The hopes of a nation rest on a man from Ramsgate tonight with Look Mum, No Computer, vying in Vienna for the Eurovision 2026 title.

But a singer born in East Hampshire has a good idea of the pressure facing the musician as she represented the UK in the same competition nearly 40 years ago.

“Looking back now, it was a very cool thing to do,” said Aeone Victoria Watson, a musician and singer-songwriter from Liss who flew the Eurovision flag for Britian in 1985.

“I had sung at the Albert Hall before, so I was fairly used to big shows, but I didn’t want to think about the numbers watching me there and on TV. You just wouldn’t tell yourself I’m going live now in front of millions.”

While Aeone – pronounced Ay-own – also has strong family links to Emsworth and Petworth, her childhood was fairly nomadic because of her father’s Navy career.

But she’s always been musical and her talent burgeoned at school, while her travels across Europe led to gigs and exposed her to different cultures.

She said: “I did shows in places like Portugal, Zimbabwe, around the Med, I would take my little show to places, nightclubs and things and there would often be a band.

“I sung in places across Europe and I think when I did Eurovision that was a benefit.”

Aeone’s route to Eurovision began when she penned a balled called Love Is with “super amazing” songwriter and musician, Jimmy Kaleth.

The pair decided to submit it to the Music Publisher’s Association for consideration and out of 333 submissions, their ditty made the final shortlist of eight.

All eight were performed on the Terry Wogan Show two weeks before Song For Europe, with Aeone’s (then called Vikki Watson) getting the final nod.

She said: “When it got shortlisted we were kind of shocked – they got me a choreographer and all of a sudden I had to find myself something to wear when I was on Wogan.

“Everything seemed to explode and after that I was in all the papers and became something of an it girl.

“I did everything. I did Pebble Mill, there were some Saturday morning shows, I just went around the country doing promos. It went on for a few weeks.”

After winning the UK vote Aeone was off to Gothenburg but things didn’t go smoothly despite leading the UK to a now-unthinkable fourth place.

She said: “It was a huge stadium and the stage was really big – I had these two backing singers about 30 yards behind me so I felt a bit lost.

“The orchestra also played too fast. The other part I remember is that I lost my voice from doing all these interviews so when it came to Gothenburg I actually had a kind of laryngitis.”

“And then there was a draw to decide the order in which everyone would play and I fell after Norway, who won, so it wasn’t a good placement. I think order is very important.

“But I’ve got a lot to be proud of. I was also the second woman to perform who her co-written her own song, which I think is fantastic.”

While Love Is fared well on the continent, it didn’t make the Top 40 and a move to Los Angeles followed in 1988.

“Apart from Eurovision there was no support for it,” said Aeone, who has developed a “rich, haunting style, with a touch of the ancient Celt” since moving across the pond.

“I think another problem was I hadn’t really found my sound yet. I didn’t feel it was a unique enough sound at the time and I was still searching.

“I think the record was good, but I needed to move on.”

“Going to LA was a really good move as I got a lot of support from different people. I met an amazing guy and stayed with him as my sound developed.

“It’s so completely different over there and I had a fantastic time in LA and there was a lot of work. I got into things I never would have done in Britain.”

Her CV is impressive with six albums and more than 200 movie trailers to her credit. These include The Rings of Power, Gladiator 2, Jurassic World, The Hobbit, 300, The Last Samurai and dozens more. In addition, she was the musical voice of TNT's Emmy Nominated 'The Mists of Avalon".

These days she divides her time between LA and Britain with the singer speaking to the Post & Herald from Chichester on the day of our interview.

Don’t expect her to be watching Eurovision this evening, though, as she doesn’t feel invested in the competition and hasn’t heard our entry, as yet.

Does she ever think we’ll win it again?

She said: “Northern Ireland and Cyprus both gave me zero, which probably had a lot to do with that was happening then, and there was definitely political voting, even then. Nothing has changed, really.

“I’m not sure we’ll ever win it again. I think the Eastern Block countries all gang up and it’s hard when they’re all so deeply invested in each other.”

Check out her website at www.aeone.com for more.