As a child, Hicks began playing on the recorder before graduating to the clarinet on which she studied classical music. She also played tenor saxophone for a while. Her musical tastes inclined towards the jazzier end of the current pop spectrum, including musicians such as George Benson and Earth, Wind And Fire. At the age of 18 Hicks attended the Leeds College of Music where she was encouraged by Bill Charleson. She sang with the college band, with Brian Layton’s funk band, and with John Brown’s Student Bodies. After Leeds, she went to the Guildhall School of Music in London. In 1989 she sang occasionally with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and the following year joined the band on a regular basis. In 1992 she joined and toured the world with jazz funk band Shakatak. Also in the 90s Hicks began a solo career. She has composed songs, including ‘Just A Breath Away’, which she recorded with NYJO. Hicks is a skilled yet unfussy singer with charm and intelligence.