Original Spice Girl dropped for looking 'too old' recalls moment she first heard Wannabe

Thirty years after the Spice Girls burst onto the scene with one of the most iconic anthems of the '90s, a little-known original member has recalled the moment she first heard Wannabe.

Lianne Morgan, from Cowbridge, Vale of Glamorgan, joined Victoria Beckham, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton and Melanie B in Touch, the group that eventually became the Spice Girls.

But Lianne was abruptly replaced by Mel C because, at 23, she was "too old against the other girls".

After returning from a cruise ship gig, Lianne saw them singing Wannabe on Top of the Pops.

She recalled how she "got out their numbers" to congratulate them on the hit, before thinking "no, I won't, they might not even remember me".

Back in the '90s, Lianne attended an audition at Nomis Studios in London and was chosen to be part of Touch with Geri Halliwell, Melanie Brown and Victoria Adams.

She said that "she fitted the bill" for what they were looking for as she was a singer and dancer "with an edge and confidence".

"Having sang in Welsh social clubs as well as up north I was confident and could hold an audience and deal with hecklers. I could hold my own," she added.

The mum-of-two, now aged 55, said Geri Halliwell was the first member of the band that "stood out".

"Geri was great fun to be around and I would have definitely been closest to her, she was the most grounded one," she said.

Morgan said Victoria Beckham was "very quiet and shy", adding that she "did not want to sing at all, she kept on saying I am not a singer, I am a dancer."

She also recalls Mel B being "so confident", even as a teenager.

"She had an incredible voice and I knew she would be picked but felt she was very, very young," said Morgan.

Morgan said she was excited about joining the group, having built friendships with the girls during the audition process, and was excited to live with them in London.

She added: "Being an only child I have always enjoyed the family feel when you are doing a tour, or when I was in a group, so that was mainly the thing I was looking forward to."

Although, she remembers being stressed about money as they were only being paid "about £50 per week" at the time, she said.

In the end however she was replaced by Mel C before the group went on to achieve worldwide fame as the Spice Girls.

"I received a letter to say that they felt I looked too old against the other girls," said Lianne who was seven years older than most of them.

"I was only 23 at the time."

Morgan went on to be a principle singer on a cruise ship around the Fjords in Norway.

While on the ship, British passengers had mentioned to her that "there was a girl group taking Britain by storm."

But Morgan had no idea it was her former group until she arrived back home and saw them singing Wannabe on Top of the Pops.

She said: "I kept doing a double-take and then I realised it was the girls. I was so pleased for them and got out their numbers and was going to call to say congrats. But then thought no, I won't, they might not even remember me."

Morgan later discovered her fears were unfounded, with both Halliwell and Beckham mentioning her fondly in their autobiographies and wondering what had happened to her after she left the group.

"I actually felt it was a real positive for girls in the music industry and it made me feel like if they can do it, I can do it," she added.

However, Morgan said she was portrayed as "bitter" in the press after leaving the group, which was "upsetting" and had a lasting impact on her singing career.

"You have to know how to play the game and I was just too naive," she added.

Over the years Morgan built a varied career in music, education and the arts.

She performed professionally, ran music projects for young people and later worked as an artist and community creative.

She said: "I have worked with young people with Tourettes and young people who are nonverbal. These are my success stories when they can stand and give a presentation to their peers, which felt like a huge accomplishment."

The artist explained that she made a career change in 2014 after being diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia in 2011, a rare neurological condition that has paralysed her voice box.

She said it was a "devastating" diagnosis, and after years of treatment it would often leave her with difficulty speaking above a whisper, so "decided to embrace a new road".

"I realised that my main love has always been connection and communication and this is what music and singing has been for me, so I embraced this through the process of art," she said.

Morgan has received Arts Council Wales funding for her projects No Word and A Vibrational World.

She currently has a studio in Cardiff Bay and is working on a new exhibition planned for 2028.

To mark the 30th anniversary of Wannabe, the Spice Girls have shared tributes on social media, with Geri Halliwell posting a throwback photo of the group and thanking her "beautiful spice sisters" and fans.

Mel B simply celebrated with saying: "Zigazig ahhhh Yipppeeee".

Emma Bunton posted a picture with the caption: "Happy birthday Wannabe, 30 years! Love you all. Thank you!", while Mel C described it as "the song that changed our lives forever".