'Talentless' Geri Horner was 'nearly SACKED from the Spice Girls for being tone deaf with awful timing'

She was a pivotal member of the Spice Girls who caused devastation across the globe when she quit the band during their heyday. 

Yet it has now emerged that Geri Horner née Halliwell came close to not being a part of the group at all, as a secret memo claims she was close to getting sacked before the girls' hit the big time. 

In a never-before-seen memo obtained by The Sun, the band's first manager Bob Herbert is said to have devised a plan to axe 'tone deaf' Geri, leaving just Mel B, Mel C, Emma Bunton and Victoria Beckham née Adams. 

The memo is said to have touched on Geri's 'lack of talent' and referred to the fact that she did not attend the band's original open auditions, instead getting to a later stage by bombarding Heart Management's office with calls until she was met with. 

According to the paper, Bob claimed: 'We included Geri because she had a very strong personality and her looks seemed to suit the image we were trying to project.

'Unfortunately she was tone deaf and had awful timing, which meant she was unable to sing in tune or dance in time...

'For weeks her lack of talent was a severe problem for her but with perseverance we found slots for her in the harmonies and the dance routines.'

He is said to have lined up a replacement for Geri, but kept his plans secret from everyone, including his son Chris - who formed the band.  

Geri is said to have caught onto the plan, however, and managed to get the group out of their deal. 

A representative for Geri declined to comment when approached by MailOnline.  

As Ginger Spice, Geri became a cultural icon of the Nineties, and was famed for her cheeky, carefree attitude as well as her outlandish outfits. 

However, she left fans across the world devastated in 1998 when she announced that she would be leaving the Spice Girls to go solo.  

Geri's departure from the band hit headlines across the world when she made the announcement in the middle of their tour citing 'differences' within the group, and the band went on hiatus two years later.

When Geri left the band, she launched a solo career and enjoyed four number one singles in the UK.

However, in recent years, the mother-of-two has been instrumental in organising a Spice Girls comeback and reunion tours. 

The five-piece reunited for the The Return of the Spice Girls Tour, with Ginger, Sporty, Scary, Baby and Posh touring the world for two months. 

In 2016, Geri planned planned to reunite with band-mates Mel B and Emma for a reunion under new name GEM, but had to pull out when she became pregnant at the age of 43.

The girls later reformed, without Victoria, for their sell out Reunion Spice World UK 2019 Tour, which kicked off on May 24 in Dublin, Ireland and ended on June 15 in London, England.  

On the final night of their UK tour, Geri apologised live on-stage for walking away all those years ago.

Between songs, she said: 'I'm sorry. I'm sorry I left. I was just being a brat. I want to say it's just so good to be back with the girls that I love.'

The Spice Girls shot to fame in 1996 when their debut single Wannabe reached number one in 37 countries.

The girl group reached the top of the UK charts nine times and had two number one albums. 

The Spice Girls have sold 85 million records worldwide, making them the best-selling girl group of all time and one of the best-selling pop groups of all time.