Melanie C at Brixton Academy

A few songs into tonight’s set, Melanie C (aka Mel C/Sporty Spice/Melanie Chisholm) momentarily pauses. “Fucking hell, that’s massive,” she laughs as her gaze travels across the sold-out Brixton Academy. “This is the biggest gig I’ve ever done as a solo artist,” she says, receiving a thunderous round of cheers from her adoring fans. The former Spice Girl is currently in the midst of a world tour promoting her ninth studio album Sweat – releasing by far the most solo albums from the girl group – and is pumped up and ready to go.

The huge stage transforms into a club with neon light strips everywhere, and Chisholm happily struts back and forth to the pounding dance and rave stylings of her newer material, instructing the room that “this show comes in sections like a workout”. It’s an unenviable task of balancing the new with the classics everyone is desperate to hear, yet Chisholm has no such problem; not only is it a well-crafted set with all 13 songs from Sweat (plus one unreleased track) alongside old favourites aplenty, there’s even a moment behind the decks as DJ Melanie C for a glorious couple of minutes.

“This next part is where we move our hips, you ready for that?” she asks before the noughties-esque confidence anthem Attitude. More than hips are moving for tracks like the frantic Pressure and the final dubstep climax of One Track Mind, as the singer dances freely with wild abandon while the neon flashes and the floor vibrates. Ironically, the acoustic section might be the loudest part of the whole evening; “Is there anyone here tonight who’s never seen the Spice Girls live?” the audience is asked, before the crowd nearly drowns out Chisholm’s singing with Viva Forever and Say You’ll Be There. “Let’s keep it going!” she gleefully says, launching into her beloved cover of When You’re Gone, before inviting collaborator Nadia Rose onstage for the rap section of Never Be the Same Again.

With the crowd satiated, Chisholm demands, “Do your stretches, because it’s time to sweat,” before reemerging in a glittering t-shirt dress for the new album’s titular track, everyone jumping along. Having noted she’s 30 years into her career, she performs with a dazzling energy many current pop stars can’t hold a candle to, hitting every single note she sings with ease.

Post-quick DJ break, there’s time for a couple more Spice Girls bangers in Who Do You Think You Are and Spice Up Your Life, reaching a euphoric frenzy as Chisholm breaks out the choreography many have undoubtedly devoted hours to learning. It’s been a brilliantly fun Friday evening, and Chisholm brings it to a close with one final dance in the pulsating thump of I Turn to You.

And so, Melanie C signs off with a salute of “Girl power!” Three decades in, tonight proves she absolutely is still a pop force to be reckoned with.

Gem Hurley
Photos: Paul Boyling

For further information and future events, visit Melanie C’s website here.

Watch the video for I Turn To You here: