British band the Spice Girls have displayed a united front with an impromptu concert in Rome to quash rumours of a split.

Cheers from the crowd

The five girls appeared on the balcony of their hotel on Sunday and performed two songs to the cheers of hundreds of fans below.

Ginger Spice (Geri Halliwell) and Baby Spice (Emma Bunton), who were reported to have disagreed over the sacking of band manager Simon Fuller, embraced in front of the crowd and the television cameras.

Emma and Geri show their affection

"The girls are closer than they have ever been following the recent bad publicity," said their newly appointed publicity boss Alan Edwards.

"They are remarkably calm tonight and are determined not to dwell on the past. They want to assure all their fans that they are not splitting up and they are very concerned that they have been given an untrue view over the past few days."

The girls walk off stage in Barcelona

Mr Edwards said the girls were very upset by the events in Spain last week when they were booed off stage in Barcelona during an awards evening, but want to put it behind them.

The incident sparked press gossip in Britain that the Spice Girl bubble had burst.

The band will be in Paris for most of the week where they will promote their new film, Spice World, and will hold a press conference on Tuesday.

Rumours have brought them closer together

It was at that session that it had been rumoured they might announce their split. But Mr Edwards said: "They will talk about the film and I don't even think they will mention anything about the rumoured split unless they are asked."

Affair denied

Emma has also denied she was having an affair with Mr Fuller. Press reports said he was fired when Ginger Spice discovered the two had had a secret fling.

Emma dismissed the claims. She told British tabloid The Sun: "Do I look like the sort of girl who'd fancy someone with dyed hair? Actually, Simon had to go because he forgot the words to Wannabe. That was unforgivable."

She strongly denied reports that she had disappeared on Saturday for a secret pre-dawn rendezvous with Mr Fuller.

Mr Edwards said: "Emma has sworn to me that she was with the band all day and the girls have all backed her up. She said she was very surprised by it."

Mr Edwards also said that Posh Spice (Victoria Adams) "laughed" at a report that she was preparing to wed her England footballer boyfriend David Beckham.
 

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