INTERVIEW: Heather Small performs in Chichester

INTERVIEW: Heather Small performs in Chichester

Taken from the Midhurst and Petworth Observer.
Published Date: 12 November 2009
The last time she was in Chichester was as singer for M People on a great night at the Real Ale and Jazz Festival.
With M People, Heather Small became one of the seminal British voices of the 1990s.

Hits such as Moving On Up, One Night In Heaven and Search For The Hero saw the band sell millions of records, winning two Brit awards and the Mercury Music Prize.

This time, however, Heather is back in Chichester for a solo gig – a chance to spread her wings.

"I did some forest gigs with M People two years ago, but I have also done a lot of solo stuff.

It means I can sing any songs that I want, pop, blues, jazz, just what I feel is right for me.

"I have included some M People songs, but I want to try to do different things. I see myself as a singer now, and it is good to have that freedom. I am mature in voice and age! I like to experience different things."

She certainly feels – while taking nothing for granted – that she has developed as a vocalist down the years: "There are things that I sing now that I would not have dreamt of singing ten or 15 years ago, but it is not guaranteed.

"Your voice and your vocals are something that you have to carry around with you day in, day out. If you don't look after it, you lose it."

And that means?

"I don't eat meat, fish or dairy products, and I work out, and I am not one for drinking. I just don't like the taste. It's all about just being healthy in body and mind.

"It's a holistic thing. Everything in moderation is alright. You have to put yourself in the right frame of mind.

"You might not have had the best day in the world, but when you get on stage you have to make it that.

"The audience have come to forget and to be transported. I am aware of that – and that's why I get really, really nervous."

The trouble is it is hard to replicate that on-stage experience once you are off-stage, and so the worries set in: "But once I am on stage, you don't worry any more. I know I have enough experience to deal with whatever happens!"

Heather is at Chichester Festival Theatre on Saturday, November 14.

Autumn Tour Support Acts

Lucy Noble will support Heather on the following five dates of her upcoming tour:

Saturday 14th November - Chichester Festival Theatre
Wednesday 18th November - Buxton Opera House
Thursday 19th November - Malvern Theatre
Monday 23rd November - Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham
Tuesday 24th November - The Winter Gardens, MargateHead over to Lucy's website to read her news article.

All other dates will be supported by the talented Lucy Rhodes. Check her out on MySpace.

And the last three dates will be supported by Stringfever:
Friday 27th November - Philharmonic Hall Tickets, Liverpool
Monday 30th November - De Montford HallTickets, Leicester
Tuesday 1st December - DONCASTER - Dome

Heather Small Kicks off UK Tour

Heather Small heads off on her 15 date UK tour today and there are some tickets still available, head over to the tour page and book yours now.

In Concert: Doncaster Civic, 1st Dec 09

Heather Small will play Doncaster Civic on the 1st December 2009. Tickets are available from Ticketline.co.uk and Ticketmaster via The-Dome.co.uk and priced £22.50 and £25. Box office: 01302 342349

In Concert: Newcastle City Hall, 26th Nov 09

Heather Small will play Newcastle City Hall on the 26th November 2009. Tickets are available via Ticketline.co.uk and are priced £25 and £22.50. Tickets go on sale July 31st, 9am. Box office: 0191 2612606, for more info visit the venue's homepage.





Press Preview:
Heather Small to play City Hall date
Big voice ... Heather Small.
Published Date: 05 August 2009
By Gary Welford

SOUL singer Heather Small spent much of last year appearing on our TV screens as a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing.

But the voice behind such hits as Moving On Up and One Night In Heaven is back to doing what she does best - singing.

She has teamed up with the Snake Davis Band to head out on the road this autumn, and will appear at Newcastle City Hall on November 26.

As part of M People, who sold 10 million albums around the world, she became one of the seminal British voices of the 1990s.

Named after the initials of their founder, DJ Mike Pickering, they emerged from the Manchester club scene, and enjoyed five years of success, racking up 20 Top 20 hits.

Small's distinctive voice was the group's major selling point, and they won the Mercury Music Prize in 1994 and were named best British dance act at the Brits in 1994 and 1995.

They enjoyed eight Top 10 singles in a row in a phenomenally-successful two years, culminating in Search For The Hero, which was later used in the TV advertising campaign for the Peugeot 406.

After touring and promoting the Bizarre Fruit II album for 18 months, the band took a break in 1996, but it didn't leave the chart until April 1997, becoming one of the biggest sellers of the decade.

They made some live outdoor UK performances called the Summer M Parties at Crystal Palace, Alton Towers, and Old Trafford, the latter to a crowd of 60,000 at an event celebrating the Euro 96 football championships.

Small gave birth to her son, and, after the closure of their deConstruction label by BMG, the band founded their own label, M People Records, to release their next album, Fresco, in 1997.

It again peaked at No2, going on to sell 1.1 million copies and being certified platinum, and the following year's compilation The Best of M People did the same, despite outselling it.

The band then took a long break, with Small concentrating on raising her son, though she couldn't stay away from music for long, and released a solo album, Proud, in 2000, which reached a respectable No12 and achieved gold sales.

It seemed M People had split up, but they reconvened for a short UK tour in 2005 to promote a re-packaged Greatest Hits, and Small continued to pursue a solo career, releasing a second, less-successful album, in 2006.

Proud, which had become her signature tune, was used as the soundtrack to the successful London 2012 Olympic bid, and Small went all ballroom last year by appearing on the hit TV series Strictly Come Dancing.

Music was always her first love, however, and she appeared at Buckingham Palace for the 2012 Olympic Handover party, the Manchester Pride festival, and at Cardiff's Millenium Stadium for the Welsh 6 Nations Victory Celebration.

She also went back to basics, teaming up with the Snake Davis Band for three sell-out nights at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London at the end of last year.

Now she is hitting the road again with them, performing blues and jazz standards, along with some of M People's best-loved songs and her solo hits.

Tickets for the City Hall show, priced £22.50 and £25, are available now from 261 2606.

The Autumn Tour 2009

Heather Small will be on Tour during November and December 2009. Again mixing Jazz and Blues into her set list of M People and Solo Hits. Doors open 7pm.

November 2009
12 - Eastbourne Congress [details]
13 - Poole Lighthouse
14 - Chichester Festival
16 - Torquay Princess
18 - Buxton Opera House [details]
19 - Malvern Theatre, [details]
20 - Skegness Embassy
22 - Halifax Victoria
23 - Birmingham Alexandra

24 - Margate Winter Gardens
26 - Newcastle City Hall [details]
27 - Liverpool Philharmonic Hall [details]
28 - Carlisle Sands Centre [details]
30 - De Montford Hall, Leicester [details]

December 2009
1 - Doncaster Civic [details]



Tickets available from the individual venues, see the bottom of the page for box office numbers and website links.

......

In Concert: Forum Theatre, Malvern, 19th Nov 09

Heather Small will play the Forum Theatre in Malvern (Worcestershire) on the 19th November 2009. Tickets are available via http://www.malvern-tickets.co.uk/ and are priced £25.50 Box office: 01684 892277

In Concert: Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, 27th Nov 09

Heather Small will play Liverpool Philharmonic Hall on the 27th November 2009. Tickets are available via http://www.liverpoolphil.com/ and are priced £23, £25 and £30 Box office: 0151 709 3789






Promotional Posters Around Liverpool

In Concert: De Monford Hall, Leicester 30th Nov 09

Heather Small will play De Monford Hall in Leicester on the 30th November 2009. Tickets are available via http://www.demontforthall.co.uk/ and priced £22.50 and £25. Box office: 0116 233 3111

In Concert: Buxton Opera House, 18th Nov 09

Heather Small will play Buxton Opera House on the 18th November 2009. Tickets are available via http://www.buxtonoperahouse.org.uk/ and priced £23 and £25. Box office: 0845 127 2190

In Concert: Congress Theatre, Eastbourne 12th Nov 09

Heather Small will play the Congress Theatre in Eastbourne on the 12th November 2009. Tickets are available via http://www.eastbourne-theatres.co.uk/ and priced £22.50 and £25. Box office: 01323 412000

In Concert: Carlisle Sands Centre, 28th Nov 09

Heather Small will play Carlisle Sands Centre on the 28th November 2009. Tickets are available via TicketWeb.co.uk and priced £22 and £25. Box office: 01228 625222