Josh George

I know it's not an option here, but I have always wished Spiceworld the album would have made no 1 in the USA. It charted "low" at number 8, with around 80,000 sales in it's first week, but sales increased in the second week and sales increased week on week, before peaking at no 3. I remember when sales were increasing, Virgin said "it's not important who arrives at the party first but it's the guest that stays and continues to party." After a modest start, it became a solid seller and eventually outsold a lot of no 1 albums in 97 and 98. I wish it had managed to climb to no1, but alas, was not meant to be.

LAWYERS for the Spice Girls are trying to find out where millions of pounds from worldwide record sales have gone. They are demanding detailed explanations from Virgin Records about figures for the UK, Europe, America and Australia. And they are ready to send accountants to America to question Virgin chiefs there about apparent discrepancies in their accounts. In the UK alone, the girls could have a claim for pounds 1.8 million. In documents stamped "Virgin Audit" and seen by the Sunday Mirror, the Spice Girls' London-based solicitors Lee & Thompson raise questions over missing income in Virgin's published accounts. Spice Girls lawyer Andrew Thompson wants to know if Virgin may have taken a bigger cut of record sales in America than agreed. In a memo to Virgin Records, senior legal director Paul Kernick, Mr Thompson says: "We do think it is very important to have further access to Virgin Records America. "The auditors have discovered that in the USA, reserves have been taken in excess of what is permitted. "I do not think it is enough for the auditors to ask questions which you in turn relay to Virgin in Los Angeles - they will need to carry out some site work." Mr Thompson's fears are based on a report drawn up by Mike Skeet, of auditing firm Royalty Compliance Organisation, who has pinpointed shortfalls in Spice Girls' revenues around the world. Mr Skeet says: "Virgin appears to have taken huge reserves in the US, far in excess of 15 per cent or 25 per cent for advertised records." "In Australia,there is no reporting of sales between December 1997 and February 1998 for the SpiceWorld album. Also, there is no reporting of cassette single sales for Wannabe for May 1997."

Lawyers for the Spice Girls have demanded a detailed audit of the band's record sales. London-based solicitors Lee & Thompson, who act for the band, have sent a memo to Virgin Records senior legal director Paul Kernick, asking for more information about the group's sales in America, a spokeswoman for the Spice Girls confirmed. However, she insisted the audit was a normal procedure. It is the first audit to be carried out on the band and will cover their record sales in the UK, Europe, America, and Australia.