Spice Girl Mel C and former bandmate Geri Halliwell are to share the same bill for the first time since 1998.

The two, who are both pursuing solo careers, will appear during a charity concert at the MEN Arena in Manchester later this month.

However, it is believed Sporty and the former Ginger Spice will not share the same stage.

A spokesman for Geri Halliwell said: "It's not as if they will be on stage together. Geri is headlining the show and Mel C is opening it.

"All I can confirm is that Geri will be there and she will be the headline act."

The Music For Life concert, which has sold out, has been organised by local radio station Key 103 and is raising funds for the city's specialist cancer unit at the Christie Hospital.

It is being staged on 28 January - the night before Mike Tyson is due to fight British champion Julius Francis at the same venue.

Pop stars Billie, Five, Honeyz and Tin Tin Out are among the others acts appearing on the bill at the fundraiser.

Spice tensions

Halliwell quit the Spice Girls in May 1998 at the height of the group's success, midway through their Spiceworld tour.

Despite the tensions behind the split and some unkind words since, Halliwell says she will always love the Spice Girls.

Last September she said: "I always send my love on their birthdays. I will always love them."

However, Mel C wasn't so gushing in an interview she gave last year in which she questioned Halliwell's musical talent and described her as "cotton wool".

The Spice Girl "war" reached a peak last November when Halliwell and Emma Bunton battled it out in the charts. Both released singles on the same day and Halliwell grabbed the top spot.