Cher

Cher is an American singer and actress born in 1946. From her early career as half of the duo Sonny and Cher she has forged a solo career of international repute and has earned several awards in her parallel career as an actress.

A fortuitous meeting with Sonny Bono in a café, when she was only sixteen, resulted in the start of a music career and a relationship which would eventually result in marriage. Their first album Look at Us (1965) sparked a sensation and the pair were soon in demand. She released her first solo album, All I Really Want to Do, in the same year and it reached No.16 on the Billboard charts. In spite of the momentum they achieved, by 1968 her success as a duo and a solo artist was ebbing. Their fortunes, and their album sales, were revived in 1971 when “The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour” was first aired on television. Buoyed with that success Cher made another attempt at a solo career and released several albums starting with Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves.

Although her marriage to Bono ended in 1974, she continued to release moderately well-received albums throughout the following years and became an increasingly acclaimed actress; by the early 80s she had prominent roles in several films including Silkwood (1983), Mask (1985) and Moonstruck (1987). 1987 also saw a return to prominence as her recording career suddenly took off again with the release of the platinum-selling Cher and the quadruple-platinum Heart of Stone, both of which tapped into the contemporary music taste for slickly produced rock. The controversial video featuring Cher strutting around a warship wearing two ribbons and a bodystocking for “If I Could Turn Back Time” certainly didn’t hurt sales either.

In the early 90s Cher toiled with chronic fatigue syndrome, which led to a period of inactivity, though she continued to act, and got round to releasing the covers album It’s a Man’s World in 1995. Another career revival awaited her in 1998 with the release of Believe. Her metamorphosis from rock chick to dance diva was incredibly successful and the title track from the album went to No.1 around the world. The follow-up albums also performed well.

By 2002 she was making plans to retire from nearly 40 years in show-business and embarked on The Farewell Tour. However, the tour title was something of a misnomer since she has since announced plans to release a 26th studio album, and is rumoured to be set to appear in Las Vegas during 2008-9.