On 06/06/2026 at 19:09, ilovepollo said:

Am I the only one who finds this Melanie C CD-R a bit suspicious?

I'm not saying it's fake, but some things don't quite add up for me.

The biggest question mark is "So Many Questions". It could be a genuine Melanie demo, a working title, a song recorded by another artist, or something else entirely. At this point we simply don't know.

But what really confuses me is the inclusion of "I Turn To You (Remix)". The CD-R is supposedly dated May 1999, yet Northern Star wasn't released until October 1999, and I Turn To You didn't become a single until August 2000.

Are we really expected to believe that a remix of I Turn To You already existed in May 1999, before the album had even been released and more than a year before anyone had decided it would be a single? That seems incredibly unusual.

Of course, record companies often commission remixes long before release plans are finalized, so it's not impossible. But the timing feels odd enough that I'd be very cautious before accepting this CD-R as 100% authentic.

The item itself may well be genuine, but based on the tracklisting alone, I think there are still a lot of unanswered questions.

No, I definitely think they might be fake. Unless proven otherwise, I think it would be safe to assume based on the fact that the seller is simply giving not much information on how they got it (a collector's storage unit sure but a collector is not a reliable source since it could be fan-made stuff that collectors also often purchase/gather), the songs content (just the titles the seller themselves given them) and also the randomness and tag price (people don't even buy the real Spice promos that go for like €500 anymore lol why would they buy £2000-2500 random CDrs with no proof?)...

I believe more in the Mel B ones, for sure. The Teddy Rilley one is the one that looks the more 'real' to me.

About the I Turn To You (remix), it is possible that this was supposed to be a single in the early stages of the album production and that some money was invested in a remix, or it could be an alternative mix. HOWEVER, we don't know anything about this based on the sellers' description. They don't say if it is a different mix from the Hex Hector or album track mixing, or even the StoneBridge mix. They simply call it a remix and don't say anything else...

So I honestly don't know... We should ask the seller to provide some clips or more information. I am sure with some proof, a few fans would gather money to purchase them if they were deemed to be real.

Updated with the The Singles Collections demos, in their respective era and by release date.

I think there might be a couple of other inclusions on this list to come from that release but I will do that eventually lol

Are there any recently found out songs that I am missing? Maybe some Mel C ones? I have been mostly away from the internet and haven't followed their latest releases much at all...

11 hours ago, Mr.X said:

Updated with the The Singles Collections demos, in their respective era and by release date.

I think there might be a couple of other inclusions on this list to come from that release but I will do that eventually lol

Are there any recently found out songs that I am missing? Maybe some Mel C ones? I have been mostly away from the internet and haven't followed their latest releases much at all...

I think there's no need to put Do You Think About Me twice, they are actually the same it's just quality difference.

(did we know that some covers and intros performed on the Return of the Spice Girls Tour and 2019 tour tracks are registered on ASCAP?)

Mel B - Are You Gonna Go My Way? https://www.ascap.com/repertory#/ace/search/workID/310319429

Spice Girls - Celebration https://www.ascap.com/repertory#/ace/search/workID/330279293

Spice Girls - INTRO CALLING OF THE WORLDS https://www.ascap.com/repertory#/ace/search/workID/903013183

Spice Girls - Queer Tango (2019 tour) https://www.ascap.com/repertory#/ace/search/workID/901972472

So recordings were made out of these performances? Is that what it means?...

Edited September 13Sep 13 by Mr.X

In a new interview on the A Catch Up With... podcast, Eliot Kennedy mentions he did 5 songs for Forever, and also that they did a few demos with him for Spiceworld.

No titles or anything, just the statement that there are definitely at least a couple of demos that have been unheard from both eras.

We must find out more ehe

Damn. They really had a full album ready to go out by December 1999. Five tracks from Elliot a Kennedy, five tracks from Matt/ Rowe, three tracks from Darkchild (that we know of) and two/ three tracks from Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis.

I mean those are as many as they recorded for Spiceworld lol.

10 hours ago, Mr.X said:

In a new interview on the A Catch Up With... podcast, Eliot Kennedy mentions he did 5 songs for Forever, and also that they did a few demos with him for Spiceworld.

No titles or anything, just the statement that there are definitely at least a couple of demos that have been unheard from both eras.

We must find out more ehe

I think what Eliot meant was they were rough ideas and not completed songs

3 hours ago, ooshspice1 said:

I think what Eliot meant was they were rough ideas and not completed songs

oh no-one is implying they were completed songs lol C U Next Tuesday / Likely Stories is not a completed song either lol they are demos, we don't know how advanced these are

I was just stating that he mentioned he worked on some demos with them

Eliot Kennedy wrote and produced When You’re Gone. I’m surprised the girls didn’t try and recapture that sound for their 3rd album since it was such a huge hit. The group would sound great with that light pop rock sound.

28 minutes ago, Sideout said:

Eliot Kennedy wrote and produced When You’re Gone. I’m surprised the girls didn’t try and recapture that sound for their 3rd album since it was such a huge hit. The group would sound great with that light pop rock sound.

I agree but their attempt at rock-pop with Eliot Kennedy, Pain Proof, was a bit crap though lol

I agree Pain Proof is just ok. The production is more aggressive than the light and airy pop rock sound of When You’re Gone.

In that recent interview Kennedy said he only had a week with the group to write for their 3rd album. Who knows if the group went back and finished these demos. My guess is they did not. Besides Right Back At Ya, the other 3 songs don’t sound finalized in terms of lyrics and production.

31 minutes ago, Sideout said:

I agree Pain Proof is just ok. The production is more aggressive than the light and airy pop rock sound of When You’re Gone.

In that recent interview Kennedy said he only had a week with the group to write for their 3rd album. Who knows if the group went back and finished these demos. My guess is they did not. Besides Right Back At Ya, the other 3 songs don’t sound finalized in terms of lyrics and production.

If they were going pop-rock they needed to be working with pop-rock producers, not the same old crew lol it is wild to me that Mel C did Goin' Down with Biff lol no wonder it sounds so cringe...

I could see them going to work with Rick Rubin or someone more rock-oriented which could bring a bit more attitude and guts from them, rather than the milk-toast lyrics of Pain Proof.

And yes, Pain Proof, A Day in your Life and If It's Lovin On Your Mind are not finished. Had they been selected for release on the album, they would have re-worked them (or at least Id hope so cos those lyrics are a bit tragic lol)

1 hour ago, Mr.X said:

I agree but their attempt at rock-pop with Eliot Kennedy, Pain Proof, was a bit crap though lol

Better than almost anythin on Forever

49 minutes ago, Mr.X said:

If they were going pop-rock they needed to be working with pop-rock producers, not the same old crew lol it is wild to me that Mel C did Goin' Down with Biff lol no wonder it sounds so cringe...

I could see them going to work with Rick Rubin or someone more rock-oriented which could bring a bit more attitude and guts from them, rather than the milk-toast lyrics of Pain Proof.

And yes, Pain Proof, A Day in your Life and If It's Lovin On Your Mind are not finished. Had they been selected for release on the album, they would have re-worked them (or at least Id hope so cos those lyrics are a bit tragic lol)

Goin Down is amazing and if Oasis or Robbie released it it woulda been a multiweek no.1

Even in their demo forms, those still sound better than 60% of the finished product on Forever. Didn’t they work on Step to me too? I’m sure had they sent the tracks to Mark “Spike” Stent, he would have done his magic like what he did on all the singles.

2 hours ago, Mr.X said:

If they were going pop-rock they needed to be working with pop-rock producers, not the same old crew lol it is wild to me that Mel C did Goin' Down with Biff lol no wonder it sounds so cringe...

I could see them going to work with Rick Rubin or someone more rock-oriented which could bring a bit more attitude and guts from them, rather than the milk-toast lyrics of Pain Proof.

And yes, Pain Proof, A Day in your Life and If It's Lovin On Your Mind are not finished. Had they been selected for release on the album, they would have re-worked them (or at least Id hope so cos those lyrics are a bit tragic lol)

Rick Rubin & Rick Nowels would have been great for the group to work with on Forever. The group going in a sophisticated, adult pop rock direction would have given them a more mature sound.

Melanie C would probably have been more inclined to stay with the group if this was the direction for the 3rd album. Northern Star has some of these pop rock elements. In hindsight it was a huge mistake to give the entire project to Darkchild.

4 hours ago, Sideout said:

Rick Rubin & Rick Nowels would have been great for the group to work with on Forever. The group going in a sophisticated, adult pop rock direction would have given them a more mature sound.

Melanie C would probably have been more inclined to stay with the group if this was the direction for the 3rd album. Northern Star has some of these pop rock elements. In hindsight it was a huge mistake to give the entire project to Darkchild.

I think had the group done the 1999 album, it would have had some pop-rock and r'n'b elements, for sure.

And yes, the mistake was waiting for the solos and delayed the album which then forced them to change course music wise as the new millenium called for an updated sound alltogether, and they went with Darkchild after that A&R person at Virgin pushed them to do.

Eliot Kennedy hit the nail on the head in the David Sinclair book. He said something along the lines of Holler was a great track for the group to do, but not a whole album’s worth.

8 hours ago, Sideout said:

Eliot Kennedy hit the nail on the head in the David Sinclair book. He said something along the lines of Holler was a great track for the group to do, but not a whole album’s worth.

He said 'don't let the guy (Darkchild) do the whole album', he wasn't specific about it being all r'n'b. I agree with him on that. As much as I love Forever - and I do, it is my second fav from them - I would have loved a bit more variety on it as well. Songs like Time Goes By and Weekend Love really drag the album down and sound a bit too sloppy for my liking, and Right Back At YA should have been on the album in its original, more funky-disco form alongside WOMAN's disco sound. Both songs would go so well on that album.

On 25/10/2026 at 17:24, Ghostly WAPS said:

Goin Down is amazing and if Oasis or Robbie released it it woulda been a multiweek no.1

please... I love NS but GD was cringe.... 90s Oasis or Robbie would have never touched something as cringe as that...