After Dinner Speakers: Melanie C, Jim Rosenthal, Michael Dobbs

b. Melanie Jayne Chisholm, 12 January 1974, Merseyside, England. Amid a flurry of solo Spice Girls activity during 1999, Mel C's reinvention as a rock singer attracted the most criticism. Routinely described as the most talented member of the Spice Girls, Chisholm had already enjoyed success outside the band in late 1998. Her highly catchy duet with Canadian rock star Bryan Adams, "When You're Gone", spent 10 weeks in the UK Top 10, reaching a peak position of number 3 in December. With the Spice Girls having already announced a prolonged sabbatical, Chisholm relocated to Los Angeles, California to record her debut album with respected producer Rick Rubin, with further contributions from Marius De Vries and William Orbit. Adams, meanwhile, popped up as a guest vocalist on an album which, for all the punk bluster of "Goin' Down" (a UK Top 5 single) and "Ga Ga", was more effective when Chisholm toned it down on several ballads which were reminiscent of none other than the Spice Girls. She had already premiered material from the album at selective live dates during the summer, including an infamous appearance at the V99 festival in August, during which she was roundly jeered for attempting a cover version of the Sex Pistols "Anarchy In The UK". Chisholm enjoyed greater success the following year when "Never Be The Same Again", featuring TLC's Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, and "I Turn To You" both topped the UK singles chart.