AceShowbiz - Former Spice Girls star Geri Halliwell is reportedly planning to revive her solo career with a self-funded album. The singer forged a successful career away from the girl group after she left in 1998 but her last record, 2005's "Passion", limped into the U.K. charts at number 41.

Halliwell subsequently took time out of the music industry to look after her four-year-old daughter, Bluebell, but she's stepped back into the recording studio to work on a new release, according to Britain's The Sun. The star is said to be self-financing her new project, in a move that mirrors her former bandmate Melanie C.

A source tells the publication, "Geri is back in the studio. She wants to release a solo album next summer. Her masterplan is to start off with a cover reworked as a huge dance track. She is recording a handful of them now. She is out of a record deal so she has decided to do it and fund it herself. She considered taking it to a label but thought the way her fellow Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm played her solo career was a better idea - pulling it together herself. "

"She has been texting all of her friends - including Victoria and David Beckham - asking for their favourite tracks for her to record."