Nia: It's amazing that you've kept hold of this pink dress for such a long time. Do you have special memories attached to the dress?

Heather: I remember running home from school every day knowing that the dress was hanging up behind the door. I remember running up the stairs without saying hello to anybody on my way and just looked at the dress and thought to myself "Oh, it's mine, it's so gorgeous". I didn't particularly want to wear the dress, I just wanted to look at the dress! That was the only thing that cheered my room up.

In a way I get more enjoyment out of buying clothes, and just thinking about how gorgeous they are and admiring them, than I get from wearing them. I prefer to just look at clothes as a work of art somehow.

I met my ex-husband, Geraint Jarman, when wearing this green dress. I also remember going into the castle for singing lessons and bumping into Mary Hopkin who was wearing the same type of dress! One big difference between my dress and Mary's was the fact that Mum had made mine. So, yes I do have nice memories attached to this dress. I also remember doing Cân i Gymru in the dress but I didn't win. Eleri Llwyd won that year with Dewi Pws's song 'Nwy yn y Nen'.

Nia: Do you still like clothes, still like shopping these days?

Heather: Yes, I still get the same excitement when I see all the clothes in the shops. Although, sometimes when I buy new clothes and bring them back, I think to myself gosh I shouldn't have spent so much on this and that but I can't let go of them either by returning them.

Nia: When you wear your performing clothes, do they give you some kind of front?

Heather: Definitely. Especially after meeting someone like Meic Stevens. I wanted to wear the same clothes as Meic. Meic used to bring clothes back from London and I thought he looked so stunning and fantastic in the clothes. He used to say "Heather, you have to dress up so that everyone can see that you are a singer". And sometimes I'd go over the top then. I'd wear high boots and hats, I didn't really like hats but I wore them in the band with Geraint and Meic. So it was nice to gig. In a way, I preferred performing in the gigs with all of these different clothes so I had some kind of front.

Nia: What about the suede style then?

Heather: I used to love this kind of thing. Meic used to bring clothes of this style for me from London. Jackets with fringes on the sleeves used to be really good for someone that played the guitar.

Nia: Laura Ashley dress?

Heather: Yes. It's a little bit heavy, I can't remember how many hangers that have broken! This was a dress I used to wear for concerts, well, posh concerts that is. The only minus point about her was the weight so it was quite difficult to sing with such weight hanging on me. The dress has a dragon print on her with the label 'Made in Wales' so I like that very much.

Nia: Is there a particular decade that you like fashion wise?

Heather: I think it'd have to be the 70s. I was more popular in the 70s. I was young and there weren't many young girls singing at that time. I liked long dresses too because I was so short and they made me look taller.

Nia: What's the story behind the red dress?

Heather: A birthday or Christmas present from Geraint in 1975 I think. He bought me the dress from King's Road for £50. It was a lot in 1975, and I've worn her a lot up until now and it's a good dress to wear when you're expecting a baby.

I used to wear a lot of denim. Gentle Folk denim was the label I used to buy from Cardiff.

Heather on clothes...
More than the guitars, singing or if I'm honest music, clothes have shaped my life.