Catch a Fire [Hardcover]

Melanie B (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2, 2002

It's all here: the council estate childhood, the formation of the Spice Girls, the early months being groomed for stardom, the subsequent global domination, Geri's departure, the marriage - and acrimonious divorce - to Jimmy Gulzar, the birth of Phoenix Chi, the solo career and the leap into TV presenting. Not bad for the rebellious, mixed-up girl from Leeds who is still only in her mid-20s. Born to a working-class mixed-race family from Leeds (her mother took extra work cleaning toilets to pay for her dancing lessons), Melanie B grew up feeling different from her schoolfriends. Her hyperactive energy was channelled into drama school, and in 1994 the Spice Girls were formed. The rest is history.

Editorial Reviews

Review

It's all here: the council estate childhood; the formation of the Spice Girls; the early months of being groomed for stardom; the subsequent global domination; Geri's departure; the marriage - and acrimonious divorce - to the strangely passive Jimmy Gulzar; the birth of Phoenix Chi (unlikely names being de rigueur for pop-star sprogs); the solo career and the move into TV presenting. As few people in the Western world have not heard of Melanie B, the in-your-face loudmouth who is a member of one of the most popular bands of all time, interest is guaranteed. Is she too young to tell her own story? Perhaps - but the fans will ensure healthy sales (before the Spice Girls join all the other pass pop groups cluttering up the remainder bins).

About the Author

Born to a working-class mixed-race family from Leeds (her mother took extra work cleaning toilets to pay for her dancing lessons), Melanie B grew up feeling different from her schoolfriends. Her hyperactive energy was channelled into drama school, and in 1994, as the story famously goes, the Spice Girls were formed. The rest is history...

Product Details

• Hardcover: 348 pages
• Publisher: Headline Hardbacks (September 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0755310624
• ISBN-13: 978-0755310623
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,325,960 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fair and fun!, April 13, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Catch a Fire: The Autobiography (Paperback)

I haven't completed this book quite yet, but what I'm noticing is something set apart from the other Spice biographies: she will be happy to tell pleasant anecdotes. Sure it starts with a bang, which seems to be what is suppose to draw you in like a teaser on the telly before the opening sequence and more commercials, but as she describes her experience with the girls she lets us know some of the funner times they had rather than the dramatic estrangement that is often so dwelt on. It's also a fascinating history she provides of where her people come from and the whole mixture of her. She was also my least favourite of the five but now I'm finding her more of a fair and friendly personage than the rest. She seems open to life, the mistakes that make us who we are and let us learn the balance of things. I wish she would make another album and write more of her own songs. They're all good at writing pop melodies (yes, they do co-write songs!) and she is no exception.

Word to the wise: amazon.co.uk is usually easier on the pocket book with some of this british stuff. I got my copies of albums and books from there. (As well as the Harry Potter books, which are an easier print than the ones here.)

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you were..., September 18, 2004

By 

Jessica "Buck II" (TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Catch a Fire (Hardcover)

If you were a Spice Girls fan, this would be good reading. Get to know the facts that you never knew was going on during the Spice Girls' careers, what life was like for Mel B as a child to her mid-20s, her marriage & divorce, solo music, and what she had planned to do after the dwindling spice career.

The only con I can say about this book is that she is too young to have written a truly grasping autobiography. She's only been through 20-odd years of life.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Scary Tells All, December 28, 2003

By 

C. Buchanan (Newtown, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Catch a Fire: The Autobiography (Paperback)

Scary Spice was my least favourite Spice Girl for her loudness and in your face attitude but this book gave me another insight into this person, one that dug beneath the "Scary" image she displayed in the Spice Girls, the book is also an excellent cross reference with the Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice) book which I have also read so it backs up many events described during the Spice Girls proving them to be obviously accurate and authentic.

I came out of reading this book with a certain sympathy for this Spice Girl I had previously found a little annoying, and though I still don't love her, I understand where her loud and in your face personality comes from. This is worth a read for any Spice Girls fan who wants to dig deeper than the sugary image they portrayed during the bands success, and see them as real people with real thoughts and feelings, personal successes, insecurities, personal struggles and real human emotions.

Ginger Spice's split from the band is not detailed much, which is a shame, but having read the Geri Halliwell book "If Only" it's told that went she left she didn't give a reason at the time anyways. All in all a decent read for fans of the Spice Girls who want to get a little look into the life of Scary Spice.