SMALL MERCIES
Former lead singer of M People, Heather Small, instantly recognisable by her powerful and soulful voice, talks to ALEX GREEN as she returns to live gigs
HEATHER SMALL has one of British music’s most striking voices. Since the late 1980s, the West London-raised singer has enjoyed success as part of million-selling dance outfit M People and as a solo artist.
Now after an enforced period away from live shows due to the pandemic, she is finally back performing to audiences.
“It’s what I do and it’s where I am most happiest,” she explains of a recent clutch of concerts around the UK. “I have missed it so very much. It’s hard to explain because it’s intrinsic to who I am – singing, performing. I have done it for such a long time and for it to be taken away from you...
“When you see how a lot of people in the creative industries have been treated, it’s so sad and disappointing more than anything.”
Heather, now 56, was still a teenager when she discovered her voice while listening to the music of Gladys Knight and Aretha Franklin.
These influences informed her first band Hot House, a soul trio who won press attention in the late 1980s but failed to dent the charts.
Her first brush with fame came when she sang the vocals on Black Box’s smash hit Ride On Time.
The song topped the UK singles chart and soon Heather was working with Manchester DJ Mike Pickering on a project they called M People, producing hits including Testify, Moving On Up and One Night In Heaven.
A decade and more than 10 million record sales later, the group went on hiatus and Heather released a solo album, Proud.
There was another solo album and a stint on Strictly Come Dancing (she placed ninth) and time spent away from the spotlight raising her son, James, from her relationship with former rugby league player Shaun Edwards.
Despite nearly three decades on stage, Heather still admits to suffering nerves.
“It’s just so exciting,” she offers. “I mean, also terrifying. Everybody knows I’m a bit of a nervous performer but when I get the mic in my hand, I stride forth. It all belongs to me. I am the mistress of all, I should say the master, of all life.”
Heather is emotional as she recalls the last few months since so-called Freedom Day.
“When I first got back (to performing live), there were people in the audience who were crying... because my performance was so bad,” she quips.
“No! Just the relief and the release and the joy to be doing something that equated to a usual behaviour.
“There is nothing like music and live performance outside – singing, dancing, music, that festival aura. It is amazing.
“It’s freeing and also it’s intergenerational. Especially the last thing I did. Literally there was a woman, she must have been in her 80s, and there were young children like eight.
“And she had specifically come to see me perform and her daughter was pointing at the end of the show. I just felt this rush of warmth and joy. That is the power of music and the power of getting together.
“It’s like a common feeling of wellbeing. Usually what I do is I see people at their happiest. I see people at their best. You do miss that.”
During lockdown, Heather launched a clothing brand with her younger sister, Cheryl, who has bipolar disorder. Through Proud Sista, the duo aim to celebrate both biological and non-biological sisters and raise awareness of mental health issues. Cheryl was diagnosed with bipolar aged 14 and credits her older sister with helping her through.
“Being in a situation whereby you’re told that if you leave your house it could kill you,” she begins. “That other people around you could be a source of your undoing or where you could be the source of somebody else’s bad health. It can be very triggering for anybody who has a mental illness of any kind.
“If you didn’t have a mental illness before, there are people that this sort of situation would maybe launch them into that realm.
“We wanted to do something that spoke to us and to other people about those mental health issues and keeping strong.”
Created in response to the pandemic, Heather wanted the clothing brand to be both motivational and inspirational.
“It was like a metaphorical hug for people who might have any kind of issues,” she explains.
“You might not have started with any but there’s lots of people now who will have problems because they’ve been told to go against everything that we would naturally do as human beings. And that can be very triggering.”
Heather may not have produced much new music in the past decade but she has made up for it with a near-constant touring schedule and regular charity work for the likes of Barnardo’s, Asthma UK and Beatbullying.
In the first months of the pandemic, she took part in a campaign with the World Health Organisation promoting global solidarity, offering up a cover of Sister Sledge’s We Are Family. There are times when her instincts as a mother and activist cross over.
“There will be a situation where a parent might think, ‘Oh, my child’s just going through a rough patch’.
“But even so, it might be the start of their first episode. There are so many things to watch out for and so it’s best to talk and also go to the doctor. Is it something you will have to live with long term? Is it just something that you’re going through in a short period?
“Just to talk and not to be embarrassed and not to be ashamed.”
Heather Small tours the UK in March 2022. Tickets on sale now
It’s just so exciting. I mean, also terrifying Heather Small on performing