MELANIE C CELEBRATES NATIONAL ALBUM DAY AT SPECIAL CLASSIC ALBUM SUNDAYS EVENT
Last night, Melanie C joined Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy for an exclusive Classic Album Sundays event held at The British Library to mark National Album Day. An Evening with Melanie C saw the pop icon explore her musical journey through eight albums that have influenced or shaped her career.
The albums Melanie selected included the first record to have an impact on her, Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life; Eurythmics’ Revenge; the Spice Girls’ global phenomenon Spice, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year; Madonna’s Ray of Light; Christina Aguilera Stripped; her own solo debut, Northern Star; Rose Gray’s Louder, Please, which she believes will go on to become a classic; and her acclaimed 2026 album Sweat, which she is promoting on a world tour.
On the importance of the album and how she used to listen to music growing up, Melanie C said:
“It’s a real sad loss that there is a generation of people who haven’t experienced a side of music that the artist intended. There was an A side, a B side and people always had a favourite side. You knew exactly what was coming next and you were taken into that world, in no format more so than the album. You could see an album in all its glory in the size it was meant to be in and how it was meant to be presented.
I had a red Toshiba tape to tape and it was my pride and joy on my window sill. I would escape to my bedroom and it was me and the tape to tape. The first album cassette that I asked for on my Christmas list was Wham!’s Fantastic in the early 80s. That was my first cassette and I was madly in love with them. I just thought they were the best ever. I was team Wham. And team Madonna. I was young when Like A Virgin came out, I was just drawn to her and the way she performed. I loved to dance and her combo of music and theatre was everything I wanted to do.”
Talking about speaking at The British Library, she continued:
“Wannabe, 2 Become 1, If U Can’t Dance, we all recorded at Strongroom Studios down the road. A lot of these songs were formed there, it feels very special to be here today. “
On inspiration, Melanie C said:
“I love it when people speak to me and say my music had an effect on them because other artists' music has done that for me. As an artist it’s a blessing that you can do that for other people. I feel very lucky.”
The evening also brought a special surprise for Melanie, who was presented with a BRIT Certified 3x Platinum Disc for Northern Star by Dr Jo Twist OBE, CEO of the BPI, which certifies the disc awards. Released on Virgin Records in 1999, Northern Star was Melanie’s acclaimed solo debut and has sold approximately 2.5 million copies worldwide, including nearly one million in the UK (3X Platinum marks 900,000 sales).
Founded in 2010 by radio host, DJ and producer Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy, Classic Album Sundays tells the stories behind our favourite albums and artists via their immersive listening events and their online platform, which includes artist interview videos, podcasts and blogs. It was founded in 2010 by radio host/DJ/producer Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy who wanted to put the spotlight back on the album format, vinyl culture and deep listening.
National Album Day takes place this Saturday 17 October, you can get involved by telling us your favourite iconic album tagging @AlbumDayUK and #NationalAlbumDay #IconicAlbums.