Pop star Melanie C has responded to accusations that Spice Girls stole their iconic “girl power” phrase from another band. The British pop group are widely credited with popularising the mantra in the mid-Nineties, today splitting opinion over whether it helped revive the feminist movement or if it was part of a cynical marketing campaign. However, what has been noted on several occasions is the fact that the Spice Girls did not coin the “girl power” phrase themselves. In a new Q&A with The Guardian, Melania C, aka Sporty Spice, was asked about the fact that the British punk band Shampoo used it for their debut album, Girl Power, along with the title track, with lyrics including: “I don’t wanna be a boy / I wanna be a girl / I wanna play with knives / I wanna play with guns / I wanna smash the place up just for fun.” “Well, I’m surprised this question doesn’t come up more often because, obviously, we are all aware that Shampoo had a single called ‘Girl Power’ way back in 1996 [it reached No 25],” Melanie…