A sultry evening at the Barbican and the packed auditorium was treated to the sounds of Snake Davies and his saxophone for 40 minutes, before the main event - Heather Small.

And boy, did she arrive! What a sassy woman. She looked fantastic and the audience responded accordingly before she launched into her first number, Proud.

What a start to an evening of unbridled musical passion on Heather's part.

She managed to have us out of our seats, dancing with Search For The Hero and minutes later we were back up as her magnificient voice reworked Porgy And Bess to the stage.

Nobody who is a fan of M People could possibly be disappointed - Heather took us through a whole gamut of emotions with her varied repertoire - although I wasn't totally convinced by her choice of Abba's Fernando.

Her voice was strong, clear and her presence was awesome.

She didn't have time for small talk - she got on with the job in hand. She gave the faithful what they came to hear - and more.

The set and lighting was simple so nothing got in the way of the quality of Heather Small's vocals and her talented backing musicians.

This was Heather's opening gig before she heads for Manchester and London.

I feel privileged to have been at last nights' event - Heather has that rare quality of being able to make one's skin tingle through her ability to reach out with her music.

The rapturous applause for Heather's Perfect Day summed up the night - this was a perfect concert for her fans. I bet they can't wait for her next recording.

Updated: 14:58 Monday, June 16, 2003