SMALL CHANCES

Heather Small's desperate bid to try and scratch a solo career got a small boost in the fag end of 2005 - a plum guest spot on Oprah. How did it come about? One of Oprah's programme-gnomes heard a Small track at workout and, because it had one of her trademark "hero inside yourself" bits of fluffy self-help themes, it made a perfect fit with the Oprah Show.

What's best, though, is Reuters' summation of Small's career to date:

Small was a member of '90s British dance-pop outfit M People, a quartet that scored global hits with "Moving On Up," "Excited," "Open Your Heart" and other buoyant jams.

"Other buoyant jams", eh?

music heather small oprah