Live Review: Melanie C – 23rd October 2026 – Brixton Academy, London, UK

There are few artists who can move between 90’s pop nostalgia and club culture quite like Melanie C. Best known to millions as Sporty Spice, she has spent years carving out a solo career that has taken her in plenty of different directions, from radio-friendly pop hits like Northern Star and Here It Comes Again to the dancefloor sounds that have become such a big part of her musical identity with her international DJ shows sowen through the tracklist of new album, Sweat. On Friday night at Brixton Academy, all those sides came together for a show that was as much about celebrating the past as it was about having a bloody good time in the present.

With Sweat at the heart of the evening, Melanie C wasted little time getting things moving. Undefeated Champion kicked things off before Free to Love and Til It Breaks kept the energy flowing. Emotional Memory offered a change of pace, while Cashmere, Attitude and Pressure helped establish the sound of this latest chapter in her career. There was a real sense that Melanie was comfortable in this space, embracing the electronic beats and club-ready production without losing the pop sensibility that has always made her music so appealing.

It is easy to forget just how much ground Melanie C has covered since the Spice Girls first took over the world in the late 1990s. While that chapter will always be a huge part of her story, she has built a solo career that stands firmly on its own merits. The newer material gave the show its own identity, proving that this wasn’t simply a trip down memory lane but a celebration of an artist who is still finding new ways to do what she loves.

The mood softened when the second stage of the set Dover into acoustic territory, starting with What Could Possibly Go Wrong?. The stripped-back arrangement gave the song room to breathe and brought a more intimate feel to the gritty South London venue.

Taking us right back to the 90’s, Viva Forever was a lovely reminder of the Spice Girls’ softer side, bringing a wave of familiarity to the room, before Say You’ll Be There added a little more attitude to the acoustic section. Hearing these songs in a different setting gave them a fresh feel, while still tapping into the memories that have kept them close to fans’ hearts for decades.

There is something special about hearing an artist revisit songs that have become part of so many people’s lives. For Melanie, these tracks are more than just crowd-pleasers; they are a huge part of her musical journey. Rather than simply playing them for an easy reaction, she brought them into a set that felt connected to everything she has done since.

A cover of Bryan Adams’ When You’re Gone kept the acoustic moments coming before Nadia Rose joined Melanie for Never Be the Same Again. One of her biggest solo hits, the track remains a highlight of her catalogue, and its inclusion was a reminder that Melanie’s success outside the Spice Girls has produced plenty of memorable moments of its own as well.as he ability to tie in other genres like RnB into her story. Mentioning that the show was being filmed, a hiccup by Rose seemingly missing the opening of the rap section made famous by the late Lisa ‘Left-Eye’ Lopez of TLC fame meant that we were treated to a second perfomance of the hit. Unfortunately the same issue occured second time round and while Rose seemed to imply she wasn’t able to hear through her earpiece, it seemed from the crowd that she just didn’t really know the lyrics. A shame for the sake of the recording.

From there, the show shifted gears once again. Sweat brought the beats back to the forefront, with Touch Me – a.covet of the Rui Da Silva and Cassandra dance classic – keeping the club vibes firmly in place. One Track Mind, Flick of the Wrist and Good for Nothing followed, giving the set a run of tracks that felt tailor-made for a venue full of people ready to dance.

While the show might have leaned a little too heavily on the new record rather than solo career highlights, fans still got a good dose of chart toppers from her girl group heyday and nearing the end of the set, there was still room for a couple of huge Spice Girls moments. Who Do You Think You Are brought back the group’s cheekier side, while Spice Up Your Life was exactly the kind of feel-good throw-back that could get a room like Brixton moving.

The beauty of including these Spice Girls classics is that they never feel out of place. They are part of Melanie’s story, but they also sit comfortably alongside her solo material and her love of electronic music. Rather than looking backwards, the set found a way to bring all these different parts of her career together.

The encore offered another glimpse of what lies ahead, with the unreleased A Place Where We Belong giving fans something new to take away from the night. It was a nice touch from an artist who clearly has no intention of standing still or simply relying on the songs that made her famous.

Closing the show, I Turn to You brought everything together in one final burst of dancefloor euphoria. Still one of Melanie C’s defining solo tracks, it remains a brilliant example of her ability to combine a big pop chorus with the kind of electronic production that makes you want to lose yourself in the music. As closing numbers go, it was a fitting way to bring the evening to an end.

What made Friday night’s show work so well was the balance between the old and the new. The Spice Girls songs gave everyone a chance to reconnect with some much-loved classics, while the Sweat material showed that Melanie C is still pushing herself creatively and enjoying every minute of it. Neither side overshadowed the other, and that made the whole thing feel like a genuine celebration rather than a greatest-hits exercise.

Melanie C has spent years proving that there is life beyond the Spice Girls, and her Brixton Academy show was another reminder of just how well she has managed to do that. She can still deliver the nostalgic moments that fans come for, but she is equally at home taking things in a more electronic direction and keeping the dancefloor moving.

The Spice Girls might be where it all began, but Melanie C has long since made her own mark in music. At Brixton, she brought the hits, embraced her clubland roots and showed that, decades into her career, she still knows exactly how to get the party started and venues packed.