ilovepollo

I thought I’d share something quite fascinating that has been making the local news in my city, Córdoba, Spain, over the last few days. It turns out that Geri Halliwell’s great-grandfather was from the province of Córdoba. His name was Emiliano Hidalgo Fernández, and he was the Republican mayor of Dos Torres, a small town in the north of the province, during the Spanish Second Republic. Geri actually mentioned this family history in her 1999 autobiography If Only, although some details were slightly confused. She wrote that her great-grandfather had been mayor of Córdoba, but everything points to Emiliano Hidalgo, who was mayor of Dos Torres from 1931 to 1934. The surname also matches Geri’s mother’s maiden name, Hidalgo, and there are other family connections to the province of Huesca, where Geri’s mother was born. What makes the story particularly interesting is who Emiliano actually was. He was one of the founders of the local Socialist Party in Dos Torres and was also a member and director of the UGT, one of Spain’s main workers’ trade unions. He was involved in local politics and apparently advocated for poor agricultural workers to be able to cultivate unused land belonging to wealthy landowners. After the Spanish Civil War ended in 1939, Emiliano was arrested and put before a military court. His 116-page trial file has now been located in the archives, and the local newspaper has been going through it. He was accused by the Francoist authorities of being a dangerous socialist and of opposing the military uprising. Some of the accusations against him were extremely serious, including allegedly calling for the deaths of two local residents during the Republican takeover of Dos Torres in 1936. He was also accused of involvement in other acts of violence, including an extraordinary allegation involving the severed ear of a Guardia Civil officer. Emiliano denied the accusations. He was ultimately sentenced to death for “military rebellion”, despite the fact that he had supported the Republican government, which was the legitimate government of Spain before Franco’s military uprising. He was executed by firing squad at Córdoba’s Cementerio de la Salud on 27 December 1940, aged 61. And the repression did not stop with him. Four of his five children were prosecuted, and the family’s property was seized under Francoist legislation. His son Máximo Hidalgo Cantero, Geri’s grandfather, was also imprisoned and sentenced to 20 years. He had been a blacksmith, belonged to the Libertarian Youth and had fought on the Republican side. He was eventually pardoned in 1947. There is also a remarkable family story behind Geri’s grandparents. Máximo met the woman who would become his wife while he was in prison, where she worked as one of the women employed at the prison. Their daughter was Ana María Hidalgo, Geri’s mother. So this isn't simply a case of discovering that Geri has some distant Spanish ancestry. Her family was directly caught up in the political and social conflict of Republican Spain, the Civil War and the Franco dictatorship. As someone actually living in Córdoba, I've found it quite surreal seeing Geri Halliwell and the Spice Girls suddenly appearing in our local newspapers because of a man who was a socialist politician and trade unionist here nearly a century ago. 😂 The local newspaper Cordópolis has published two articles about the story. They are in Spanish, but browser translation works pretty well: The first article: "“The Córdoba connection of the Spice Girls: a surprising story of love and Francoist repression”" (https://cordopolis.eldiario.es/cordoba-hoy/sociedad/conexion-cordobesa-spice-girls-sorprendente-historia-amor-represion-franquista_1_13434345.html) And the follow-up, based on Emiliano’s actual military trial file: "“Red little boss” and “extremely dangerous for the regime”: the execution of Geri Halliwell’s Córdoba great-grandfather" (https://cordopolis.eldiario.es/cordoba-hoy/sociedad/jefecillo-rojo-peligrosisimo-regimen-auto-fusilamiento-bisabuelo-cordobes-lider-spice-girls_1_13447609.html) I thought some of you here might find this as fascinating as I do. It certainly wasn't the kind of Spice Girls news I expected to be reading in the Córdoba press in 2026! 😄

Wannabe – No Rap is probably the biggest mess the Spice Girls have officially released in their entire 30-year career. What even is this edit? Those cuts sound so amateurish and unprofessional. Who approved this? 😭

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.

This is where the game becomes impossible. I honestly can't choose, every song left deserves to stay.

Exactly the same thing happened to me! I genuinely thought I was the only one. I ordered the black vinyl as well, but when I checked the packaging it turned out to be MELANIECLP2 too. I had seen people on Discogs saying there was a MELANIECLP1 version with the “Melanie C” typo corrected on the spine… so when I checked mine, not only did it still say “Melanine”, but it was actually MELANIECLP2 packaging all along 😂

https://youtube.com/shorts/hxasfIPn6rM?is=irLS42fKZXZK8HtL No, she definitely mentions Geri as well 😅 Here’s the interview. She says she thought it might have been “Geri or Mel B” playing a prank on her. So that’s why I’m saying her memories sometimes seem a bit mixed up

Melanie honestly has a terrible memory sometimes and seems to remember things however she wants She literally talked recently about Madonna inviting her to dinner while the girls were touring the US in 1998, and said she thought the phone call was a prank from Geri. Girl… how could it have been Geri if she had already left the group in May and the tour was during the summer? Impossible. So honestly, just like that memory was clearly mixed up, she could easily be confusing when “Can’t Stay Tonight” was actually written or recorded.

Not bad 😅 https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/melanie-c-spice-girls-record-sweat/

That’s honestly insane I was already feeling slightly unhinged for buying basically every physical and digital version myself… but clearly there are people far more committed (or crazier) than me 😭

Haha I don’t even have social media, I’m basically a vintage relic at this point 😂 But if anyone knows how to organise something like that or where to join in, let me know what I need to do!

Melanie just said at her Manchester show that something new is coming out digitally tomorrow? Did anyone at the concert catch that properly?? Something about a last-minute release?

Alright gays, enough thirst posting… let’s get back to helping Melanie get that #1 😂 Serious question though: is there any way for international fans to contribute to UK digital sales? Like sending money to someone in the UK to buy copies on iTunes or gifting store credit somehow? We should start a trusted little crowdfunding mission for digital sales No stealing the money, bitches xD

Yeah, you’re absolutely right. We’ve spent years seeing Spice solo albums debut much lower in the charts, and now we’re going to be disappointed if she doesn’t get #1? A #3 would’ve been unthinkable not that long ago. It’s already a huge achievement and something to be really proud of. The fact she’s still doing this and getting these results almost 30 years into her career is amazing.

https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/kneecap-fenian-melanie-c-sweat-michael-jackson-the-essential-number-1-album/ Just seen this on Official Charts… she’s #2 in the midweeks and there are less than 3,000 copies between the Top 3 👀 With how everything has been selling this week, she actually has a real shot at #1… this is insane. So proud of her right now

More UK-only exclusives… thanks Mel