Mel B: The Spice Girls are back and we're writing new songs 

Mel B: The Spice girls are back ... and we're writing new songs

Three members of the world\'s most famous girlband have reunited, making music again for the first time in 16 years

Two decades after they first came zig-a-zig-ah’ing to public attention, the Spice Girls are back.

Three members of the world’s most famous girlband have reunited, making new music for the first time in 16 years.

The Mirror can reveal Geri Horner , nee Halliwell, Melanie Brown and Emma Bunton have spent the past 48 hours holed up in London’s Play Deep Studios, working on previously unheard material.

With July marking 20 years since the original fivesome – including Victoria Beckham and Melanie Chisholm – released their first single, Wannabe, the trio are poised to release a new record later this year.

The group will also play a handful of dates worldwide in 2017, taking in both London and Los Angeles.

As our exclusive pictures show, the threesome were snapped entering the North London recording studio at lunchtime today, before emerging later.

Mel B , 40, also Instagrammed a photo of the girls together, captioned: “And I say oohhhh LALA”.

Meanwhile, in an interview with the Mirror, she says: “It’s funny, because back in the day people thought we had everything written for us but we’ve always written all our own songs. That’s why we’ve won Ivor Novello awards and all sorts. Everything always comes from us, and to do something for our 20-year anniversary is the ultimate dream.

“If we do anything, we will be writing everything from scratch. We are all group texting and speak a lot.”

Read more: Mel B, Emma Bunton and Geri Horner get together for a Spice Girls reunion

While no record labels have yet been formally approached, there has already been a lot of interest behind the scenes. A multi-million bidding war is likely to ensue.

An as-yet unnamed album will be just the fourth released by the band. While the group are confident they can sell out arenas next year, Victoria, 42, ruled herself out.

A spokeswoman for the designer, aka Posh Spice , insisted she had not attended “any meetings” and had spent Tuesday “launching her forthcoming Estee Lauder collection” at her store.

She had jetted to Cannes film festival tonight, where she was pictured on the red carpet for the gala opening ceremony, her left wrist draped in diamonds.

A source said: “Talks between the girls have been on-running for the past 12 months. It’s an incredibly exciting time and they are loving being back together.

“The only person throwing a spanner in the works is Victoria, who has been a bit of a Debbie Downer about the whole thing. The feeling is she has gone all Hollywood and is deliberately trying to disassociate herself from her roots, which is sad. But the 20-year anniversary is gearing up to be something very special.”

With the release of Wannabe in 1996, the quintet became overnight superstars. The single topped the charts in 37 countries, and their debut album Spice sold 31 million copies worldwide.

Under manager Simon Fuller, Posh, Sporty, Scary, Baby and Ginger became household monikers, and the best-selling female group of all time.

They broke America in a way few UK bands have done. Even Prince Charles was a fan. According to Rolling Stone magazine, they were “the most widely recognised group of individuals since John, Paul, George and Ringo”.

But just two years later Geri stunned her bandmates, and a legion of fans, by announcing she was quitting the band.

In 2000 they released their third and final album, Forever, before announcing an “indefinite hiatus”. Two brief comebacks followed: the first in 2007 then their reunion for the London 2012 Olympics.

The girls remain in regular contact but have all pursued successful solo careers, in and out of the recording studio.

While four of them are based in London, Mel B lives in LA with husband Stephen Belafonte, 40, and her three children. She is in the capital ahead of tomorrow’s RBS-sponsored LGBT Awards.

Mel, who admitted to having previously dated a woman for four years, is hosting the star-studded annual event, at Grand Connaught Rooms, Covent Garden.

For the past nine years she has been with movie producer Stephen, whom she met on the set of film Talk, yet they have been plagued by rumours of a split.

Mel smiles: “My husband is my best friend and we know each other so well that we know what we are getting. But there are always rumours we are splitting up. We were at a friend’s bar mitzvah which Mariah Carey was hosting the other day, and two people were like, ‘Are you guys still together?’ We will be together forever.”

Mel, whose two-year marriage to dancer Jimmy Gulzar ended in 2000, adds: “I’ve already had one failed marriage so I definitely don’t want to have another one. Stephen is a bit crazy, but then I am a bit crazy so it kind of evens itself out. Actually, we are talking about renewing our vows.”

The pair tied the knot in June 2007 and welcomed first child together, Madison Brown, four years later.

The singer has daughters, Phoenix, 17, from her first marriage to Jimmy, and Angel, nine, from her fling with actor Eddie Murphy.

Mel admits she and Stephen do have their “moments”. Similarly, her work schedule – she has been shooting America’s Got Talent for the past few months – has been tough. She says: “It’s a balance and a constant juggling act. We are both very busy and sometimes it’s hard to see one another.

“Obviously looking after the kids is our priority and it can be hard to find time together, without them.

“But Stephen can be quite romantic. He sent me flowers at work recently with a really sweet message because he knew I was knackered, doing 12-hour days, 10 days straight. We are both pretty thoughtful, though, and I feel very happy.”

Two years after leaving the British version of The X Factor , she now remains in the frame for a return to the show.

Scary by name, scary by nature, Mel has a reputation for being, well, tricksy in interviews. Happily, I needn’t have worried. When I mention her fearsome reputation, she laughs and replies: “So that’s your headline sorted then: ‘Mel B – what a bitch!’”

She adds: “I’m a softie in real life. I think kids soften you a little bit. As an independent woman, you have to be somewhat selfish and disciplined with yourself, but when it comes to my friends and my family I have an abundance of love.”

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