Heather Small – ‘The Voice of M People’ with Special Guests Ooberfuse

Tuesday 5th April 2022 — GLive, Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom
Photo Credit: MP Productions/Koshimo Photography

It was fantastic to be back again at GLive in Guildford, Surrey after the lockdowns as it is one of my favourite local venues and always manages to provide a varied programme.

Heather Small ‘The Voice of M People’ was performing as part of her headline UK tour before a jam-packed summer of festival appearances. The M People back catalogue is still played on radio today

The evening’s entertainment was provided by opener Ooberfuse a four-piece electronic pop band from London. Tracks such as ‘Bitter End’ and ‘Come To Me’ were perky and reminded me at times of Irish pop outfit The Script.

Wrapping up their set with their latest Abbey Road Studios recorded single ‘Vanish The Night (Putin Must Go Mix) they managed to mix an emotive subject matter with Clubland-esque beats. Talented songwriters who will go far if the quality of their output continues.

Arriving on stage just after nine, a six-piece band dressed in black consisting of keyboards, electric guitar, drums, bass and two female backing vocalists took their positions as the crowd cheered.

Heather Small walked on wearing a sparkly gold outfit and she was a bundle of energy as we heard the twinkling keyboards on ‘Renaissance’ from the 1993 record ‘Elegant Slumming’. A solid set-opener that had everyone in a feel-good frame of mind.

However, it was ‘One Night In Heaven’, the second track of the evening that made people rise out of their seats. The backing vocalists were lush alongside Small’s unique voice.

“I’m quite upbeat and very excitable!” she informs us before segueing into ‘Excited’ complete with its earworm chorus.

A funky take on The Small Faces classic ‘Itchycoo Park’ on the surface might seem an odd song choice. Interestingly, M People recorded a version of the song for the 1995 album ‘Bizarre Fruit II’.
The arrangement suited her textured vocal.

At times I thought the bright pop keyboard sound would suddenly go into ABC’s ‘All Of My Heart’ but this was not the case.

This was followed by a heart-warming song dedicated to her goddaughter who was in the audience as the band went into ‘Just For You’. It allowed us to witness Heather Small’s tender side and was a definite highlight of the night for this scribe.

Early fans of M People were not disappointed with the inclusion of ‘Colour My Life’ (first ever M People release) and ‘How Can I Love You More?’ (first ever hit single for the group).

The setlist was well-thought-out to reflect on key moments in Heather Small’s career whilst at the same time satisfying the audience.

Before you knew it an array of radio-friendly hits came thick and fast; the anthemic ‘Proud’, ‘Open Up Your Heart’ the perfect slice of electronic pop and finally ‘Moving On Up’ which in her own words was “Her strut song”.

In conclusion, it was a rousing finale with every moment appearing to be meticulously planned. The immensely talented band and the powerhouse lead vocal to let Heather Small ‘The Voice of M People’ show that she is a larger-than-life performer.