Melanie C plays an intimate show in Leeds as she launches Sweat. She also has the help of a very special ‘spicy’ guest.
A NIGHT OF FUN
A night of so much fun! Melanie Chisholm said she is at the stage of life where she feels confident and wants to enjoy life to the full. I felt that is exactly how the crowd was feeling too. Melanie came out in a royal blue Adidas tracksuit full of life and started singing Sweat. The crowd was singing along to every word like the album had been out for more than just a day! Melanie had the best rapport with her audience. You could tell many in the room had been following Melanie since her Spice Girl days in the 90s. One of the audience members shouted to Melanie to ask ‘if she had opened any of her presents yet’? Mel replied saying she has to work first and then all the fun stuff comes after.
NEW & NOSTALGIC
The setlist was filled with new music and nostalgia from her early solo career. Never Be the Same Again was such a beautiful sing-a-long. Mel said her Dad was in the audience and dedicated an acoustic version of Northern Star to him. Melanie’s Dad wasn’t the only supporter in the crowd; fellow Spice Girl, Mel B had come down to Project House to support her friend. Melanie C said she doesn’t know if she can sing this next song without any help and told the audience how Mel B once said that there are no rules, and if there are, they can be broken. With that said, Leeds-born Melanie Brown joined her fellow Spice Girl band member on stage for a duet of Spice Up Your Life! One of the Spice Girls’ biggest hit singles. As soon as the opening la, la, la’s were sung, the crowd went wild with excitement! It was such a joy to witness such a special and iconic moment.
DRUM MACHINE
Melanie announced the next song Drum Machine to be her personal favourite on the album. Mel’s new album Sweat is a nod to her pre-Spice Girl days when she was 18 and was immersed in the rave scene in Spain. Melanie has gone back to her roots with this album, bringing euphoric and high-energy dance music to it. Of course, Mel is also a globally respected DJ so it makes perfect sense for her career to go in this direction.
The album is catchy, energising, and perfect to get you in the mood for the weekend or keep you motivated in the gym.
Photography by Sarah Fisher (@sarahinthepit). You can find more of her photography here.
Melanie C: Website