The Date: Oct. 30

The Place: Manhattan's Chelsea Piers sports complex

The Scene: Sporty Spice -- that's Mel C. to nickname neophytes -- is on location with Canadian rocker Bryan Adams to shoot a video for their new duet, "When You're Gone" (from Adams' album "On a Day Like Today"). As assistants rush around the elaborate set, Sporty, with mum in tow, explains the collaboration: "We were in L.A. at the same time and we happened to be in the same lift, and we went, 'Oh, hi!' We had a drink, and he just asked me to sing on (his album)."

What Miss C. doesn't explain is that this is a baby step toward establishing a solo career: She'll soon begin work on her own album, which she says is due out late next year. Surprisingly, Sporty's realistic about her long-term prospects. Asked for the album's title, she half-jokes: "Oh, S---, I'm on Me Own! Is Anyone Going to Buy It When I'm Not With the Others?"

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