HEATHER Small can identify the moment which shaped the rest of her career.

As a 12-year-old girl growing up in West London she desperately wanted to join the school choir.

“The head of music just looked won his nose at me,” she said. “I never even got the chance to audition for the choir. I didn’t deserve that kind of response.

“What they showed me was that if you wait to be included in something, it may never happen. I soon developed the attitude ‘you may not rate me but I rate me’. Some people take that for arrogance but it’s a necessity.”

Clearly the music teacher didn’t realise what a jewel he could have had in the choir. For the last 25 years, Heather has been one of the most popular and successful female vocalists in the UK - first with M People and hits such as hits such as Moving On Up and One Night In Heaven to her own solo career.

And now she’s back on the road with shows coming up in Manchester and Preston.

“I really can’t believe that I’ve had the career I’ve had. I just refuse to go away,” she laughed.

“But what I really enjoy about it is that I know that I am a better singer now than I was 25 years ago. I’m still here and still loving singing and getting on stage and entertaining. In fact, there’s no other place I’d rather be. After all this time I still love it just as much.”

Heather’s songs such as Search for the Hero and Proud have become modern day anthems

“I want to let an audience know who I am and these songs I sing, I am true to them,” she said. “I can still sing Hero and Proud with conviction. I have sung all these years about things I believe in.

“I’m always aware that I don’t want to sound preachy but when you write or sing certain types of songs you should be true to yourself and they should resonate with you. You can’t sing something you don’t believe in.”

Staying true to herself is something that Heather has done throughout her career, regardless of the consequences.

“I probably have been my own harshest critic but it has kept my standards up.” she said. “I think I’m kinder to myself now.

“In the old days I’d go on stage and maybe there would be one thing that wasn’t quite what I intended to do and I’d single that out and beat myself up about it.

“Now although everything has to be right, you can’t walk around worrying about something that didn’t go to plan because you will be distracted.

“Audiences will forgive anything when they see you are in your element. If they feel you don’t care or you are wandering off, you have lost them.

“There is nowhere to hide; you have to be as honest as you possibly can. The stage is nowhere to pretend. People want to see you live and see what’s in your eyes.”

Over the years, Heather has developed a close relationship with her fans and she credits them with helping her live shows be such a success.

“The audience come with an expectation and I have an expectation too. Before I used to think it was all on me,” she said.

“But a live show is a shared experience. The more the audience enjoys it the more I enjoy my performance. You do rely on them to bring something and then whatever they bring, it is your job to whip them up into a fervour.”

Heather Small, Manchester Academy, Sunday, April 22, details from 0161 832 1111 and Preston Charter Theatre, Tuesday, April 24, details from 01772 804444