Jump directly to the content

EUROVISION icon Sonia's voice will be instantly recognisable to music fans - or at least, those of a certain age.

The singer was hugely famous in the UK and Europe thanks to a string of hits throughout the 80s and 90s.

Pop legend Sonia was interviewed three decades years after her Eurovision success
5
Pop legend Sonia was interviewed three decades years after her Eurovision successCredit: BBC
She has been involved in the song contest coming to Liverpool
5
She has been involved in the song contest coming to LiverpoolCredit: Instagram
The singer found global fame when she came runner-up in 1993
5
The singer found global fame when she came runner-up in 1993

Decades on, you might not instantly recognise her at first glance - though she looks far younger than her 51 years.

The star has been involved in bringing Eurovision to Liverpool and campaigned for it to win and has performed at Song Contest events.

Last year, she appeared on BBC Breakfast arguing for it to host saying: "I'm absolutely over the moon, it's going to be fab.

"We tick all the boxes don't we? You've got to come and see our beautiful, beautiful city.

More on Eurovision

"We've got the arena. We've got all the criteria - the atmosphere, the buzz. It'll be one big massive party, it would be absolutely brilliant."

It comes just shy of three decades after her own storming run in the competition.

The singer - whose full name is Sonia Evans - shot to fame in 1989 with No1 hit You'll Never Stop Me Loving You.

She also came second at Eurovision in 1993 with Better the Devil You Know and was the first female artist to achieve five Top 20 singles from one album.

Sonia also appeared with Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Bananarama and Cliff Richard in the Band Aid II version of charity single Do They Know It's Christmas?

These days she still performs, taking to the stage at several retro festivals, and makes personalised messages for fans on .

Sonia insisted - successfully - that her home town should be the location for the song contest after the UK took on hosting duties from war-torn Ukraine.

There were seven possible locations in the running - Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield.

Sonia appeared on BBC Breakfast talking about Eurovision returning to the UK
5
Sonia appeared on BBC Breakfast talking about Eurovision returning to the UK
The singer was just beaten to the top spot by the Irish entry
5
The singer was just beaten to the top spot by the Irish entryCredit: Alamy