Rock singer Heather Barnes has swappd the Australian sunshine for the less temperate North-East and the hope of a big hit in the UK. She talks to Women's Editor Christen Pears.

HEATHER Barnes smiles when I ask her where she's from. "Newcastle," she says, a grin spreading across her face. Not so far to come to Darlington, you might think, but the accent gives it away, as does the sun-kissed glow. It's not that sunny north of the Tyne. She has to be talking about Newcastle in Australia.

Heather is lead vocalist with the Australian indie-rock band, The Good, looking to make their big break in Britain. She and guitarist Gareth Hudson arrived at the end of May and will be joined in a few weeks by drummer Dean Gearing.

Initially, they intended to base themselves in London but a trip to Middlesbrough to visit some of Gareth's relatives convinced them otherwise.

Popping over to Darlington to visit the newly-opened Forum music centre, they were immediately impressed by the setup, and owner David Cox was just as impressed with them.

The Good have been adopted by the Forum and they're hoping this will be the platform that launches their careers in the UK. It will enable them to bypass the soul-destroying pub circuit where so many bands try and fail to make their names.

Heather says: "Because we're Australian, we stand out a bit already but the Forum can provide us with amazing opportunities to get ourselves known. There isn't that kind of nurturing environment in Australia."

As the daughter of celebrated opera singer Jennifer Barnes, Heather has inherited her mother's vocal talent. She and Gareth are both classically trained and met while studying for music degrees at the Newcastle Conservatorium of Music. Heather became principal double bass player in the Australian Youth Orchestra and has worked with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, while Gareth was commissioned to write a rock opera.

The third member of the band is drummer Dean, who met Gareth when the pair were in high school. The three began recording together as The Good in 1999. They've just released their new album, Move Along.

So far, the North-East has proved fertile ground. Heather and Gareth have been performing at venues around the region and receiving rave reviews. They've played live on Radio Cleveland and proved so popular, they've been invited back.

Not surprisingly, the main difference is the weather, but there are similarities that make her feel at home. "Newcastle back home and Newcastle and Middlesbrough here are both very working class areas. Some things about the area really remind me of home but there is one major difference: the reaction to music is a lot better over here, particularly in Darlington.

"Back home, people don't go out to see live music any more and they always want you to play a lot of covers of other bands. Since we've come over here, the response to our original music has been awesome."

Coming to England has meant major readjustments, and not just in terms of lifestyle. Heather has just undergone a make-over with The Northern Echo's resident hair and make-up artist Allison McKay.

"Image is a hard one to get right," says Heather. "The three of us got together when we weren't really conscious of anything like that and it's only come to us gradually that the way we present ourselves is really important. People are going to see you on the cover of your CD before they buy it."

The girl on the cover of the CD bears little resemblance to the one sitting opposite me. Gone is the straight, one-length hair and in its place is a sexy, layered style. Gone, too, are the black clothes and the studded leather cuff. The new look is softer, more feminine and designed to complement Heather's voice.

"I've wanted to play rock since I was 13 but even then, I wanted to look feminine. A lot of girls think you can't do that, that you have to be a bit masculine, but there's nothing wrong with playing bass and wearing a skirt."

Allison McKay, who has worked with rock and pop stars on photo shoots for glossy magazines, wanted to create a look for Heather that would reflect the femininity within her image and voice, but not deny the band's modern approach to light rock music.

She says: "Heather's hair was a bit flat and didn't reflect that sexy rock star image, but at the same time she certainly would not have been comfortable with a 'hair-do'. To get that 'This is how my hair looks naturally look' I smoothed Heather's hair with the heat of the hairdryer and a little sprits of Bumble and Bumble styling lotion. While the hair was still warm and in random loose sections, I wound it around my fingers and secured the loose pin curls with grips. This creates a slightly tousled look. The grips were left in place until the make-up had been done then, after taking the grips out, a shake of the head was all that was required for the hair to fall in natural waves and texture.

"To keep Heather looking natural, I used a light foundation by Estee Lauder. The eyes slightly smouldered by layering Glacier by No7, then a light dusting of Drama by Bare Essentuals below the socket bone. Smoke by Tesco was applied to the outer corner of the eyelid and blended. This was also smudged under the lower lashes, giving a softer smokey effect than if a pencil was used.

"A cream blusher was applied to the apples of Heather's cheeks in a very natural colour - Shy Blush by Clinique. Finally a light covering of Individualist Mascara by Estee Lauder and dabble of Cherry Blast Pure Colour Lip Gloss, again by Estee Lauder, finished the look."