eurovision

Michael Ball declared he would rather have pins stuck in his eyes than do it all again. But Liverpool singer Sonia loved it so much she wouldn't hesitate to repeat the experience. She says the Eurovision Song Contest was one of the best moments of her life dispite the fact that her song Better The Devil You Know was pipped to the title by a mere 'un point'. 'I remember like it was yesturday,'she says. It was in fact in 1993 and she was 22 years old. Now aged 30, she hasn't lost the enthusiasm that became as much her trademark as her dimples and ginger curls. The curls have gone though, replaced by a sleek, sophisticated bob. 'I had a wonderful time at Eurovision'. 'There was no fear, no nerves, the camera angles were great, it went perfectly and I knew we were in with a chance,'she remembers. 'I wasn't worried at all until the votes started coming in. Then I started thinking 'what happens if we come last?' It had never crossed my mind until that point. Until then I'd always thought 'I wasn't worried at all until the votes started coming in.

Then I started thinking 'what happens if we come last?' It had never crossed my mind until that point. Until then I'd always thought 'We're going to win, we're going to come in the top five'. 'All the way through the voting it was 'UK in the lead, UK in the lead', and it was a real shock when I lost by one point. I was devastated but as the night went on and we had a few drinks I started to think 'Well, second is not that bad'. I feel proud to have taken part and I would do it again - on my terms. When I did it it was a different ball game. The BBC asked my management if I would do it and I was 99 pc part of it. It's much more like a competition now, people have to compete to be chosen to sing the song. I sat in with the writers and producers to pick the final eight songs and I sang one a week on Terry Wogan's show so the public got to know the songs.

Better The Devil You Know was on the radio everyday and got in people's heads. When Sonia was chosen to prepresent the UK in the 1993 competition she was already a firm favourite of British record buyers having been plucked for stardom by hitmaker Pete Waterman at the age of 16. Her debut single 'You'll never stop me from loving you' was released in 1989 and shot to number one in the UK selling a staffering 350,000 copies.

Everybody Knows, her debut album, sold half a million copies and a second eponymous album kept her in the spotlight. Now you are more likely to hear her singing Motown cover versions than pop songs, but she hasn't lost her yearning for fame and revealed that she is seeking another singles deal.