UK: M PEOPLE SINGER HEATHER SMALL EMBARKS ON SOLO CAREER

Record ID: 389327

  • Title: UK: M PEOPLE SINGER HEATHER SMALL EMBARKS ON SOLO CAREER
  • Date: 20th April 2000
  • Summary: LONDON, UK (APRIL 20, 2000) (REUTERS) SOUNDBITE (English) HEATHER SMALL SAYING "I can assure you that M-People haven't spilt up. We'd done the best of album and it was always the intention to have a break, but the nearer the break came, the less inclined I was take it, I think as a band we needed a break, but individually we w re so used to working so we thought we'd do s
  • Embargoed: 5th May 2000 13:00
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  • Location: LONDON, UK
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Reuters ID: LVA272EEWJW5BSI59D06CMRJK0GR
  • Story Text: M-People have been at the top of the pop world for the best part of a decade - and now the members have decided to try out some solo projects.Lead singer, Heather Small has just finished working on her album, a blend of pop, gospel, R&B and soul, which shows off her distinctive vocal stylen to perfection.
    M-People came out of Manchester in the early nineties, and won over an army of fans with their dance infused pop anthems.Not only were their singles dance floor smashes, but they won critical acclaim as well, including the prestigious Mercury Music Prize.Although the members are now working on solo projects, their followers need not be concerned that M-People have disbanded, as Heather Small explains: "I can assure you that M-People haven't spilt up.We'd done the best of album and it was always the intention to have a break, but the nearer the break came, the less inclined I was take it, I think as a band we needed a break, but individually we w re so used to working so we thought we'd do some solo projects, and here I am with an album."
    Small feels that her recent experiences including becoming a mother, have equipped her to take on a solo project - "I just thought that I was at a stage whereby so much thing had happened to me, and there were lots of different experiences, emotional, that I wanted to document, and I felt like I had the means and the ability to do it now, and do it with somekind of confidence."
    Although she has been singing as part of M-People since the age of twenty-five- it is only recently that Small feels that she has the maturity to take on such a huge project - she admits it was a challenge, but one she relished.
    " It's hard in one sense, it's hard because you make all the decisions and it's is very personal to me, and you feel a bit vunerable.but I found it, I must be an egomaniac because I really enjoyed it.It's just this is how I feel, and I thinkyou have the have a certain kind of maturity, and that doesn't always come with age, but its a certain mentality to say this is me, like it or not, I don't really care"
    Growing up in Manchester, Small was always surrounded by music, from the gospel and R&B she heard at home, to the disco tunes that were popular with her schoolfriends.This wealth of musical experience has lead to an eclectic taste, and this comes through on her new album.And in was a desire to emulate the singers she heard as a child that inspired her to sing: " I thought if I can make one person feel that kind of emotion, in three minutes it's quite difficult, I though I'll have succeeded, and just the joy that singing brings me, I am ecstatically happy when I sing, I know that sounds really childlike, I even got a band together for this album, and it was so exciting, I couldn't wait for it to be the next day for me to go back and sing again, and when something gives you that much pleasure, you have to do it."
    Of course, as for many singers, Small's finest moments are in front of a live audience.She intends to tour with the band she assembled specifically to record her album, and is looking forward to being on stage: " I think to see me live is so see the real Heather Small, because it's hard to portray something in three or four minutes on TV, you need more time, you need to be able to build and accelerate, and that's what I like to do in the live work."
    Although Small has enjoyed the challenge of writing and recording her own material, she still enjoys performing the well-loved anthems that took M-People to fame.Songs such as "Sight for Sore Eyes" and "One Night in Heaven" are still guaranteed to get a crowd going, and Small still loves to sing them: " When you're on stage and you hear people singing back those songs to you that started off maybe in a little room with three or four people,there's always pleasure in singing them.Some people are known for just one song, or a few songs and they're sick if singing it, but it's been my goal to be known for my singing and certain songs and it doesn't phase me at all.And I think if you're good at what you do, or you enjoy what you do, you find different ways of bringing it across so that's always a challenges as well."
    "Proud", the first single from the album of the same name is released in the UK on May 8.The album will be available later in May.
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