One of the most successful house groups to emerge from the early '90s U.K. scene, M People came with a dance music pedigree in the form of Mike Pickering, founding member of the group and a respected DJ in his own right. Pickering had started in the '80s as a promoter and A&R man, booking shows for the Smiths and inking a deal with the Happy Mondays to Factory Records. He would eventually also earn a reputation as a performer in his own group, T-Coy.

But by the early '90s, he had done enough remixing and underground work that he decided to give it up. He wanted to try more traditional pop, and began writing songs in the verse-chorus-verse vein. After meeting Paul Heard, the two agreed to collaborate as M People, a house-influenced dance-pop group. Heard's background was in gospel music, which he had learned from his pastor father, who led a Baptist congregation. Combining these disparate influences, their original concept was to rotate through numerous vocalists, but one just seemed to be the right fit. Heather Smalls was by nature a pop artist who was used to doing ballad work, which lent the dance-party numbers the band was churning out a different feel. It was unique enough that people paid attention, sending their second single, "How Can I Love You More?" to the top of the charts.

Their first record, Elegant Slumming, featured five songs that would become Top 10 singles in the U.K.--four of which also became number ones in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The band would go on to release four more albums throughout the '90s, none of which saw the success of their debut, but which still cultivated some major hits.