EXCLUSIVE: Heather Small admits that while she rarely discusses her son, James Small-Edwards, she was overcome with pride when he knocked the Tories from the West Central London Assembly
She’s one of the most iconic singers, but Heather Small reveals one of her proudest moments is her son’s victory in the 2024 London Assembly election. The singer, 60, had been waiting with James Small-Edwards, a Labour councillor, and his peers on May 2, 2024, as the votes were counted as he became the West Central representative.
The West Central London Assembly position had been held by the Conservatives since the Assembly was created in 2000, and Heather was standing waiting with James as it was declared that he had become the latest representative, beating Tony Devenish.
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror at Hillsborough Stadium following her set at Tramlines Festival, the hitmaker said: “I don’t talk about my son so much, but I was there on the night. Let me tell you, it’s nerve-wracking, talk about nervous. I didn’t think that I would see that in my lifetime.
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“I was proud, not just for my son, but for all those young people who canvassed. They really put heart and soul into it. There was fire in the belly, there was a passion. They were doing it for the right reasons, and that’s what made me proud. The level of work and strategy, they were smart with it, so it did make me very proud.” It comes after Jeremy Vine reveals what will happen if Joey Barton fails to pay staggering legal bill.
“For me, it was absolutely amazing,” she said of her performance on The T’Other Stage, which saw thousands pack into the tent. She added: “What an audience reaction. There was just a sea of people. I came early to sound check, but it was quite sparse because it was early.
“Then I came up on stage to a sea of people. It was joyous, I was so happy, I use the word happy, but to be happy isn’t easy. For half an hour to have people forget their troubles and be joyful, I would take that every day of the week.” But while Heather is known for lifting the mood of her fans, she admits she’s not sure if she’s personally had an impact on them.
“I know they like the songs and they like my voice,” she said, adding: “It’s simpatico, anytime I’ve played the songs to a live audience, they understand that I’m part of the community and part of what’s going on. It’s not a them and us, I want them to enjoy the moment. You can see that’s my aim.
“I sing my heart out, and I own the stage. That’s what people expect, and that’s what they should expect. Some people have never seen you live, and I let them know what a performance is. When I’m on stage, I take over; that’s what I should be doing. If you’re on stage, you don’t want people to take their eyes off the stage. It should be exciting, there should be some electricity.”
But with just a half hour set, Heather knows what people want and she wasn’t planning on slowing things down. From bouncing to one side of the stage and shimmying to the other in the blink of an eye, she delivered her biggest hits, including Proud and Movin On Up.
“If it’s a festival, I want people to really be up for it and dancing,” she commented, adding that she thoroughly plans her “dynamic” half-hour set with “songs that everyone knows.” But in her sixties, Heather has no plans to slow down, admitting she’s “quite fit,” which takes her to her “happy place”.
Audience interaction is important for Heather, as it gives her energy. “I look after myself,” Heather said, adding: “I’ve always said when people said ‘what do you want to do in the future?’ I’ve always wanted to be a singer. I always want to sing. I don’t want to lose my voice. I want to be good, if not better. It doesn’t matter the size of the stage, I’m going to traverse it.
“You’ve got to make people feel that you’re singing for them, and singing for you, take it all in.”
She admits that strutting across the stage brings an element of joy to her performances, as fans don’t pay to see a “shrinking violet”; instead, they pay to see her “own the songs”, which she describes as “powerful” as she has “uplifted them” for a while.
“It’s a privilege that people pay to come and see you, that they will take their time to come and sing along to every song, it’s a privilege and an honour,” she gushed.
Heather admits she never takes her career for granted, whether she’s doing 50 shows or a handful of shows on her tour. She’ll also be performing across the country in October with Wet Wet Wet.
“Every night it’ll be like it’s the first night, the audience deserves that,” she said. Her performances, she tries to keep “as fresh as possible,” noting she doesn’t have backing dancers; instead, she brings old school rock and roll to her pop dance songs.
“I perform like an old rocker, it’s about everything – you think to yourself, Ozzy Osbourne, God rest his soul, how he performed, it was hot, it was sweaty, but there was somebody before him,” she commented.
Offering advice to younger artists, she said: “Go out there and perform live, you have to. Studio is one thing, but live to an audience is something else; they’re expecting more, something slightly different. They want to see how you interact with your own songs, and then there’s the interaction with the audience.”
Each time she’s on stage, she tries to deliver a new aspect to her classics, explaining: “I’m not here just to take your money, I’m here to entertain you and to make you happy. I want you to leave with joy, that’s how I pick the songs. People have come to hear what you do best and some of your best songs.
“For live, there should be magic. Live shows are visual, when they go back and listen to those songs, I want them to be in love with the songs when I leave the stage.” Despite selling over ten million records, while growing up in Ladbroke Grove, west London, Heather never imagined having the legacy she does now.
“Not really,” she said of whether she expected to make such a mark on the music industry. She continued: “You hope for these things, you hope people hear a few beats and all of a sudden, they’re singing along. I wanted to have songs that people resonated with as an audience.
“Otherwise, why would I do it? I would stay in my bedroom; you do want people to enjoy what you do. Otherwise, why would you get on stage? For me, I wanted people to understand that this is something I felt I had to do. Every time I go on stage, it’s a joy for me. It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do and will keep doing. I never want people to think that I have become complacent.
“I feel there’s an expectation on me that I should deliver. I’ve been doing it long enough and people have heard the songs that many times, I will get on stage and give them something they’re not really expecting, and that’s what I try to do with every performance.” Her larger-than-life persona is a stark contrast to her 5ft4 frame.
She said: “When you see some great performers, you know, you think to yourself, yeah, that’s larger than life. Freddie Mercury, Prince, Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, they get on stage. They fill that space.” Growing up though, larger than life musicians are the same people Heather admired.
Gladys Knight, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross, singers who tell a story with their work, are what she listened to. “It takes you on a journey, it makes you feel some kind of emotion,” she commented. She added: “It makes you feel more than you are, you can achieve more than you thought.”
However, there is one singer, Heather admits she could listen to for the rest of her life, that is, Nina Simone. “She encapsulates that musicality, that distinctive voice, she had it all, she was feisty with it as well, she wrote a protest song, it was beautiful to listen to, it had urgency, it had fire, she’s an all-round favourite,” she beamed.
Famed for her megahit Proud, which has been certified Gold, what is the one aspect of her career that makes her most proud? “That I’m still singing,” Heather said. Reflecting further, she commented: “That people still come to hear me sing. That is the most joyous, I couldn’t ask for more.
“I don’t want to sing to myself or in my bedroom; I like an audience. An audience makes me happy. An audience like today is magnificent; anybody can see why I still love doing it.
“When you get that kind of love and appreciation, this is what I love to do. Back in the day, people would say, ‘What do you want to do?’ I always say keep singing. I look after myself, physically, mentally, and spiritually so that I can do what I do to the best of my ability.”
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