It's all here: the council estate childhood, the formation of the Spice Girls, the early months being groomed for stardom, the subsequent global domination, Geri's departure, the marriage - and acrimonious divorce - to Jimmy Gulzar, the birth of Phoenix Chi, the solo career and the leap into TV presenting. Not bad for the rebellious, mixed-up girl from Leeds who is still only in her mid-20s. Born to a working-class mixed-race family from Leeds (her mother took extra work cleaning toilets to pay for her dancing lessons), Melanie B grew up feeling different from her schoolfriends. Her hyperactive energy was channelled into drama school, and in 1994 the Spice Girls were formed. The rest is history.
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In Catch a Fire, her frank and frothy if rather flabby autobiography, Mel B--"Scary Spice"--gives her side of the Spice Girls story. There are a few minor gibes at Mel C (and it's amusing to learn that in the fab five's early days the stick-like Posh did actually subsist on bread sticks), but otherwise fellow Spicies emerge largely unscathed. Those of a more salacious disposition will, however, be pleased to learn that former Spice Girl manager Simon Fuller and ex-husband Jim do not fare quite so well.
Mel explores her formative years in considerable detail here--perhaps in too much detail: there are, for example, more pages devoted to her parents' wallpapering techniques than to Geri Halliwell's dramatic departure from the Spice Girls. Born into a poor mixed race family in Leeds, Mel had a far from cushy childhood. Always a live wire, she admits to finding school boring but says she excelled in dance. Skipping most of her GCSEs to attend auditions, she made her professional stage debut dancing in Blackpool at 16 years of age. Crowned Miss Leeds Weekly News in 1992, she found herself on the "mad ride" to pop superstardom just two years later after being selected to join what was to become the sensational Spice Girls. "I was already living in a busy bus terminal and suddenly it became a train station and an airport all in one" she says of the headiest moments of Spice mania. As this memoir makes clear, Mel is now older, wiser and enjoying being a single mother. With a successful solo career in music, on stage and on television under her belt, she's no longer Scary but, perhaps, Cilla Black in waiting. --Travis Elborough
Review
It's all here: the council estate childhood; the formation of the Spice Girls; the early months of being groomed for stardom; the subsequent global domination; Geri's departure; the marriage - and acrimonious divorce - to the strangely passive Jimmy Gulzar; the birth of Phoenix Chi (unlikely names being de rigueur for pop-star sprogs); the solo career and the move into TV presenting. As few people in the Western world have not heard of Melanie B, the in-your-face loudmouth who is a member of one of the most popular bands of all time, interest is guaranteed. Is she too young to tell her own story? Perhaps - but the fans will ensure healthy sales (before the Spice Girls join all the other pass pop groups cluttering up the remainder bins).
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By shansu69
Format:Hardcover
This is a great little read,Mel B or Scary Spice delivers a well written honest account of her life before and after fame along with the madness of what it was like in the Spice Girls at their peak of power .
The book starts with an honest well written account of her parents get together and life as a mixed race couple in the north of england in the 1970's.When Mel comes along and starts growing up she tells us with the same honesty that pervades the book throughout what it was like to be a mixed race child growing up not being black or white.
It then goes into the one thiong Mel says saved her and ultimately put her on the road to success-dancing,the dancing lessons led to a career which ultimately led to the Spice Girls and to her doomed marriage to Jimmy Gulzar a man she realised she didnt love before they got married.
Written with candour and honesty this book is better than Geri Halliwells 1st effort and as good as Victoria Beckhams book a well worth reading book if you are interested in life behind the glitz and glamour of being a star.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By ME
Format:Hardcover
I was amazed by Geris' first book, Victoria's was great - so I couldn't wait to see what Scary Spice had to say. I was particularly interested on her perception on Geri's departure from the Spice Girls as Victoria's & Geri's book completely conflict each other.
Catch a fire begins with her childhood, a surprisingly detailed account of how her parents got together and their life before she's even born. The book is very well blocked out - childhood, teens, early Spice Girls, world Phenomenon, marriage, motherhood and life after. You would hope so, after all, she had two other spice girls give her the perfect template!
I was surprised by her honest portrayal of her difficult relationship with her strict father and was amazed by her very calm explanation of her overdose. I think she's dealt with it by writing as though it happened to someone else. Her teenage years and her dancing are very real, you can tell she's enjoyed putting it all down on paper and her personality shines through.
It goes on to explain her first professional work as a dancer with her summer seasons in Blackpool, her dance college, her beauty queen title and then her endless auditions. Being an ex dancer I immediately absorbed all this, but anyone interested in exactly how someone goes from being a nobody to a superstar will be fascinated also. I really liked the way she was honest - even though (sometimes) it made her sound selfish or bitchy. She really doesn't give a damn if people don't like her and has a fighter's spirit. You get a real sense of who Melanie B is.
Her account on the early Spice girls was also very interesting - unlike Geri & Victoria, she admits that she didn't immediately adore the other girls; she had her reservations and slowly sussed them out. The rest of the book charts their rise of fame, already covered in the other Spice autobiographies. I'm glad she's had a chance to give her side of the story on her marriage. It's easy to say it's not very 'girl power' to stay with an oppressive man but it's more complicated then that & she explains this very well.
She covers nearly everything that has been said about her in the papers except her suspected boob job. In her acknowledgements she says to Victoria "We made it through pregnancy...and many other things". A secret reference possibly?! I was extremely surprised she left a little acknowledgement to Geri and a very nice one too. Melanie doesn't really go into how she felt when Geri left which was a shame as they were best friends. Surely she felt more then her explanation of thinking it was a joke and then getting on with organising her fathers birthday and choreography changes? That was the only disappointment. In Victoria's' book you can almost hear her seething she was so furious at 'traitor' Geri.
This book is witty and honest - I especially loved her first period story - hilarious! All in all I think this book would do very well if she just damn well promoted it!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Deano's
Format:Hardcover
This autobiography is a very honest insight into the life of Melanie B. Known for her loud and lary and very honest nature, Melanie B does not hold back in this book. It's a great read if your interested in the lives of the rich, famous and successful or if you just like reading an autobiography and especially if your a fan. The book starts off with Mel B's childhood, parents, family life, her excessive energy and growing up mixed race in a mostly white society. Mel B's very grounded and down-to-earth I find and the book is written in a way that you get the sense that she's telling the story of how just a normal girl from Leeds managed to change the music industry and become more famous than the people she idolised as a child with the help of the Spice Girls that conquered the pop world during the 90's. A few parts of the book are passages taken from Mel B's diary, especially during the first few hectic months when the Spice Girls where busy conquering the world and worked so hard as they did to achieve ultimate success. These are interesting to read and give you a picture of what it must be like being at the height of success. The book goes on to the story of how she gets into the band and onto living with the other girls and eventually the amazing story that is The Spice Girls, a little like Geri's "If Only" and Victoria's "Learning To Fly", she is frank over her feelings about relationships, Geri leaving the band, her ex-husband Jimmy Gulzar and where she is at in her life. It's a good read 9/10
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Totall y Honest!!!
Scary Spice comes back with yet something to tell all of us the truth, A truth behind her family, Beginning and the ending of the Spice Girls, Her success stories, The downfall,... Read more
Published on 8 Aug 2004 by "cadetspice007"
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Read
This book was very honest and an interesting insight into the life as a Spice Girl. It also covers Mel growing up and how she got her big break to become one of the most famous... Read more
Published on 13 Aug 2003
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Good Read
This book was very honest and an interesting insight into the life as a Spice Girl. It also covers Mel growing up and how she got her big break to become one of the most famous... Read more
Published on 13 Aug 2003
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must Read! Gotta love Mel B =))
This book is worth reading. Mel gives details about how it was growing as a mixed raced child, how she blossomed into the person she is today. Read more
Published on 19 Sep 2002 by "jf83"
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