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Heather Small

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Heather Small
MBE
Small performing in Southport, 2008
Small performing in Southport, 2008
Background information
Birth nameHeather Marguerita Small[1]
Born (1965-01-20) 20 January 1965 (age 59)
OriginLadbroke Grove, London, England
Genres
OccupationSinger
Years active1986–present
Labels
Member ofM People
Formerly ofHot House
Spouse
David Neita
​
(m. 2012)​
PartnerShaun Edwards (1990s)
Websiteheathersmall-mpeople.com
Children1 (James Small-Edwards)

Heather Marguerita Small MBE (born 20 January 1965) is a British soul singer and lead vocalist of the band M People. Her subsequent debut solo studio album, Proud, was released in 2000. Her second and third studio albums Close to a Miracle and Colour My Life were released in 2006 and 2022, respectively.

Early life

[edit]

Small was born in London and raised on a council estate in Ladbroke Grove, West London.[2][3]

Career

[edit]

1987–1998: Hot House and M People

[edit]

Small joined her first group, Hot House, as a singer while she was still a teenager. She was the studio singer voice of the re-recorded version of "Ride on Time" by Black Box.[4] She had a chance meeting with Manchester DJ, Mike Pickering, formerly of Quando Quango, which led to sales of over 10 million albums worldwide with the group M People. They had considerable success with songs such as "Moving On Up", "One Night in Heaven" and "Search for the Hero".

In 1997, Small performed in "Perfect Day", the official 1997 Children in Need charity release, alongside a broad range of artists, including Tom Jones and Lou Reed. It sold over a million copies and was the UK's number one single for three weeks.[5]

In 1998, Small and M People took some time off to pursue solo projects after The Best of M People was released.

2000–2005: Proud

[edit]

In 2000, Small released her debut solo album, Proud, and a single of the same name, closely affiliated with the British Olympic team of the time. The single, which was used for the first season and the last episode of the final season of Queer as Folk,[6] is Small's signature song, with which she achieved international success. When Oprah Winfrey was looking for a song to sum up the work she had been striving to achieve over her twenty-year career, she contacted Small, and "Proud" became the theme song to The Oprah Winfrey Show; in 2005, Small made her American television debut on the show. Later the same year, "Proud" became the theme song for the American reality weight-loss show The Biggest Loser.

"Holding On" was released as the next single, followed in November 2000 by a duet single with Tom Jones, called "You Need Love Like I Do".

Small took time off to look after her newborn son, and record her second solo album. She occasionally appeared on various TV programs such as Parkinson and Songs of Praise. She also sang three songs at the Tsunami Relief Concert at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.[citation needed]

In 2005, a second M People greatest hits collection, Ultimate Collection, was released. The record featured both the biggest M People hits and two of Small's solo singles. "Proud" was re-released from this album and reached number 33 on the UK Singles Charts. M People reunited and played together on an arena tour in 2005, and they have played a few times each year afterwards.

2006–2008: Close to a Miracle

[edit]

Small released a new single, "Radio On", in the UK on 17 July 2006. Her second solo album, Close to a Miracle, was released on 24 July, followed by a second single of the same name released digitally on 25 September 2006. It also included a previously unreleased track, "Changes". The album was a commercial disappointment—it charted for one week at number 57, and both supporting singles failed to reach the Top 100—but a short UK solo tour later in the autumn was received well.[7]

In 2007, Small collaborated with Icelandic tenor Garðar Thór Cortes on a song called "Luna". It was released as a single from his album Cortes and reached number two in the Icelandic online music charts.[citation needed] A new song was recorded to celebrate 200 years since the abolition of the slave trade, and Small performed at a concert in London to mark the anniversary on 10 November 2007. On 26 May 2008, Small performed alongside Stereophonics and Feeder at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff as part of the celebrations of Wales's success at the 2008 Grand Slam.[8] In addition, Small performed three nights at Ronnie Scott's in October as part of her 2008 tour, and headlined at Manchester Pride.

On 24 August 2008, she performed at the Visa London 2012 Party to celebrate the handover as host city of the Olympic Games from Beijing, China, to London. Small sang "Proud", which was the unofficial anthem of Team GB at the Athens Games in 2004, and was the official anthem of the London 2012 Games. In December 2008, she performed "Proud" again on the 2008 BBC Sports Personality of the Year programme, as a soundtrack to a montage of British Olympian achievements at Beijing.[citation needed]

Late 2008: Strictly Come Dancing

[edit]

In 2008, Small was one of the sixteen celebrities in the sixth series of BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, where she was partnered with newcomer Brian Fortuna. The couple were placed ninth overall in the series, and were in the bottom two on four occasions, in weeks 4, 5, 7, and 8. They were eventually voted off by the judges when they lost in the dance-off against Rachel Stevens. Small also appeared in an associated BBC Three series called Dancing on Wheels.[9]

Week # Dance Judges' score Result
Horwood Phillips Goodman Tonioli Total
2 Salsa 5 6 8 7 26 Safe
4 Quickstep 6 5 6 6 23 Bottom Two/Saved
5 Samba 4 6 6 7 23 Bottom Two/Saved
6 Viennese Waltz 5 7 7 8 27 Safe
7 Cha-cha-cha 5 5 7 6 23 Bottom Two/Saved
8 Tango 6 7 7 7 27 Bottom Two/Eliminated

2009–present

[edit]
Heather Small at the Cambridge Big Weekend 2022

From late 2008 and throughout 2009, Small toured the UK. The setlist included Small's solo tracks, M People songs, and some jazz covers.[10]

It was announced in July 2010 that Small would take Chaka Khan's place alongside Anastacia and Lulu for the second Here Come the Girls tour, which took place across the UK during November and December 2010.[11] On 20 October 2010, she was rewarded with a BASCA Gold Badge Award in recognition of her contribution to music.[12]

In April 2011, Small performed as half-time entertainment at London's Twickenham Stadium for the annual St. George's Day Premiership Rugby fixture hosted by Wasps. Performing with educational events company Pro-Excel, Small performed "Proud" and "Search for The Hero", and led a backing dance troupe of 546 UK students, becoming the Guinness World Record Holder for "The World's Biggest ever Backing Dance Troupe for a Popstar".[citation needed]

On 29 October 2012, Small appeared at the 2012 Pride of Britain Awards, and sang "Proud" as a tribute to the athletes of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

During 2017, Small participated in the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage for the BBC, along with Neil Morrissey, Debbie McGee, Ed Byrne, Kate Bottley, Raphael Rowe, and JJ Chalmers.[13] She commented on the experience afterwards: "I was a believer before I set off, but this trip made me realise my faith and beliefs were much stronger than I had realised."[14]

In 2018, Small celebrated 25 years of singing. She toured around the UK,[15][16] celebrating her and M People's music.[17]

Alongside the tour, Small planned to release a new album, Heather Small: Orchestral Greatest Hits, in May 2018,[18] but on 3 May, the project was declared to be cancelled.[19]

Small toured from 10 April to 26 April 2019.[citation needed]

In January 2022, Small appeared on the third series of The Masked Singer as "Chandelier". She was first to be unmasked.[20]

Charity work

[edit]

Small actively supports several charities, such as BeatBullying, the Aiden Cox Foundation, Mencap (for which she performed) and St Luke's Midnight Walk. She attended[when?] an anti-racism ceremony at 10 Downing Street for "Show Racism The Red Card", which was also attended by Sporting Elite, the prime minister, and others. Small works regularly with Barnardo's; she has also become an ambassador of Asthma UK, as she suffered from asthma as a child.[21] She has also said that she supports "a few charities" including the Rio Ferdinand Foundation and Greenhouse Sports.[22]

Personal life

[edit]

Small lives in West London. In the 1990s, she had a long-term relationship with rugby player and coach Shaun Edwards, with whom she has a son, Labour Party councillor and London Assembly member James Small-Edwards.[23] Small lived in Standish, Greater Manchester whilst cohabiting with Edwards.[citation needed] In 2012 she married lawyer David Neita.[24]

Small was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2024 Birthday Honours for voluntary and charitable services.[25][26]

Discography

[edit]
See also: Hot House discography and M People discography

Albums

[edit]
Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
UK
[27] 		SWI
[28]
Proud 12 81
Close to a Miracle 57 —
Colour My Life
  • Released: 29 July 2022
  • Label: East West
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download
 58 —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

Singles

[edit]
Year Song Peak chart positions Album
UK
[27][29] 		GER
[30] 		SWI
[28]
2000 "Proud" 16 92 83 Proud
"Holding On" 58 — —
2005 "Proud" (re-release) 33 — — Ultimate Collection
2006 "Radio On" —[a] — — Close to a Miracle
"Close to a Miracle" — — —
2019 "Proud" (remixes) — — — Non-album singles
"Moving On Up" (remixes) — — —
2021 "United Together" — — —
2022 "Love Me or Not"[32] — — — Colour My Life
"Excited"[32] — — —
As featured artist
1997 "Perfect Day" (with various artists) 1 54 37 Non-album single
2000 "You Need Love Like I Do" (with Tom Jones) 24 100 56 Reload
2007 "Luna" (with Garðar Thór Cortes) — — — Cortes
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ "Radio On" did not enter the UK Singles Chart Top 100, but peaked at number 66 on the Physical Singles Chart and at number 11 on the Hip Hop & R&B Singles Chart.[31]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Heather Margarita SMALL". govuk. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  2. ^ Joseph, Tiffany (7 May 2018). "M People's Heather Small on Going Solo & Life in West London". The Resident.
  3. ^ "Heather Small". AllMusic.
  4. ^ "Black Box – Ride On Time (UK Remix) (CD) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 1989. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  5. ^ "perfect day | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Queer As Folk: The Final Season (Music from the Showtime Original Series)". Apple Music. 23 August 2005. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  7. ^ Heather Small News Archived 18 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "Heather Small [Voice of M People] - London, UK - Soul / R&B; / Disco House". 19 November 2008. Archived from the original on 19 November 2008. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  9. ^ Small appeared on The Weakest link Strictly Come Dancing Special. She was the 7th contestant voted off."The Press Association: Heather Small in Dancing On Wheels". Press Association. Retrieved 29 May 2009.[dead link‍]
  10. ^ Stef (11 February 2009). "Heather Small Music". Heathersmall.blogspot.com. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
  11. ^ "Welcome to www.heathersmallmusic.com!". 11 March 2012. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  12. ^ Paine, Andree (20 October 2010). "Gold Badges For Heather Small, John Paul Jones". Billboard.com.
  13. ^ "Pilgrimage: The Road To Santiago". BBC Media Centre.
  14. ^ "BBC2 Pilgrimage: Heather Small". BBC Programmes.
  15. ^ "Heather Small 2018 Tour Announced". Heather Small: The Voice Of M People. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  16. ^ Sayce, Rebecca (9 May 2018). "M People's Heather Small wows Dudley crowds during solo show - in pictures". Express & Star. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  17. ^ "Heather Small – The Voice of M People (rescheduled date)". Tyne Theatre & Opera House. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  18. ^ "Heather Small: Orchestral Greatest Hits". PledgeMusic. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  19. ^ "Heather Small: Orchestral Greatest Hits project cancelled". PledgeMusic. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  20. ^ "Masked Singer UK reveals identity of first celebrity of series 3". Digital Spy. January 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  21. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. ^ Stallwood, Oliver (9 February 2022). "Pop star Heather Small's first bathroom was 'scary' and avocado green". Metro. London. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  23. ^ Topping, Stephen (6 May 2022). "Heather Small and rugby legend Shaun Edwards' son elected as councillor". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  24. ^ Jack, Jack (2 January 2022). "The Masked Singer: Who Is Heather Small? Songs, age, husband and Instagram". Metro. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  25. ^ "Birthday honours: Mark Cavendish, Strictly's Amy Dowden and Alan Bates recognised". BBC News. 14 June 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  26. ^ "Awards for Birthday Honours List 2024" (PDF).
  27. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 508. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  28. ^ a b "Discography Heather Small". Swisscharts.com. Archived from the original on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
  29. ^ "Chart Log UK: DJ S – The System Of Life". Zobbel.de. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  30. ^ "Chartverfolgung / SMALL, HEATHER / Single". Musicline.de. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
  31. ^ "Heather Small - Radio On". Official Charts. 29 July 2006. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  32. ^ a b "HEATHER SMALL – THE VOICE OF M PEOPLE RELEASES HER NEW SINGLE 'EXCITED'". Warner Music. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
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