in royalties.

And lets not forget the departure of original Ginger Spice star, Geri Halliwell to pursue her solo career.

Since the completion of the world tour in 1998, the remaining Spice Girls have all been kept busy with their own solo projects, too.

In September 1998, Melanie B became the first solo Spice to get to No.1 when she released her collaboration with US R&B diva Missy  Elliot - I Want You Back.

Her new single, Tell Me, will be released on Monday, followed by the album Hot this October.

Meanwhile, Melanie C's double platinum selling album Northern Star  has spawned four four top five hits - two of which have been No.1.

The album still nestles in the UK Top 5 nearly a year after its release.

Emma Bunton provided lead vocals on Tin Tin Out's version of the Edie Brickell hit What I Am which made it to No.2 in the charts last November.

Victoria finally made her bid for fame, without the Spice Girls in tow, when she released last month's single Out Of Your Mind with Dane Bowers and The Truesteppers.

She also had a taste of TV presenting last year, when she hosted Channel 4's Victoria's Secrets - interviewing Sir Elton John, Michael Parkinson, Vinnie Jones and Ruby Wax.

Each of the girls had little experience when they answered an advert in Stage magazine, placed in the search for a female version of Take That.

But a lot has happened to them since they stormed to the top with their debut hit, Wannabe.

Melanie B, now 26, wed Jimmy Gulzar at the height of the band's fame  - before taking time out.

She became mum to little Phoenix Chi only to split from the dancer husband she had fallen for during a UK tour with the band.

Mel C, meanwhile, was dogged by rumours that she was a lesbian and that a publicised romance with Five star J was rigged.

And you would have to have been holed up on Mir not to know that Victoria wed David Beckham, becoming mum to little Brooklyn.

Victoria admits she could never have enjoyed a fairy-tale marriage  had it not been for her Spice Girls fame. And she admits the Manchester United star is the driving force behind her solo work as well as her continued faith in the Spice Girls.

Signs that the Spice Girls are still a force to be reckoned with, despite their lengthy absence as a band are easy to find.

Last year alone, the girls each earned pounds 6 million - despite no official releases by the band.

Meanwhile, ITV are to show exclusive fly-on-the-wall footage of the Spice Girls before they were famous in a Christmas TV Special - after bidding pounds 300,000 for the embarrassing footage.

It shows the fledgling Spice Girls holed up in a semi-detached home  in Maidenhead, Berks.

Although the footage will show the girls bickering and struggling to come to terms with being thrown together after auditions, each of  them insists they are the greatest of friends to this day.

That could keep them together as a group for years to come.

But Mel C says: "Who knows how long the Spice Girls will last? Victoria has been in the studio and we all have solo projects.

"Mel B's got her album. Emma is hoping to do the Sleeping Beauty  movie and soundtrack and we'll continue solo records."

"But the new album is the best Spice songs we've ever written. Things happen so quickly in Spiceworld. It only seems like five minutes  since we were on tour."