M People biography
M People are an English house music act from Manchester, who formed in 1990 and achieved success throughout most of the 1990s. The name M People is from the initials of Mike Pickering, who formed the group.
Career
Pickering had been a member of Factory Records dance act Quando Quango, but became more noted as one of the original DJs at The Haçienda. Paul Heard was a member of acid jazz band, Ace of Clubs and Shovell had previously been in the collective Natural Life. The original plan had been to have a roster of different singers for different songs but having been spotted by Pickering and Heard, Heather Small became the distinctive vocalist of the group. She had been in the English soul band Hot House, who had released a number of critically acclaimed records without scoring any major success.
"Northern Soul" and Breakthrough
Their first release came in the form of "Colour My Life", a limited white label pressing which got them some recognition, but it was the first official single "How Can I Love You More?" that gave them their first Top 30 hit and a following in and around the Manchester club scene, where Pickering was still DJ-ing. Their first album,
Northern Soul, provided other singles, including a full release of "Colour My Life", "Someday" and "Excited", followed by a re-release and repackaging of the album.
"Elegant Slumming" and Major success
1993 started with the re-released and remixed single from 1991's "How Can I Love You More?" which was released at the end of January and provided the band with their first Top 10 single, peaking at number 8. While this single was in the chart the band were working on new material for the second album to be released that autumn; a preliminary single, "One Night in Heaven" was released in the summer and peaked at number 6. It provided them with a dance/pop success that set up a bigger worldwide hit with the second single, "Moving on Up". The album
Elegant Slumming went into the Top 5 on release and peaked at #2, remaining on the chart until the following summer and later winning the band a Mercury Music Prize. A further two Top 10 singles followed: "Don't Look Any Further" (a cover of the Dennis Edwards song) in December, and "Renaissance" which was used as the theme tune to the BBC 2 show,
The Living Soap, sending the single to number 5 in the UK Singles Chart.
"Bizarre Fruit" and Awards
In 1994 and 1995 M People won the BRIT Award for Best British Dance Act, the latter as a result of the release of
Bizarre Fruit. The first single from that album was "Sight for Sore Eyes" which climbed to number 6, helping the album to enter the UK Albums Chart and peak at #4 and stay in the Top 10 for four months into the following year. The second single from the album was "Open Your Heart", which became their seventh consecutive Top Ten hit in two years and at the
Brit Awards '95 they collaborated with Sting on his track "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free". Their third single "Search for the Hero" was later used in the TV advertising campaign for the Peugeot 406. The song got to #9 in the charts.
Biography from 
, the free encyclopedia.
It may not have been reviewed by a professional editor, and recent changes may not show up straight away. See the latest version of this article. Used under licence. Subject to disclaimers.