Heather Small may have a big, big voice but she had to overcome shyness to make herself heard, as she tells CHARLES HUTCHINSON

Heather Small sings empowering soul music that exhorts self-belief. Songs such as Search For The Hero and Proud, the unofficial theme for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, are the stuff of motivation tapes and sports psychology.

Do not, however, judge a book by its cover.

"If you have a big voice and you're up-front, people think you must be the life and soul, but I wouldn't say I was that. I'm quite wary," says the M People singer, on the eve of a short solo tour that opens in York this weekend.

"You have to prove yourself to me before I give you an inkling of my nature. I'm not gregarious. I always have to weigh up a person, and usually I decide quite quickly, and then it's too late to change!"

From an early age, the Londoner wanted to be a singer but struggled against shyness. "I was very, very shy and sometimes I'm still shy or a little self-conscious, but I did want to sing very much," recalls Heather, now 38.

"In a new situation I can feel self-conscious, but with singing you have to be so honest and while it's hard to be honest with people you don't know, I find it easier showing my true self when I sing. I'm sassy on stage and I'm in control: it's my chance to express myself and I love that."

Heather acknowledges the contradiction between being reserved away from the limelight yet revelling in the spotlight on stage.

"When you're a bit insecure, going on stage is a slightly mad thing to do," she says. "You're saying 'I have something to offer'; you're saying 'Please like me' in a horrible, needy way! But performing is my one adrenaline: I don't smoke; I don't take drugs; I don't drink."

She doesn't meat, either, being a vegan.

Through her music, Heather encourages the pursuit of happiness.

"Music can be and should be about anything. Some people are good at political statements, and if that's your passion, then all well and good, but sometimes you can't bring that passion to the music, so you bring something else to it, and my interest is in how to make yourself happy," she says. "That is not selfish; it's self-fulfilment.

"We live in a society where, especially for women, you're told what to be, how to be, what kind of man you should go for, what kind of job you should have.

"I just believe that if whatever you do is good for you and doesn't hurt anyone, then good, that's the thing to do. You have to have the courage of your convictions. It's that thing of being comfortable with yourself."

She urges those with musical ambition to pursue their goal, no matter what stands in the way.

"When I was about 11 or 12, I had a sense of my voice. I wanted to sing and I felt I could if I worked at making a sound that was acceptable to others," recalls Heather.

She was hindered by her asthma but persisted.

"I've always had trouble with my breathing, so I went to a vocal coach each week - sadly he died this year, and he was such a sweetheart, so every time I sing now I think of him."

She believes strongly in the role that a singing coach can play in the development of a young singer, but she offers a piece of advice: "I would say go out there and join a band, just practise and find your voice, and then have lessons when you're happy with your voice. You need to find someone who hones the voice you have, to bring out the character, and not make it homogenous."

Not surprisingly for such a distinctive singer, Heather is drawn to strongly individual voices.

"It's always the ones you can tell straightaway. Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin...I love Gladys Knight, Dionne Warwick," she says. "There are some drag queens that do me, I've heard, most probably in gay clubs, so I feel I've really arrived too! I'm totally flattered."

With M People in cold storage - "we're still a band, we met up a few weeks ago, so there might be another album, but no gigs are planned", says Heather - she is concentrating on her solo endeavours. Writing new material, playing a short tour, singing her all-time favourite songs.

"It's a ticket back to my childhood heroes and a chance to stretch my voice. I'll do an Abba song - but it's not Dancing Queen! - and there'll be a tribute to Gladys Knight, and I'll do I Loves You Porgy from Porgy And Bess.

"It's just a little challenge to learn songs that I didn't know all the words to, do them justice and bring something new to them," she says.

Is there a song that she cannot sing?

"No, not really, I'm a singer and I find ways to interpret it... though opera may be beyond me, but I do like Jessye Norman's voice. I like her aura too: she is so regal you feel you should bow to her!"

So, no Jessye Norman arias on Sunday at York Barbican Centre, but search for Heather's other heroes and they will be there in her set list.

Name: Heather Small

Occupation: The soul singer with that big voice

Born: West London council estate, January 20 1965

Age: 38

Early musical steps: Battled with shyness and profound desire to sing from early age, inspired by gospel, Seventies reggae and soul. Joined first group, blues and soul band Hot!House, in her teens. Later sang with Orange Juice and Working Week

Influences: Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone, Gladys Knight, Mavis Staples

Fortuitous meeting: Met Mike Pickering, DJ at Manchester's Hacienda club. On hearing her voice, he persuaded her to collaborate with Manchester group he had just formed: M People

M People albums: Northern Soul, 1992; Elegant Slumming, 1993, Bizarre Fruit, 1994; Fresco, 1997. Group sold ten million records worldwide

M People top ten hits: 1993, How Can I Love You More; One Night In Heaven; Moving On Up; Don't Look Any Further; 1994, Renaissance; Sight For Sore Eyes; 1995, Open Your Heart; Search For The Hero; 1997, Just For You; 1998, Angel Street

M People awards: In 1994, band was voted Best British Dance Act at BRITS and won Mercury Music Prize

Solo debut: Proud, 2000

Tom Jones connection: Teamed up with the Welsh warhorse on single You Need Love Like I Do, November 2000

Other work: Guest spots with Snake Davis Band; contributing Peace On Earth to Gaia album project to benefit environmental education in schools

Work in progress: Writing material and recording songs for solo album

Where, when, and why in York: Barbican Centre, Sunday, 7.30pm, on opening night of short tour, playing York, Manchester, Cambridge and London. Showcasing new material and performing her favourite jazz and soul standards

Tickets update: Still available at £20; ring 01904 656688.

Updated: 11:27 Friday, June 13, 2003