Heather Small

Born and raised in London, England, Heather Small launched her recording career as the lead singer of Hot House, an R&B trio that issued two albums in the late 1980s after she won the role through audition while still in her teens. Following the group’s dissolution, she aligned with M People, a Manchester outfit leaning further into house music that happened to share the same Deconstructed imprint. Although the band made only modest headway in the United States beyond club playlists, its four albums issued across the 1990s reportedly moved more than ten million copies around the world. Once M People wound down its activities, Small stepped forward with her debut solo set, Proud, in 2000. The record marked a clear shift away from dance-oriented material toward a blend of R&B and rock reminiscent of work by Seal, Sade, or Des’ree. After several years devoted to raising a child, she reemerged in 2006 with Close to a Miracle, a release that coincided with M People’s return to the stage for multiple shows throughout England.