SEPTEMBER 2002

27.09.2002 MEL B: I WANNABE A SPICER AGAIN...WITH GERI

HARD-UP MEL B is making a desperate attempt to re-form the SPICE GIRLS. 

Scary, whose solo singing career has bombed, flew to the US on Monday to talk to MEL C about reviving the fab five. 

Yes. five — Mel wants former band member GERI HALLIWELL back on board and insists the Spice Girls are NOT finished. 

After her final night in West End play The Vagina Monologues on Saturday, she told pals: “I’m off to America to see Mel C. The band ARE still together.” 

A friend tells me: “Mel B is going to visit Mel C to get plans started for a comeback. 

“Mel C is about to start promoting her second album and Mel is scared Sporty won’t want to come back to the band once her solo work gets in gear.” 

The pal added: “Both Posh and Sporty have said that the band is finished, but Mel B wants one last go. 

“Her acting career may be taking off but the music is where her heart is — and she has nothing left in that area.” 

Mel B plays a nurse in new BBC drama Burn It, which will hit screens next year. 

Mel C and Geri are the only Spice Girls with solo record deals after Virgin dropped Emma, Victoria and Mel B. 

An insider tells me that Mel B wants to set up massive live dates for the band as well as a new record — and she wants Popstars: The Rivals judge Geri involved. 

My source said: “It’s all very ironic. Mel was the one who originally engineered the band’s split to go solo, but she has had some financial worries recently. 

“Now she wants Geri to get back for some live dates. 

“It seems to hinge on whether Mel C’s solo career can work. 

“A Spice Girls stadium tour of the world would be a must for fans and it would be very lucrative for the girls, who have yet to really set the world alight outside the group.” 

In March, Mel B was forced to sell her £3.5million mansion because she was broke. Once reckoned to be worth £20million, her outrageous spending has left her struggling. 

Her bitter split with ex-husband JIMMY GULZAR cost £750,000. 

The Spice Girls were, or should that be are, the biggest girl band ever. 

They sold more than 30million records and were the first group to have their first six singles go straight in at No1 in the UK charts. 

In most cases, their solo careers did not enjoy the same level of success.

27.09.2002 THE SPICE IS NOT RIGHT FOR LOUIS

Popstars: The Rivals judge Louis Walsh has been giving the press his opinion of fellow judge Geri Halliwell. 

In an interview with the Daily Mirror Popstars: The Rivals judge Louis Walsh has hit out at Geri Halliwell. Fellow Judge Pete Waterman has already had a tongue lashing from the Irish Svengali along with the show’s hopefuls, but this time it’s the turn of former Spice Girl Geri.

He is quoted as saying: “ If Geri came to audition she wouldn’t get through. The Spice Girls couldn’t sing, couldn’t dance and they didn’t look good.”

On the positive side he does give her some credit thankfully: “Geri’s famous and she’s had a huge career because she’s very driven and ambitious and that’s what counts. She’s done fantastically well for a very ordinary girl with very ordinary talents..

27.09.2002 GERI MAY QUIT POP

Popstars: The Rivals judge Geri Halliwell has been telling the press that she may quit pop. 

Geri Halliwell has said that she may give up on pop after just one more album, reports the Daily Star. Talking about her future plans the paper quotes her as saying: "I really think it’s time for some changes.”

The revelation comes from her autobiography, Geri Halliwell – Just For The Record and strongly hints that she may well quit in the not too distant future. She says: “I’ve been on this planet almost 30 years. Maybe I should do one more album and then quit.

24.09.2002 GERI POTATO BLIGHT

DIET nut GERI HALLIWELL stunned canteen staff at a TV studio by demanding to see the size of their potatoes. 


She popped into the kitchen during a break from filming of The Frank Skinner Show for LWT. 

An insider said: “No one could believe she could be so picky.

“Geri didn’t like anything on the menu so asked them to make her a Caesar salad and a baked potato. But before anyone could put the potato in the oven, she asked to see it and went into the kitchen.

“It was a real crisis for her. She complained that it was too large and asked to see other potatoes and picked the smallest she could find.

http://www.gericanada.cjb.net/ 

24.09.2002 GERI'S HAD HER CHIPS

Good to see Geri Halliwell takes her keep- fit regime seriously.

The presenter of Popstars: The Rivals skipped off to Balans restaurant on Kensington High Street for lunch after a session at Holmes Place Health Club.

But there were no lettuce leaves for the skinny Spice.

An onlooker told us: "She was gulping down what looked like a lump of meat, cabbage, mash and she was sharing a bowl of fat chips with a dark-haired bloke in a tracksuit.

"He looked as if he was her fitness trainer."

So it was a healthy workout, then?

22.09.2002 GERI'S DOWN AND OUT, SPLITS WITH BOYFRIEND

GERI Halliwell has dumped her millionaire boyfriend Demian Walker, the News of the World can reveal. The Popstars beauty, famously unlucky in love, called a halt to the relationship because her commitment to work was wrecking their romance. 

The 27-year-old American has returned to Los Angeles "indefinitely." 

The couple have only spoken on the phone since. Last weekend she was seen wandering unhappily in West London, crouching in a doorway to make a call. 

A fan who saw her said: "You see her smiling and chirpy on TV, but she clearly had a lot on her mind. It was an ordinary road and she just looked very unhappy." 

A close pal said: "Geri was the happiest most of us have ever seen her most of the time she was with Demian. 

"But then the rows started and things went from bad to worse almost over night. 

Former Spice Girl Geri met Demian in an LA pet shop. They were later seen together at an Arizona rehab clinic specialising in bulimia problems. 

She told the News of the World just last month: "I appreciate that, for Demian, there's an awful lot of baggage to take on board and it requires a huge amount of tolerance. Only time will tell how he copes with my fame." 

Her pal said: "It was harder than he ever thought. She deserves a good man so much." 

21.09.2002 GERI REVEALS THAT PETE WATERMAN REMINDS HER OF HER FATHER

Popstar: The Rivals judge Geri Halliwell has revealed that her relationship with fellow judge Pete Waterman is very much like that of a father and daughter. Speaking on ITV1’s This Morning Programme Geri revealed that Pete even reminds her and her mother of her late father. She said: “Pete and I have a strange relationship, one minute we could be arguing and the next the best of friends. He’s very much like my late father, in fact he even reminds my mum of him.” Geri went on to explain that it was because of Pete she decided to appear in the show. “At first I didn’t want to do it, but Pete kept calling me up and eventually twisted my arm,” she said. She also dismissed rumours of a bust up with Pete as, “rubbish” adding: “I just laugh at press gossip now.”

21.09.2002 A ROLL WITH IT, GERI??

Self-appointed critic of the music business Noel Gallagher is at it again. His latest target is Geri Halliwell - but it's not about her singing but her weight.

Halliwell admitted earlier this year to suffering from an eating disorder, which led to her desperately scavenging through George Michael's bin for food.

"I have to say that there is no better mental image than Geri going through George Michael's bins," said a less than impressed Noel. "What a loser, you wouldn't admit to s*** like that, would you?"

He then sent Geri a scathing message in an NME interview: "Just have a bar of chocolate, man - you weigh about two pounds. Have a Dairy Milk and a Hazelnut then have a lager and go to bed."

20.09.2002 Vanessa has a pop at Geri 


VANESSA FELTZ has blasted telly judge GERI HALLIWELL for picking on Popstars: The Rivals wannabes. 

She said: “I think she’s too rude and unpleasant and I don’t think there’s any need to be. 

“She ought to have some sort of sympathy and empathy for the youngsters and show some kind of compassion. “She was in that position herself once for goodness sake. 

“I am really appalled by her attitude. 

“It makes me cringe that Geri has such a really malicious twist." 

20.09.2002 GERI LAUNCHES SECOND BOOK

Hundreds of fans have turned out to see Geri Halliwell promote her second autobiography.

Her book, which is said to tell "the honest and heartfelt story of her life over the last four years since the break-up of the Spice Girls", follows her first autobiography If Only, which has so far sold 455,000 copies.

The singer signed copies of her book 'Just For The Record' and posed for pictures with fans at the Trafford Centre, Manchester.

Around 500 fans, some of whom were queuing since 7am, and others who were practising their Spice Girls dance routines, shouted: "Geri we love you" as they waited their turn to meet her.

Geri said: "The last four years have been a rollercoaster ride and a lot has happened to me. I wanted to write about the anecdotes, behind-the-scenes stories and my own feelings about things as they took place."

Fan Jody Margerison, 20, of Rochdale, who was the first person in the queue at 7am and has been a fan since the Spice Girls' first single Wannabe was released in 1996, said her 10-hour wait to see Geri would be well worth it.

"She is the best out of all them. She always has been the power and drive behind the whole group and that is why they did not do as well when she went."

Jody added: "She is the original girl power. She should be the Queen of England."

18.09.2002 GERI HALLIWELL UNVEILS NEW WAXWORK

Geri Halliwell has unveiled her new waxwork at Madame Tussaud's in London.
The singer missed out on being modelled as part of the Spice Girls after leaving the group in 1998. The waxwork shows a toned Geri, showing off her tan in a low-key black outfit.

Diane Moon, of Madame Tussaud's, believes Halliwell will attract plenty of visitors. She said: "Geri is everywhere at the moment, she is just so hot. We have had a lot of people asking after her."

Moon says visitors to the museum in central London had been requesting a model of Halliwell since she reappeared on the pop scene with the Bridget Jones film soundtrack.

She said: "The time we asked Geri was when she made a comeback with Raining Men and appeared looking all thin and gorgeous."

She added: "It would have looked vastly different if we had modelled it when she was a Spice Girl."

Tussaud's sculptors measured the 30-year-old singer last year but the figure is not only a different shape from Halliwell in her Spice Girl days - it also lacks her tattoos.

The model was completed with tattoos but when Halliwell recently decided to have them removed Tussaud's quickly painted them out.

Halliwell chose a sexy black Donna Karan dress to show off her new waxwork figure. It will appear in a new Karaoke attraction where visitors will have the opportunity to perform in front of the Halliwell model and hear a recorded response from the figure.


Source: Ananova

09.09.2002 My gran is going to sort out Waterman 

POP Rivals judge Pete Waterman is to face the music over his latest TV outburst — from contestant Paul Rose’s GRAN. Furious Margaret Simmons, 74, watched on Saturday as records boss Pete tore into 17-year-old Paul, declaring: “I’m not having him in my band. He can’t sing.”

And last night Paul, who made the next round after fellow judges Geri Halliwell and Louis Walsh backed him, revealed Margaret was on the warpath.

He said: “My nan got really upset when she saw the judges arguing and she said, ‘I’m going to write that Pete Waterman a strongly-worded letter’.

“I hadn’t realised what a battle they had over me until I watched it on TV.”

Millions of viewers saw the ITV show judges launch into a huge bust- up after Paul sang Michael Jackson’s You Are Not Alone at his audition.


Pete, 55 — who helped launch Kylie Minogue’s career — told Paul: “I said astound us, kid, not kill us! I don’t think you’ve got what it takes.”

But former Spice Girl Geri, 30, and hitmaker Louis, 47, angrily hit back.

In a sideswipe, Louis said Paul was better than Jason Donovan — who was also launched by Waterman.
Paul, of Chelmsford, Essex, joked: “When they all began shouting, I thought I’d started World War Three.”

Later, Geri grabbed Paul’s phone as he chatted with mum Pat, 48 — and told her he was in the next round.

Some 120 youngsters are battling it out in the show, which will form rival girl and boy bands.

08.09.2002 I'VE SLEPT WITH ROBBIE... BUT WE NEVER HAD SEX

Geri reveals all about that 'summer of love'

POP beauty Geri Halliwell was superb in the sack with Robbie Williams. 

Er...the rucksack, that is. 

For the tiny singer was smuggled out of Robbie's London flat inside one as they tried to keep their friendship under wraps. 

Geri recalls her amazing escapade as she reveals in her sensational autobiography, Just For The Record. that she went to bed with Robbie—but they NEVER had sex. 

"I climbed into the rucksack and curled up into a ball," says the 5ft 1in star. "My heart was beating so fast with the exhilaration of the moment. 

"I felt myself being carried out into the night. Cameras were clicking and there were voices: ‘Robbie, come on, mate, give us a picture.' ‘Ere Robbie, where's Geri then?' 

"It was a delicious risk, too, because if the sack had given way and I had fallen out, they would have had the picture of the year. I felt myself hit the back seat of Rob's Range Rover. 

"As the car pulled away, I peeked out and then we all screamed with joy at having outwitted them." 

But Geri 30, insists the two had nothing to hide during their summer together in 2001—for although she and Robbie occasionally shared the same bed, sex was not on the menu. 

"I saw him as my male counterpart, like a long-lost twin brother," says Geri. "We knew what each other was thinking. 

"But perhaps it is impossible for people to imagine that Rob and I could be friends, hang out together, even share a bed without there being a romantic relationship." 

She was annoyed at Robbie when he joked to reporters that they were "friends who enjoyed the occasional shag"—and adds: "I saw it as boyish boasting but obviously it would be taken literally. That was upsetting and I told him so. Our relationship was as close as it is possible to have, without a romance. We realised that, in each other, we had found the perfect playmate." 

And playing was the name of the game whenever the two stars got together at Geri's home—an old monastery set in 18 acres in Berkshire. 

Games

They would hold lengthy rounders sessions followed by hide-and-seek. But their favourites were the games they made up themselves—including Who's A Dirty Slag, a questions game where they'd pretend to be other celebrities. 

Geri admits: "It might not sound very rock and roll but that's because it wasn't. They were childish games but they gave us hours of fun." 

But when the two got serious together, caring Robbie often turned the subject round to Geri's eating disorder. "Rob understands the way addiction works because he has his own struggles," says Geri. "I had tried to hide the seriousness of my obsession with diet and body image from friends, but I couldn't hide it from Rob. 

"His experience told him I had a serious problem and when I hit the lowest point with my eating disorder later that year and finally got on the road to recovery, Rob and I spoke on the phone every day. He was very, very supportive and I will never forget what he did for me." 

Robbie was also there when Geri ran into Mel B for the first time since she split from the Spice Girls—and they all ended up in a hot tub together. He and Geri were at Cliveden—the Berkshire mansion where call girl Christine Keeler famously danced naked for disgraced Sixties War Minister John Profumo. 

The two were with friends chatting in a hot tub next to the pool when Geri spotted Mel B who was also at the hotel. "I gasped, ‘Oh my God, it's Mel'—it was the first time I'd seen her in two years," says Geri. 

"Rob just said, ‘Call her over—get it over with.' He was right. The only thing holding me back was nerves. So I called out to her—she looked a picture of shock and delight. 

"Then she let out one of her enormous laughs. For the next half-hour or so it was like old times. What a moment—two Spice Girls and Rob Williams chilling in a hot tub where the Profumo Affair happened! 

"And what a way to spend some time with Mel again after two long years apart."

05.09.2002 Pete takes a pop at Rivals

THIS is the moment PETE WATERMAN lost it with fellow Popstars: The Rivals 
judges GERI HALLIWELL and LOUIS WALSH.

Pete was caught mid-rant, demanding that wannabe JOHN ROSE should not go 
through to the next round.

But after Geri and WESTLIFE manager Louis dared to disagree, the music guru 
snapped and ordered cameramen to stop filming.

A source said: Geri and Louis thought John was really good and should go to 
the next stage. But Waterman said he was rubbish.
Geri wouldnt back down and he went absolutely ballistic. He shouted at 
cameramen to stop then walked out in the middle of the auditions.

In the show, fronted by DAVINA McCALL, a girl and boy band will be picked. 
The show hits screens on ITV1 on Saturday.


04.09.2002 Star Geri sees red in Russia

Geri Halliwell lost her temper in Moscow when a policeman barred her from taking her American boyfriends on a stroll around Red Square.
"She became angry and upset," said an onlooker. "The officer didn`t realise who she was and said Red Square was shut."
Ironically the Square was closed on Sunday to prepare for British singer Geri, 30, to star at a gig to mark Moscow`s 855th anniversary.
But she and Damian Warner, 27, failed to gain access. "Maybe if the cop had understood who she was, he would have let her through," said a Moscow city spokesman.

02.09.2002 I WEPT WITH SHAME AS I SCAVENGED FOOD SLOPS FROM GEORGE MICHAEL'S RUBBISH BAG

POP beauty Geri Halliwell binged on leftovers from a binbag in George Michael's garage at the lowest point in her battle against a nightmare eating disorder. 

Blocking her growing sense of shame, she shoved her hands into the remains of a Thanksgiving dinner until she found the "sugar fix" she craved. 

Geri, renowned for her lean, lithe body, scooped great gooey handfuls of squashed chocolate cake into her mouth. 

It was the start of a secret eating binge that continued for three days until tormented Geri, 30, realised she had to face her demons—or be destroyed by them. 

"I got down on my knees and, crying my eyes out, begged for a way out: ‘Oh God, if you are there, please help me'. 

"There was no bolt of lightning or heavenly reply but, instead, there was a moment of real clarity. 

Cakes

"At last I realised I couldn't control this monster any more. I needed to find help. Fast. It was the decision that saved my life." 

In her shocking new autobiography Just For The Record, serialised only in the News of the World, brave Geri spares no detail of the depths she sank to in the grip of her eating disorder. 

Her moment of truth came after organising a Thanksgiving dinner while she was staying alone at the Los Angeles home of her pop icon pal George Michael and his partner Kenny Goss. 

"I ordered turkey with all the trimmings, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes, sweetcorn, pumpkin pie and as many sticky, rich and chocolatey puddings and cakes as I could find," Geri recalls. 

"When we sat down for dinner, I had the smallest plate, limiting myself to a little bit of turkey, some vegetables and not much else. 

"Potatoes weren't allowed and pudding was out of the question. I denied myself as everyone else tucked into the food. 

"About 11 o'clock, people started preparing to leave. While they did, I stacked all the dishes in the dishwasher and then turned to the piles of untouched food. 

Trance

"I decided to throw all the left-overs into a bin liner, which I tied and took outside to the garage. 

"I was determined to stop myself bingeing. By midnight, everyone had gone. The safest thing to do was sleep—so I undressed and got ready for bed. Then a little voice in my head said: ‘Come on, Geri, why don't you have some cake? There's plenty outside in the garage.' 

"The idea was so disgusting—but the voice, like a devil on my shoulder, got more and more insistent. 

"In a sort of trance-like state, I found myself opening the back door and walking to the rubbish bags. I spotted the one I had taken out, knelt down, and untied it. 

"Inside the cakes and puddings were crushed out of shape and mixed with the half-eaten dinner. 

"I reached inside, fished out some chocolate cake and stuck it in my mouth. I felt a terrible sense of shame but I couldn't stop. I ate and ate and ate until I was so full, all I could do was sleep. 

"In the next few days, binge followed binge followed binge. I drew the curtains, stopped answering the phone and ordered more and more food from the take-out service." 

It was then that Geri collapsed to the floor and prayed for help. 

"I believed that my addiction would kill me if I didn't take it on. 

"If I continued consuming so much sugar I could develop diabetes, or the trauma of vomiting might trigger a heart attack. 

"The most serious risk was depression. Carrying on as I was seemed intolerable. Why would I want to live if I couldn't change?" 

Geri logged onto a computer, and typed "eating disorder" into a search engine. 

"The first result, right at the top, gave the name of a therapist in LA, specialising in the problem." At their first session the counsellor suggested group therapy. 

"The thought of attending meetings with complete strangers and talking about my problems was incredibly daunting," she says. "But inside, I knew I didn't have a choice any more." 

So on December 7, 2000, Geri went to a support group for people with eating disorders. "As I looked round the room," she says, "I was struck by the different types in the group of 30-40 people. 

"Some were overweight, others thin. They came from all walks of life—young mothers, businessmen, factory workers and students. That first meeting gave me a chance to reconnect with real people after so many years in the celebrity bubble. Here, everyone was equal, fame counted for nothing. 

"As I sat there listening to their stories, tension started to ease and I had an overwhelming feeling that I had come to the right place. 

"Just the knowledge that everyone shared the same insanities gave me strength. I was not alone. I was among friends. 

Dangerous

"Over the years, I had been caught in a cycle of starvation diets and dangerous overeating. 

"Now I was an addict. Food was my drug and I would use it as a reward, a punishment and a way to escape my feelings." 

"When I came home from the support group that day, I wrote in my diary: ‘My name is Geri and I am a recovering compulsive overeater, bulimic anorexic'. 

"Confessing my problem seemed to reduce my compulsion to binge and take away some of its power. This was just the beginning of the road to recovery." And soon Geri came to realise that understanding the reasons for her problems was part of the cure. 

"I had travelled the world and experienced extraordinary things. 

"But I still found myself down on my knees eating chocolate cake from a dustbin...because that felt better than being alone with myself. 

"I could only explain it by looking at my past. I have always had a difficult and obsessive relationship with food," she admits. "As a kid, it was used as a comfort and punishment and, because we didn't have much money, treats were rare. 

"I shared with my dad a love of chocolate and ice cream and I always looked forward to our secret trips to the sweet shop. 

"Six months before I joined the Spice Girls, when my father died, my dieting developed into anorexia. Throughout my time with the group, I battled bulimia. My life has been dictated by eating or not eating. It was usual for me to starve myself in preparation for an event. 

"For the video shoot for Bag It Up, I had been on the Dr Atkins' diet (which works on burning fat by cutting carbohydrates) and seemed to be living on slices of turkey and little else. 

"But that wasn't enough. In the final days before the video shoot, I started a three-day fast of maple syrup and water because I was so desperate to lose more weight. 

"A trainer I had worked with told me about an actress who got ready for movies by living on water with maple syrup and cayenne pepper for a few days. The pepper speeds up your metabolism and the maple syrup keeps you sustained." 

Now a wiser Geri has her sights set firmly on the future. "Some people think getting help for addiction is the end of the story," she says. 

"But it's only the first step along the way. I am not pretending recovery is easy but I have learned to take one day at a time. I will always have this illness and will always have to fight it. 

"The moment I let my guard down or feel too much pressure, another binge could be round the corner." 

And Geri freely admits: "I still binge sometimes. The good news is that it happens less often now, and when it does happen, it is easier to regain control and stop."
.