M People

Mike Pickering, born in March 1958 in Manchester, stands as the driving force behind the chart-topping British house outfit M People. A highly regarded DJ, he performed with Quando Quango, arranged multiple early concerts for the Smiths, and recruited Happy Mondays along with James to Factory Records during his mid-'80s A&R role. He later departed Factory for the dance imprint Deconstruction, where he continued signing talent while cutting tracks with his own group T-Coy. In 1990 Pickering assembled M People with Heather Small, born January 20, 1965 in London, and Paul Heard, the ex-Orange Juice musician born October 5, 1960 in London.

DeConstruction signed the band in 1991, issuing the single “Colour My Life” that May. Follow-up release “How Can I Love You More” leveraged Small’s deep soul vocals to score a U.K. hit and yielded the 1992 album Northern Soul. Later that year M People delivered the remix package Northern Soul Extended, then launched a dominant 1993 with “Movin’ on Up.” The album Elegant Slumming also performed strongly, earning the group a BRIT award as Best UK Dance Act. Success carried into the next year with Bizarre Fruit, followed in 1997 by Fresco. Over the ensuing two years the compilations Classic M People and Testify appeared.