WHEN Heather Small says, "I do like having chocolate poured all over me", she means it purely in terms of immersing herself in the dark brown tones of a singer like Nat "King" Cole. But Heather has in the music business long enough to know that ever the time of the incomparable Nat Cole, black vocalists nave been sold to predominantly white audiences partly to give them a vicarious thrill at the forbidden taste of what African Americans themselves describe as "a little hot chocolate". Or "black magic" if you prefer, even if it is packaged in a white wrapper, courtesy of singers from Presley through The Stones to Michael Bolton and Mariah Carey.
Though Heather knows that, to many, she may be the main selling point of M People, she believes this has more to do with her voice than her colour or sexuality, while stressing that none of these forces can be viewed as "separate". "I am a musician, first and foremost, but of course, I also am a black female musician and when somebody sees me the first thing they are going to say, inevitably, is, she's black because that is the first thing people see, regardless of my voice," she elaborates.
"But maybe more than the sexual thing, is that fact that even from the time I started out singing, I knew I'd have to distinguish what was different about my voice, as a black person. Because, in a kind of reverse racism, people expect that because you're black you have to be even more of an outstanding singer than whites. It's like, oh, she's black, she's supposed to be good. They seem to automatically compare you with great vocalists like Gladys Knight, who I must admit I love.
"But that can be OK, in itself, in that now I really believe that if I can make just one person feel how she has made me feel over the years, then I'll be happy. Even her most popular songs, like Midnight Train To Georgia is, as I say, like somebody's poured chocolate all over you And I love other singers who make you feel that way, such as Nat, Aretha Franklin and contemporary people like Mica Paris, Shara Nelson. Especially Shara, who also has that mournful thing in her voice, no matter what she's singing. I really like that."
Reminded that it was Shara who once said of her time with Massive Attack that "too often you have bands that have a front singer, who normally is black, and nobody seems to realise that the singer may have had more to do with the overall musical vision of the group than is immediately obvious" Heather claims "that is true", but adds that she herself "never felt that way in terms of M People" and that, on the contrary, she sees herself "absolutely one part in a four part band". Nevertheless, she agrees that commentators do normally focus on the founder member of M People, Mike Pickering, and seems more than happy to discuss, instead, her role in the band. Sliding back to the subject of singing, in general, Heather also suggests that "soulfulness" is not just a feature you find in music made by blacks.
"Bono has got that element, of soul, to. That's what attracted me to U2's music, when I first heard them at a gig, which I only went to because my friend had a spare ticket! They were doing gospel things like I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For and it was great", she says "totally" agreeing with the U2 singer's description of their music as "Liffey gospel" a phrase Heather should love, as gospel is another key influence on her own style. Nowhere is this more obvious than during the opening notes of Sight For Sore Eyes, the first track of M Peoples' latest album, Bizarre Fruit, where one half expects the great Mahalia Jackson to come roaring forth in praise of the Lord. At least, until the Nineties dance rhythms take over.
"Ooooh, don't mention her name! Mahalia? Fantastic voice!" Heather responds, sighing. "But bringing in the dance beats at that point is not a strategy, it's more what we basically feel is right, at the time we're recording. My first band, Hothouse, on the other hand, was more gospel soul influenced and I did listen to gospel singers like Mahalia Jackson and Dorothy Lovecoates things like that, which blew me away. But I've always felt that pull towards gospel, and always will. In fact, when it came to distinguishing what was different about my voice from the outset, as I was saying earlier, I really felt I found my natural home when I listened to gospel. Even in terms of my voice being deeper than a lot of other female singers.
"But more in terms of that spiritual thing, that message of love and hope that tells you that even though you go through trials and tribulations, there always has to be that underlying belief that you can make things better. I know that's a bit of cliche, in pop, but it really means a lot to me. And even if that sense only lasts for the three minutes it takes to sing a song, sometimes that is enough. At least you've had some respite. That's what we try to do with songs like Walk Away."
Obviously successfully. Because as far as many fans of M People are concerned, this dance and soul based message of hope is central to their success and popularity. Not that all music critics agree. Some rock commentators, in particular, detect a certain lack of substance in the music of M People and even dismiss it as "Handbag House", a phrase that has led Mike Pickering to retort "It's so condescending, in that it implies something inferior about Sharon and Tracy dancing round their handbag. Sharon and Tracy have always had more taste than the middle classes. Youth culture has always sprung from the working class, be it mod or soul or whatever." Heather agrees. She also suggests that M People winning the Mercury Music Album of the Year Award for their album Elegant Slumming, in 1994, "was a definite slap in the face" of those very specific "rock snobs" who deride dance culture and deify instead so called "literary lyricists" and guitar bands.
"I wouldn't say that I get as upset as Mike does by such comments," she says. "Because I've been dealing with that kind of snobbery for years. And at the end of the day, the point is that we won the Mercury Prize and that means more than whatever might be said by critics who obviously are totally out of date and haven't a clue what's happening in terms of dance culture. But then indie bands want to be seen as apart from all this too, and those critics just follow their leads. Either way, I really do believe that cream will rise to the top, talent will win out. And when you continue to sell millions of records you do realise you must be doing something right."
CLEARLY, one wouldn't want to be hungry when talking to Heather Small. But now that we have moved from all this talk of chocolate to talk of cream, is there any truth in the rumour that the last time M People played Dublin the rest of the band went to party in the POD but Heather went back to her hotel to have, presumably, her cocoa?
"I'm not a party animal, anyway, but when I'm on the road I don't do anything that is going to interfere with my vocals," she responds, laughing. "People pay for me to give them a good show, not go out and party. And partying does affect my vocals, because I am asthmatic. And the other thing is that, despite what some critics may say, on stage I really do pour my heart and soul into the songs. And I hope that's what people connect with, more than anything else.
"When I sing I really do give of myself and of my spirit and if people say they don't like my music, that makes me feel they don't like me. Not as a person, overall, perhaps, but something that is intrinsically me. Most performers might not admit that to you, but it is true. When you go on stage you are saying, I have something to give, please like it, like me. That's the bottom line."
