M People

M People were a British house music act from Manchester which formed in 1990. They consisted of Mike Pickering, Heather Small and Paul Heard and Shovell. Pickering was a member of

M People were a British house music act from Manchester which formed in 1990. They consisted of Mike Pickering, Heather Small and Paul Heard and Shovell. Pickering was a member of Factory Records dance act Quando Quango but became more noted as one of the original DJs at The Hacienda. Heard was a member of Acid Jazz band Ace of Clubs, while Shovell had previously been in the collective Natural Life. Heather Small was in the British Soul band Hot House who had released a number of critically acclaimed records without scoring any major success.

In 1994 and 1995 they won the BRIT Award for Best British Dance Act. In 1994, they won the Mercury Music Prize for the album Elegant Slumming. The victory sparked controversy as they beat Britpop band Blur, who were deemed by critics to be more 'worthy' than a mere dance band. With ten Top Ten UK singles, the band was one of the most consistent hit-makers of the 1990s, and the album Bizarre Fruit stayed in the UK charts for more than two years and became one of the biggest selling albums of the decade.