Emma Bunton: ‘Whenever I see Little Mix I say, ‘Please, get some sleep!” Ahead of the Spice Girls’ reunion and with a new solo album, Emma Bunton talks about the band’s feminist legacy and her advice to Little Mix

The Spice Girls are the best-selling female group of all time, the biggest British pop success since The Beatles. They transformed fan culture, inspiring fashion and a generation of young musicians, and pioneered “girl power”.

Twenty-five years on, they still dominate tabloid headlines. Is the world tour cancelled? What is the story behind Victoria Beckham rejecting this summer’s reunion? And what’s the truth about Mel B and Geri Horner’s lesbian tryst? Juicy.

“Am I still attached to the nickname ‘Baby’? Absolutely!” The i newsletter latest news and analysis Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription.

I am specifically warned not to ask Emma Bunton about the last when we meet. Today, her first solo album in 12 years, My Happy Place, is released. It is a collection of sweet covers of songs such as “Here Comes the Sun” and “Come Away With Me”, duets with her fiancé Jade Jones and Robbie Williams, and a couple of original songs. Like her, it is pleasant.

Fortunately, she is happy to chat more about every-thing Spice Girls (lesbian fling aside), though if you believe her version of events, they were in bed by 10pm getting room service through most of the 90s.

Baby Spice, from Finchley in north London, was always the innocent one – the youngest and girliest, she joined the band last, was known for her love of pink and babydoll dresses, and always had her mum nearby.

Those identities – Baby, Ginger, Posh, Scary, Sporty – are “exactly how we were”, she says. “Obviously, we became caricatures, but we tried to dress the same at the beginning, and it was the funniest thing. Geri bought a load of Adidas T-shirts from Camden Market and we tried them on with our jeans. I tried to get everyone in my dresses – poor Mel C, can you imagine? We just thought, ‘This is so weird. Mel, put your tracksuit on; Geri, get your hotpants on; just be whatever you want.’”

It meant every fan, girl or boy, had something to cling to. “That’s the thing that stands out about our connection to fans, who’d say, ‘I’m sporty, I can wear my tracksuit and feel comfortable’. Or ‘I like pink and felt silly before, but I don’t have to now. I don’t have to conform to a certain way.’”

“Girl power” was a phenomenon: some grandly claim it was their feminist awakening, others condemn it as a capitalist death knell for feminism. For many, it was simply something to screech at the boys in the playground.

‘I never felt embarrassed about staying at home with my mum. I knew I was doing all the business stuff as well’

“Absolutely!” she says, when I ask if she is still attached to Baby. Surely, though, a nickname like that is fun as a teenager but soon outgrown? (She is now 43, lives in Barnet, and has two sons.) Did she ever want to throw it off and just be Emma?

“No! I was quite happy. I was the youngest, of course, and I loved being at home with my mum, and didn’t feel embarrassed about that. Because I knew that I was doing all the business stuff as well. The way I dressed, the fact that I was homely, that was not all of me.”

So nobody ever underestimated – or infantilised – her? “I always spoke up and had my own opinion when we had business meetings. I was a pretty strong female.” Any cynicism was aimed at the band as a group.

“Even to this day, people ask, ‘Did you really write your songs? That’s quite frustrating,” she says, with a sigh. “We know we wrote them. We got paid for it! If they don’t believe it, they don’t believe it.”

Rehearsals for their tour have not started yet, but “constant” meetings have. “We’re four businesswomen and we deal with everything. People are quite surprised. I don’t know why.”

What is the dynamic between “the girls” like, now they are older? “Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had ups and downs. But we’re all very respectful of each other and honest. In the early days it was a bit more hectic, but we don’t ever want to lose that. That’s what makes it magic – we’re fiery.”

The Spice Girls might have been manufactured, but they were always in control. “We went to [manager] Simon Fuller with our whole first album. We went, ‘Right, this is what we want to do, we want to be international and you’re the one to do it.’ Once you start that way, it’s natural.”

‘Smash Hits wouldn’t give us a cover, because ‘girls don’t sell magazines’. We said, ‘No way!’’

We talk about #MeToo, and whether it has made her reflect on her own experiences. “Definitely. The strength of people being able to talk about these things is exactly what we need. I feel lucky that as a group we looked after each other. We stood our ground.

“Right at the beginning, Smash Hits wouldn’t give us a cover, because ‘girls don’t sell magazines’. We said, ‘No way, we’re having that cover!’ We had our own little movement going on.”

Back to girl power, then. She says it’s evolved. “Now it’s people power. We’re all striving for more now, juggling children and work. Why shouldn’t we? We should be able to do everything.”

The vast majority of current female pop stars and girl bands cite the Spice Girls as an inspiration. Is that a strange responsibility? “They often say, ‘If it wasn’t for you…’ It’s flattering.”

‘Whenever I see Little Mix, I’m like, ‘Listen, don’t work too hard, please get some sleep!’’

Little Mix bear the crown at the moment. “They’re adorable, they’re strong females, they look after each other. Whenever I see them, I’m like, ‘Listen, don’t work too hard, please get some sleep!’ They’re probably thinking, ‘All right, mum,’ but I remember Gwen Stefani from No Doubt came into our dressing room and said, ‘Is everything good? Make sure you get your sleep.’ That was so nice.”

I’m surprised. I’d imagined people would do their damnedest to lead the Spice Girls astray. “Right, yeah”, she says. Hmm. “We were so busy, do one gig and fly to the next – it was constant. My mum travelled with me a lot as well, thank goodness.”

Mel C, Mel B and Geri have openly discussed the impact of superstardom on their body image and mental health since, but Bunton has divulged no such trauma. What protected her? “It’s hard to say. But having my family based in London gave me stability. I’ve never not gone home at the end of the day.” Now, she says, she’s “pretty glad” social media wasn’t around then.

Bunton’s treasured memories of the band’s reign tumble out – sentences trail off as if overflowing. “Meeting Nelson Mandela, the Queen, going to Prince Charles’s house and hanging out with Princes William and Harry – we were never quiet about those things, we would scream. We were young and excited, why shouldn’t we show those emotions?

“Just travelling with the girls and the jetlagged laughs, watching movies, getting room service, our first time in Japan, going in disguise to karaoke. And the London Olympics closing ceremony, my favourite moment, representing our country.”

Will the magic will still be there next month? Everything is a secret – except Beckham’s absence, which came as no shock. “She’s so supportive. We feel very comfortable as a four now.” Expect platform trainers, double-bun hair, Union flag minidresses, catsuits, tracksuits, leopard print. Will there be a Spice Bus, the double-decker monster from 1997’s seminal Spiceworld: The Movie? She draws her hands over her mouth and her eyes widen. “Ooh… Huh…. You’re gonna have to wait and see.” Hai, si, ja, hold tight!

‘My Happy Place’ is out now; ‘Spice World 2019’ tours the UK from 27 May to 15 June