A spokeswoman for the group said Sporty Spice, Mel C, has gone to Dublin to record vocals for the band's as yet untitled third LP.

The rest of the group - minus Geri Halliwell, who announced her departure at the weekend - are due to record their contributions to the tracks in the near future.

Sir Elton: said to have loaned villa

The quartet were reported to have been staying at Sir Elton John's villa in the south of France until Mel C flew out on Monday.

The group's spokeswoman added that nothing should be read into the fact that Sporty had gone to record vocals on her own.

"Obviously it's one of a number of vocals which will be recorded separately for the album. Numerous bands record their vocals one at a time," she said.

Geri, aka Ginger Spice, remains in hiding at a secret location elsewhere in Europe.

The remaining spices have vowed to continue with a US tour starting in two weeks.

Ginger's last appearance to be broadcast

The band's final TV recording as a quintet will be shown on Friday's Top Of The Pops on BBC1 when they perform their next single, Viva Forever.

The slot was recorded on May 21 and was due to be shown next month.

Geri: whereabouts unknown

But TOTP producer Chris Cowey said: "We'd originally intended to broadcast the performance when the single is released but, given Geri's departure from the Spice Girls, it seems appropriate to screen it this week."

The group's next public appearance is in Modena in Italy when they appear with Luciano Pavarotti at his annual War Child charity concert on June 9.

The Spice Girls spokeswoman said that the group's troubles had helped to boost sales of the Spiceworld album by 36% and sales of their debut, Spice, by 16%.

Sales of Spiceworld - The Movie, last week's best-selling video, have now reached a quarter of a million in just over a week.

Ex spice

Ginger Spice left the band after she failed to appear at two concerts in Norway and an appearance on BBC One's National Lottery Show following rows with other members of the band.

Geri, 25, could face a £5m lawsuit following her decision to quit in order to pursue a career in television.

She is barred by her contract from singing on radio or television for the next two months.