Emma Bunton relaunching her solo career by signing major new deal with BMG – despite Spice Girls reunion
I can reveal Emma Bunton has signed a new record deal with BMG, the label whose acts include Kylie Minogue, Boy George and Rick Astley.
Baby Spice’s shock return to music comes 11 years after her last single was released on Spice manager Simon Fuller’s record label 19.
Emma has been recording the album for two years now and was always planning to release it in 2019, regardless of whether the Girls reunited.
The deal tops what has been an incredible few months for Emma, who is on a professional high as a solo artist. Along with Mel B, she has been the driving force behind the Spice Girls reunion since 2012, when they were last together on stage.
Her hard work to bring the remaining four members together paid off this week, when the biggest-selling girl group in history shifted more than 700,000 tickets to a fast-growing Spice stadium tour in just 24 hours.
She has just secured the highly coveted role as host of the American version of the Great British Bake Off, where she will work alongside Paul Hollywood. And she remains a highly successful breakfast DJ on Heart FM in the cut-throat London market.
But before becoming a media personality, she had a highly successful solo career following the Spice Girls’ decision to go on hiatus, scoring seven top ten singles.
She achieved her first solo chart-topper in April 2001 after reuniting with Spice Girls collaborator Biff Stannard on What Took You So Long?
Going on to prove her song-writing talents, she penned feel- good track Take My Breath Away with legendary hitmaker Steve Mac, which reached No5 in the charts.
Her debut solo album A Girl Like Me went on to sell more than 500,000 copies worldwide as Emma proved she had enough Girl Power to become a star in her own right.
Her Sixties-inspired second album, including hits Free Me and Maybe, peaked at No7 in 2004.
And Downtown, her lead single from third album Life in Mono, was another smash, reaching No3 in the charts.
When I sat down with Emma — resplendent with her futuristic pink hairstyle — last week for a world exclusive interview with the re-formed Spice Girls, she was on sparkling form.
She told me: “It’s wonderful to speak to fans, friends, family who are just like, ‘Wow, seeing you back together, it’s like our history, our generation’.
“And then we’ve got a whole new Spice generation with children that are coming up to us. It’s been an incredible week for us, hasn’t it?”
With news of a solo record to throw into the mix, that’s an understatement.
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'They've ditched Girl Power slogan for People Power'
WHY have the reunited Spice Girls (even without Victoria Beckham) become a phenomenon again?
Two decades after Girl Power mania first hit, they’re breaking all their previous tour sales records.
Here are my five reasons why – one for each original member.
- Baby, Scary, Sporty and Ginger sat down with me this week to pledge their reunion would offer joy and bring some light after a dark year of #MeToo, Brexit uncertainty and political divides. In fact, they called on Brits to come together behind Theresa May to help stop the divisions in society. There has been no better moment in our recent history for some unadulterated Spice joy.
- For a generation of young women (and Spice Boys like me) who grew up in the Nineties, the group were hugely influential on our self-esteem. They taught us to feel empowered simply by being ourselves. That’s a message that I believe has helped change the world – and we all want to celebrate where it began. Plus, we can afford the ticket now, without pleading for extra pocket money from mum and dad.
- The world’s most influential pop star, Adele, made a rare foray on to social media to post a picture of herself as a young girl surrounded by Spice Girls posters with the caption: “I am ready.” Other celebrities such as Sam Smith, Jess Glynne and Lady Gaga have made it clear that the group were highly influential in their music careers.
- While Posh Spice sadly backed out of the reunion after raising hopes earlier in the year, she made it clear she supports the other four continuing the Spice Girls dream. Mel C, Geri and Emma wisely met up with her a few days before the reunion to explain their plans. So when she publicly endorsed the reunion, wishing her former band “So much love and fun as they go back on tour next year”, it made many Victoria fans feel OK about supporting the new line-up.
- In my interview, Geri and Emma revealed the Spice Girls have ditched their iconic Girl Power slogan to launch People Power for their reunion. While some critics accused them of buying into PC language, I think it’s the opposite. They were making the point that we should be gunning for true equality these days in every way, even when it comes to our love of the greatest girl group ever.
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Si: It's no 'Life for me
WHEN Westlife reformed, many thought Simon Cowell would sign them to his Syco label, given his former working relationship with the Irish boy band and their manager Louis Walsh.
But the X Factor mogul this week told me he turned down the reunion in June because the timing didn’t allow him to make a documentary charting their comeback.
The Syco record company boss explained: “They came to the house, had a fantastic meeting. But the deal wasn’t a great deal because the truth is they’re going to make a ton of money on ticket sales.
“I would have preferred to have done the deal with a documentary first. The timing didn’t work so I said to Louis, ‘I can’t make the numbers work just on records’ – and that was it.”
In an exclusive interview, Cowell also denied claims published online this week that his decision to walk away from Little Mix was because their management company Modest are representing the reunited Spice Girls, working with his arch rival Simon Fuller.
He said: “I had a feeling this was coming. But it’s not true.
“I knew about the Spice Girls and had helped Modest get to meet Mel B when they came to America’s Got Talent.”
Cowell has been brutally honest with me this week about so many sensitive matters, so I have no doubt he’s telling the truth here too.
Wootton's Week
