"ANGIE who?" was my first response.

Memories are unreliable, but I have a vague recollection of my clubbing days - they were indie-injected, with a bit of rock, and sentimental Sixties stuff thrown in. I had a circle of friends from the trainer brigade, but we rarely congregated on the dance floor.

I won't pretend my tastes have changed, I haven't come over all 'housey' in my old age, but millions of people can't be wrong either.

Once I Googled I'm Gonna Get You, I remembered instantly its thumping beat and a hundred sun-emblazoned tops and neon bandanas in the euphoric depths at 3am. It was a global phenomenon in the Nineties.

I'd even be surprised if I hadn't cut a rug to it; the hottest house hit since Acid was rockin' the dance floor, and, let's face it, a tune's a tune when you're seven sheets to the wind.

The larger than life diva who collaborated with Bizarre Inc to reel in their hardcore anthems and facilitate a flow into the national charts was Angie Brown.

She's sung backing vocals for Happy Mondays, Heaven 17, Stereophonics and Mark Morrison and toured with the likes of Chaka Khan. Like her musical taste or loathe it, you'd be hard pushed to say her vocals are at fault.

Collide

And when you meet her, voice and presence collide. Big, bold and beautiful, Angie fills the room with laughter and sporadic outbursts of her back catalogue. She chats with ease about her specialist subject - usic - and it doesn't surprise me at all to learn she was approached to pen the official song for Manchester Pride's 18th birthday this year.

She's had links with Pride since the early days and is one of its biggest supporters.

"It was 1997 when I first became aware," said Angie. "I was on a Sisters of Soul tour with Sybil (of The Love I Lost fame) and she said to me: 'Honey, you gotta get yourself down to that city for the Mardi Gras, you will have a ball!' So I did and I've been coming back ever since.

"I bring my boys, Cuba and Charlie, and I've just become more and more involved. One year I was the penultimate act at the Big Weekend and I won't mention the closing band, but they suffered. I kicked the crowd into a frenzy, I blew it up, I knew what they wanted and I gave it to them.

"That was the last time I was second best. I've closed the festival ever since, and now it's all change again. I'm opening on Pride Friday for the Big Weekend and it'll be the first public performance of my official song, I Finally Found Love.

Wembley moment

"I'm on the main stage and I can't wait. This is my Wembley moment, at last.

"Plus, this time I get to stay and enjoy the rest of the party with my sons and my friends. I have to see the parade; I have to dance and sing and boy am I going to enjoy it."

So what makes a person from the Big Smoke, who's been a pivotal player in so many Pride events, find the north of England's contribution so fine?

"I'm a London girl, but Manchester's home from home. It's incredibly diverse. It's huge musically and there's plenty of scope to fulfil potential.

"I just want to talk to everyone when I'm here, people have time for each other and are so down to earth. I just love it.

"But I always remember with pride why I'm here," she continued. "Music is a celebration of life and this new single is about people believing in themselves, loving themselves for who they are, and also of course to raise money. We need to champion the causes Pride is involved with.

"They need every penny they can get and they help so many people, that's why I was so thrilled to be invited to write and perform and I'm hoping the single raises a lot of cash."

I got a sneak preview of I Finally Found Love and it's a catchy tune. It's contemporary pop, Kyliesque with an I Will Survive twist and a smidgen of I Am What I Am thrown in for good measure.

It's bound to be a hit in the Village, but as Angie says: "House music knows no boundaries. It's the coming together of all types of people who know how to have fun. English people have nailed that concept. We borrowed House from the Americans, rocked it up, gave it the vibe and sold it back to them. I'm proud of that and I'm proud of Pride."

Angie Brown opens the Big Weekend at Manchester Pride on Friday, August 22 and I Finally Found Love is available to download at angie-brown.com, manchesterpride.com and reputable download sites from August 1.