Heather Small
The soul singer on being held by Russian immigration and getting carried out of a club in Ibiza
IFELT AT HOME IN GHANA. I went for the 2019 Year of Return when they invited the diaspora to come home. I’d never been to west Africa – my family came from Barbados, because of enslavement. This trip was eye-opening because I saw a link between the people of the Caribbean and west Africa: my grandmother used to carry crates of drinks on her head, and in Ghana I saw people doing the same. In Barbados we have cou-cou – which is cornmeal presented in a dome. In Ghana it’s in a ball shape. I don’t like Ghana’s stance on LGBTQ+ rights, but being back where we began resonated deeply. I learnt the word akwaaba, which means welcome.
I LIKE THE SOLITUDE OF A SPA WHEN I TRAVEL. I love to chat, and I find spas calming because they’re quiet, so I have to be quiet too! I especially love the spa at Sandy Lane in Barbados – the showers have five settings and there’s a little rock pool, with jets for your back. It’s like an upgraded plunge pool – it’s warm, and you can wade about. I’ll hang out there and then go for a really good Swedish massage.
I LOVE LIVERPOOL. It’s got such history, great people, and there’s an energy. The International Slavery Museum has manacles and branding irons – it confronts the ugly truth of slavery. Liverpool is also one of the few places I ever went on tour that had a vegan restaurant. It’s called the
Egg Cafe, and it’s an institution.
When I’m there, I like to stay at the Titanic Hotel, because the service is just above and beyond. For me, luxury isn’t just about facilities, it’s how you’re treated. I’m asthmatic and I’m
paranoid about my voice, so I like the temperature to be warm and even. At the Titanic they’ll bring me a fanassisted heater, as well as upping the temperature on the thermostat.
I’M THE PERSON WHO GOES TO THE BEACH AND TRIES NOT
TO GET WET. Everyone else
will be rushing in, and I’ll be rushing the other way – I don’t feel safe, because the sea ain’t got edges! But I did get tempted in once. I was at Pine
Cliffs in the
Algarve, and the spa manager persuaded me to come along on her run – but she didn’t tell me she ends it by going into the water. It takes courage for me to disrobe in public, but she wasn’t taking no for an answer and I was wearing matching sports underwear, so I stripped off and went in – and it was so invigorating! When I told my son, he said: “She must have been REALLY persuasive!” We’re friends now and I’m due to go back. I know, on the first morning, we’ll be out there – but this time, I’m ready for it!
I WAS ONCE HELD FOR HOURS BY RUSSIAN IMMIGRATION. I’d flown over for the 2016 Kaliningrad International Music Festival. I arrived with my tech team, who were all white, and they went through immigration, but I was stopped. They said I didn’t look like my passport.
After three hours, they said: “Have you got an online presence?” I said: “Well, if you type in my
name…” The search results went: “Ping! Ping! Ping!” but they kept me for another hour. You’re not allowed to have your phone on, so I couldn’t tell anyone what was happening.
I said: “If you’re not going to let me in, just put me on the next plane out. I won’t have you treating me like I’m not a human being.” But their attitude was: “We can hold you, and we will.”
When my band flew in the next day, all the black members were stopped. There’s no recourse, and you get used to these things – but if they wanted to put me off going back, it worked.
I FEEL IN TOUCH WITH MYSELF IN BALI. There’s a calming aura – I think it’s down to the tectonic plates – and it has beautiful, quiet places. I love being in nature and looking out on to the foliage. I’ve been to Lovina, Kuta, Sanur and Ubud, which I love because it’s the creative heart of Bali. When I go, I’ll stay somewhere that has a pool and do my version of swimming. It’s not pretty, but
I build it up, lap after lap, then I’ll get a float and do kicking, because it’s good for your stomach. By the time I leave, I’m ultra healthy. At home I work out, but it’s under time constraints – on holiday, I have all day for myself.
I WAS CARRIED OUT OF A CLUB IN IBIZA. I was at Hï, where they had a DJ in the toilets, and the music is pumped through really loudly. My friend wanted to leave, but I kept dancing until he literally carried me out. I’ve been going back to Ibiza since my early days in the 1990s. I’d go to Pacha with the rest of the band, and my then beau, who’s my son’s father, and it was just about enjoying yourself. I don’t drink or smoke or take drugs, but music makes me high, and it was funny to be a spectator!