Melanie C says Spice Girls’ 30th anniversary was ’emotional’

Spice Girls star Melanie C has said the 30th anniversary of the band’s debut single Wannabe – which fell on Wednesday – was a “very emotional day”.

The singer formerly known as Sporty Spice recalled that seeing the song in shops had been “so exciting, because it was everything we dreamed of”.

The track went on to become one of the defining singles of the 1990s, selling more than 8 million copies worldwide, and launching the band’s Girl Power agenda.

“We knew exactly what we wanted to achieve but nobody imagined the scale [of what] we went on to do,” said the star, whose real name is Melanie Chisholm.

“We went out, we conquered the world.

“We were told that we couldn’t, and we wouldn’t. But we did.”

The 52-year-old was speaking at the Nordoff And Robbins Silver Clef Awards at the Royal Albert Hall, where she was honoured with the global impact award.

The Spice Girls celebrated Wannabe’s 30th birthday with separate posts on social media earlier this week.

Victoria Beckham said, external the song had “forever changed our lives”, while Geri Horner wrote, external: “Thank you to my beautiful spice sisters.”

“It was a very emotional day yesterday,” Chisolm said on the red carpet. “We’re all in touch obviously, all of the girls, we’re so grateful and respectful of each other.”