Red-hot Spice passions

Fans dress up, pay fortunes for scalped tickets

Had the Spice Girls strolled through the lineup for last night's concert, it would've been hard to pick them out from the thousands of Toronto wannabes.

Resorting to hair dye, tattoos and splashy makeup, look-alikes young and old swarmed Ontario Place to see their idols.

"They're, like, my heroes," said Caitlin Vigna, 11, of Mississauga.

"If I didn't get tickets, I would have cried," said her pal Shauna Kilkenny, 11.

Pumped-up fans emerged from the Amphitheatre, breathless and beaming.

"I'm losing my voice because I screamed so loud," said Rebecca Holt, 13, of Barrie. She said it was "different" without Ginger Spice. "It felt like something was missing."

'SCREAMING'

"Everybody was screaming so loud and you just get caught up in it," said her friend Kristen Connolly, 13.

Jaime Bagg, 10, of Ottawa, said the best part was when the girls appeared unclothed.

"It was funny when they were naked behind the chairs," she giggled.

"They're always on rhythm," said Jessica Niven, 17, adding she was shocked at how friendly they were. "If you waved at them, they would wink at you."

While many raved about frequent costume changes, others were upset because they missed out on the display.

"It was very hard to see," said Sherry Kobold, of Brampton, who had lawn seats.

Diane Hagon and daughter Chandra, 5, had been camped out in a tent since 7 p.m. Friday, hoping to get the best general-admission seat for last night's show.

'LIKE THE BEATLES'

"I don't know who's more excited, me or her," Hagon said after spending her tax refund on a $350 pair of scalpers' tickets.

"It's like the Beatles when I was a little kid. It's a big deal for us."

Countless parents were forced to pay scalpers small fortunes for tickets.

"I had to put a second mortgage on my house," joked Liam Doherty, 44, of Toronto. "Otherwise (his daughter Tara) might leave home."

Kate Rankine paid $800 for her two daughters to see the fab-five-turned-four.

"It's something they just couldn't miss."

Outside the Amphitheathre entrance Anna Maria Consentino, 11, of Brampton, cried uncontrollably after her mother refused to pay scalpers $400 for a single ticket even after the show had started.

"I've been waiting forever," she sobbed. "I love them so much."

Her mother, Maria Consentino, blamed the scalpers. "This is what makes it really awful. It hits the little kids."