Melanie C recalls being pelted with bottles at V99 festival after Sex Pistols cover

Key facts

• Melanie C performed a Sex Pistols cover at V99 Festival in Chelmsford, England, in 1999.
• She changed the lyric to 'I am an antichrist, I am a Sporty Spice'.
• She was hit with bottles and possibly urine during the performance.
• She met Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols at the Viper Room in LA while working on her debut album 'Northern Star'.
• Her new album 'Sweat' is released on Friday, May 1.
• She started strength training after a girl tried to beat her up at school.
• She can barbell bench press 38kg and dumbbell bench press 40kg.
• The Red Hot Chili Peppers' song 'Emit Remmus' was written about her.

A baptism of fire at V99

Melanie C, the former Sporty Spice, has revealed the chaotic reception she received when she performed a Sex Pistols cover at the V99 Festival in Chelmsford, England, in 1999. In a new interview with The Guardian, she recalled changing the opening lyric of 'Anarchy in the U.K.' to 'I am an antichrist, I am a Sporty Spice' and being met with a shower of bottles from the crowd. 'I went in completely and utterly naively and I did receive quite a few bottles,' she said. 'There might have been some urine.' The performance stemmed from an encounter with Steve Jones, the Sex Pistols guitarist, while she was in Los Angeles working on her debut solo album 'Northern Star'. Jones was playing with his band the Neurotic Outsiders at the Viper Room, where they invited guests on stage. 'People like Billy Idol would get up and one week they got me up and I did a couple of Sex Pistols songs,' she explained. 'So I incorporated it in my set.'

The price of Spice Girls fame

Melanie C spoke candidly about the loss of normalcy after the Spice Girls formed in the mid-1990s. 'That was the thing, although all of my wildest dreams were coming true through being part of the Spice Girls, real life was put on hold,' she said. 'The schedule was brutal. There was very little time for socializing.' The relentless attention from tabloid media and paparazzi added to the pressure. 'Also, you remember those times in the '90s, right? The tabloid media and paparazzi were on you like a hawk. So we were terrified. Anything we ever did was usually published in a newspaper, so in our downtime we tried to keep it low key,' she recalled.

The moment Spice mania hit

Melanie C pinpointed the exact moment she realized her life had irrevocably changed. In 1996, after the release of 'Wannabe' in the UK, the single entered the charts at No. 3. She had appeared on 'Surprise Surprise' with Cilla Black and expected to be recognized the next day, but no one batted an eyelid. Then the group went to Japan for two weeks, during which 'Wannabe' climbed to No. 1 and stayed there. 'So when we came back, everything had changed. There were fans at the airport. That was when Spice mania really hit,' she said.

A secret date with Anthony Kiedis and a song written about her

Melanie C revealed that the Red Hot Chili Peppers' song 'Emit Remmus' was written about her. The track, whose title is 'summer' spelled backwards, came about after she worked with producer Rick Rubin on 'Northern Star'. Rubin, a close friend of Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis, played her the song in his Rolls-Royce after a mixing session. 'I was a little bit embarrassed because it's a bit saucy. But I was so flattered because I'm a huge Red Hot Chili Peppers fan,' she said. She confirmed that she and Kiedis went on a date and spent time together, though it was not a fully formed relationship. 'Being in LA was a magical time,' she added. She also recalled having dinner with Madonna at the end of the Spiceworld tour in 1998, after receiving a call from the singer herself.

From raver to DJ: reclaiming her youth

Melanie C traced her love of dance music back to her first holiday without parents, when she discovered raving at a club playing house music. 'I was like, “Oh my God, I’ve found my people.” That’s where I got the bug,' she said. She frequented clubs like Berwick Manor in Essex and the Cross in King’s Cross, but the Spice Girls quickly consumed her life. Eight years ago, she started DJing, which she says has 'completely changed my life'. 'It reconnects me with that 17-year-old who used to go out raving. I get the opportunity to play the music I love. I dance my socks off and I get paid. It’s bloody brilliant,' she said. Her new album 'Sweat', out on Friday, May 1, reflects this clubby energy.

Strength, tattoos, and a gold tooth

Melanie C discussed her early adoption of tattoos and a gold tooth as a way to stand out. 'I think I was probably one of the first women who was in the public eye with very visible and big tattoos. Now more people have them than don’t. It’s incredible,' she said. She got her first tattoo with the Spice Girls at Tattoomania in LA, picking designs off the wall. She also revealed her strength training stats: a barbell bench press of 38kg and a dumbbell bench press of 40kg. She started lifting weights after a girl at school tried to beat her up. 'I asked my dad for a weight bench that year for Christmas from Argos. So that’s when I started my strength training journey because I just thought: “I want to be able to handle myself,”' she said.

Looking ahead: new album and no regrets

As she releases 'Sweat', Melanie C expressed no regrets about her past, including the lyrics to her 2000 single 'If That Were Me': 'I couldn’t live without my phone, but you don’t even have a home.' She said the line was 'a bit niche' at the time but 'now, it’s really freaking true.' She acknowledged moments of lacking confidence in her personal life that affected her music, but not on this new record. She also addressed the Spice Girls' adoption of the phrase 'girl power', acknowledging that the band Shampoo had a single called 'Girl Power' in 1996. 'I don’t really remember how we ended up going with it. But we loved Shampoo. We were big fans,' she said. When asked what spice she would be, she chose 'five spice' for her versatility across musical theatre, DJing, television, and radio. 'A little bit of everything. Let’s go with that,' she said.

The bottom line

• Melanie C was pelted with bottles and possibly urine at V99 after performing a Sex Pistols cover with altered lyrics.
• The Spice Girls' fame led to a brutal schedule and intense tabloid scrutiny, making normal life impossible.
• The moment Spice mania hit was when 'Wannabe' went to No. 1 while the group was in Japan, leading to fans at the airport.
• Anthony Kiedis wrote the Red Hot Chili Peppers song 'Emit Remmus' about Melanie C after a brief date.
• Melanie C started strength training after a school bullying incident and now benches 38kg barbell and 40kg dumbbell.
• Her new album 'Sweat' reflects her rediscovered love of raving and DJing, which she calls 'bloody brilliant'.