The Spice Girls are still oceans apart when it comes to getting together.
First, it was Live 8 in 2005, and this time it’s the July 1 tribute to Princess Diana that the ’90s-era British pop stars will not be performing at, sticking a fork in yet another rumor that Scary, Sporty, Baby, Ginger and Posh are ready to take the stage again.
“Despite media speculation at this time, there is no confirmation of a Spice reunion,” Victoria Beckham’s rep, Cheryl Maisel, told E! News.
“Victoria is moving to L.A., Emma is due to have a baby and Mel B has only recently given birth, so at this time there really is nothing to confirm.”
A source told People, however, that Beckham, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton, Melanie Brown and Melanie Chisholm could all be caroling together come Christmastime.
“It should be happening in December,” the source said. “Geri [aka Ginger] and Emma [Baby] have been in the studio writing new material and they want to do a worldwide tour.”
People reported that a Spice Girls greatest hits album is in the works, with sources saying it will include several new songs–”one in particular is fantastic,” a recording studio insider said.
The Spice Girls, sort of the Backstreet Boys of England at the time (as in, they didn’t know each other and answered an ad in the paper looking for singer-dancers], was the brainchild of American Idol mastermind Simon Fuller, who signed the group to 19 Management in 1995, soon after which the ladies inked a deal with Virgin Records.
Halliwell left the group in 1998 and the remaining four Girls’ final studio album, 2000’s Forever, wasn’t one for the books, peaking at number 39 on the Billboard 200. After a few TV performances, including one at the MTV Europe Video Music Awards in November 2000, the Spice World stars went their separate ways.
The closest they’ve come to a reunion since was Bob Geldof’s announcement in 2005 that they were discussing an appearance at Live 8 that July in Hyde Park. Brown reportedly had a prior commitment in Los Angeles and the deal fell through.
Another insider told People that whether or not the reunion takes place this time hinges on Simon Fuller, now that Chisholm (Sporty) is finally on board.
“It’s been a long time coming and the negotiations have been going on for a while,” the insider told the magazine. “Mel C. was the last one to come onboard as she has been pushing her solo career.”
Chisholm started her own company, Red Girl Records, in 2004 and has released four solo albums, with her first, 1999’s Northern Star, being the most successful, hitting number four on the U.K. charts.
Meanwhile, Bunton, who appeared in a multi-episode arc on the final season of Absolutely Fabulous and has been busy making commercials in Britain, is expecting her first child with longtime boyfriend Jade Jones.
Brown gave birth to a baby girl, who may or may not be Eddie Murphy’s child, in April. The actor is listed as the father on Angel Iris Murphy Brown’s birth certificate, but paternity has not yet been established.
Halliwell also had a baby last year, Bluebell Madonna, whose Apr. 22 baptism attracted all of her mum’s group mates, minus Brown. The singer, who has released three solo albums, has also taken up writing, signing a six-book deal with Macmillan Children’s Books to pen a series revolving around a heroine named Eugenia Lavender.
And, considering she’s the most famous of the five–largely thanks to her tabloid-friendly marriage to U.K. soccer superstar David Beckham–it’s hard to imagine that Easy V would come for free.
Beckham, whose solo recording efforts picked up little steam but who had more success on the fashion-design front, has also remained tightlipped about any plans to Spice up her life in the near future.
She told a British radio station in October that she just didn’t think a reunion was going to happen.
“I think we’re all just happy doing our own thing now and, obviously, having three children, I can’t really see myself jumping around on the stage anymore,” she said.
The petite footballer’s wife is set to star in a one-hour prime-time NBC special chronicling her family’s relocation to Los Angeles, where her hubby has signed a $250 million deal (including salary and endorsements) to play for the local Galaxy for the next five years.
The NBC show was originally presented as a six-episode reality series, but Victoria reportedly opted to remain in England and watch David Beckham make his return to the national team rather than fly to L.A. to shoot more footage.
Posh and Becks are expected to make the transatlantic move in mid-July.
