Heather Small used to tell herself: if she could just have one song that everyone knew and expected her to sing over and over again, she would be happy. That she has many is a real delight. She remembers a group of refuse collectors in their van who spotted her on the street and shouted over to her. “They all started singing Moving on Up,” she says. “I felt like I’d arrived. It was brilliant. It was just so warm, and if the dustmen want to sing my songs I feel honoured.” In 2018, Small celebrated 25 years of singing. She toured around the UK, [15] [16] celebrating her and M People's music. [17] Welcome to www.heathersmallmusic.com!". 11 March 2012. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012 . Retrieved 19 August 2020.

Selected items are only available for delivery via the Royal Mail 48® service and other items are available for delivery using this service for a charge. Small’s parents had come to the UK in the early 1960s from Barbados. Her father worked as a bus conductor and was “very domineering”, she says. “He wasn’t a very nice man.” But her mother, who worked for a supermarket, was more loving. Both contributed to her resilience, she says: “Him because of the negative, and my mother because of the total positivity. She made my sister and I feel like we walked on clouds.” It was her mother – who lives with Small in west London now – who counteracted the racism Small experienced at school. “It’s like a flower: you face the light and that’s where you grow. My light was my mother and my sister at home.” Small realised, she says, “You have to find a way to empower yourself. And being shy wasn’t empowering so I had to get over it.” 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 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. 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]

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] Heather is also set to perform as part of The National Lottery’s Big Jubilee Street Party at Manchester’s AO Arena – which will be televised on ITV around the Jubilee Bank Holiday – in honour of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee.

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a b "HEATHER SMALL – THE VOICE OF M PEOPLE RELEASES HER NEW SINGLE 'EXCITED' ". Warner Music. 12 July 2022 . Retrieved 14 July 2022. 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. 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.

Queer As Folk: The Final Season (Music from the Showtime Original Series)". Apple Music. 23 August 2005 . Retrieved 23 June 2021.

With M People, Heather sold 11 million records worldwide, won two BRIT Awards and the Mercury Prize for 1994’s ‘Elegant Slumming’. 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]