"I'm enjoying my solo work more than the Spice Girls ," Mel C., the artist occasionally known as Sporty Spice, admitted to a roomful of fans Thursday night at Toronto's Ted's Wrecking Yard. During the "103.5 Mel C. Christmas Party," as it was dubbed by the sponsoring radio station, Melanie Chrisholm played three sets of two songs each, accompanied by guitarist/backing vocalist Claire Nicolson, percussionist Fergus Gerrand and guitarist Paul Gendler. In between, she answered questions from about a dozen contest winners. (There were 103 in attendance.)

In the club setting, decorated with red drapes and Christmas ornaments, Mel C. stuck to material from her year-old debut solo album, Northern Star, which has sold a respectable 2.2 million copies worldwide. Wearing a long-sleeve blue "67" t-shirt and jeans, she stood confidently at the mike, swinging her hips sexily, while belting out "If That Were Me" and "Never Be the Same Again," before pausing for the question period.

Commended on handling the recent onslaught of press about her depression and eating disorder, she revealed that she would like to help out children with eating disorders "but do it privately." She also addressed the homeless issue on "If That Were Me," after which she recommended giving "a coupla quid or dollars" directly to the hands of a street-person even if it might go to "a fix to get them through the next day."

For the second short set, she sang "Closer" and "Northern Star," the latter containing the lyric, "They build you up, so they can tear you down," a reference to the press written long before the Spice Girls' new album Forever sold dismally out of the box.

During the second Q&A, when asked about Irish pop stars Westlife -- Spice Girls' chart rivals in the U.K. -- she admitted, "I really don't like their music," being sure to add that "they're nice guys."

Before capping off the forty-five-minute appearance with "Be the One" and a rockin' "Goin' Down," Mel C. reflected on her solo accomplishments this past year. "I was quite surprised how good I was . . . There's more to me than Sporty Spice."

KAREN BLISS
(December 16, 2000)