Saturday, December 12, 1987. A sold-out Hammersmith Odeon. T’Pau take to the stage on what would be the final day of a five-week reign at the top of the charts with their now-classic China In Your Hand.

At some point during its stay at the top, their debut album, Bridge of Spies, was number one too. It remained in the top 40 for some seven months.

Somewhere in the balcony of that show, I am attending my first ever live concert. I’m 14.

As the flame-haired Carol Decker takes to the stage, I am bewitched. She has become a teenage crush. And I realise that music is - more often than not - infinitely better live than it is on record. Within days, I’d booked to see them again at the same venue a few months later. Ah, good times.

Fast forward a mere 37-and-a-half years and I am speaking to the aforementioned Carol Decker - the subject of my teenage adulation. Yikes.

Neither of us have got any younger, sadly. Carol is now 67. Double yikes.

“We had six years of pinch me moments,” she says looking back at her commercial peak, “doing huge concerts, travelling the world, meeting all the huge stars, being the opening act for lots of them. And so it was just, you know, just like running away with the circus really.”

You never forget those bands which affect you during your formative years, though, do you? Which, of course, is why the Rewind Festival has become a perennial sell-out. It hits, pardon the pun, the right note for those wanting a splash of glorious nostalgia. A chance to see the acts you used to discuss at school or splash your pocket money on when buying records was still a thing.

A showcase of stars from the 1980s, it is better known for its annual shindig at Henley-on-Thames (it’s north and Scottish events are on pause this year replaced with events in Ireland and, bizarrely, Dubai); a glorious revolving door of former chart-toppers coming on, playing just the songs you know and love, soaking up the cheers, and being replaced with remarkable haste, by the next one. It’s not difficult to see why it’s become so popular. It really is a case of all hits, no filler.

But this summer, for the first time, it’s coming to Kent too - with a special one-dayer packed with big names from the era - Midge Ure, Spandau Ballet’s Tony Hadley, Nik Kershaw, US singer Tiffany, Toyah, Heaven 17 - all taking to the outside Scenic Stage at Margate’s Dreamland.

T’Pau - or at least Carol Decker, the original line-up imploded back in 1992 - is among them.

“I absolutely love it,” she says of performing on the 80s revival merry-go-round which shows no signs of slowing. “I just get on, do a handful of big hits and I’ve got a big glass of wine in my hand minutes later as I stand in the wings watching all my friends perform.

“The crowd is there because they love the songs. Obviously, you've got to do a good job, but everybody's really happy to be there so it’s a great experience and atmosphere.

“I did a 70-minute show at the weekend and I was absolutely f****** knackered. I’d happily rather do 20 minutes for, like, 20,000 people, I love it.”

T’Pau continues to exist today primarily through its lead singer.

Back in the day, she was in a long relationship with the band’s guitarist and co-songwriter, Ronnie Rogers, but not long after the release of top 10 album The Promise in 1991, both the group and the relationship disintegrated.

“In terms of the original band, things were going downhill after The Promise,” she explains. “We weren't getting on as individuals. We were arguing over things like terms and conditions, money, different levels of status within the band. That sort of thing.

“You go from being the six musketeers who are inseparable - we saw more of each other than our families - and all of a sudden you’re just squabbling all the time. It was horrible.

“Then about a year later, Ronnie and I broke up on a personal level after 13 years. I was heartbroken, utterly heartbroken.”

But a few years later she met restaurateur Richard Coates - the pair wed in 2006 - and remain in wedded bliss.

Adds Carol: “I was miserable until I met Richard and now it's all lovely.

“He’s an amazing chef and quite the bon viveur. We’ve got friends in Whitstable and we love going there for the oysters and that sort of thing. We’ve also got friends near Tunbridge Wells. It’s a beautiful part of the country.”

She and Ronnie have also reunited their songwriting partnership - and they are currently in the process of writing a new album (see here for the band’s official website). He tours again with her and the new line-up when playing stand-alone shows - although won’t be at Rewind.

“Ronnie and I get along brilliantly now - he's an absolutely fantastic guy. When we play these sorts of shows we tend to all use the house band unless you’re the headliner - which I never am.

“I'm very lucky that I wrote my songs with Ronnie in the days where you made a little bit of money because I don't know how anybody makes money out of making a record anymore, I really don't. Maybe Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran do, but the rest of us don't.”

Does she, I ponder, ever think of hanging up the microphone after all these years?

“Sometimes after a long show I think about it,” she jokes, “but it’s the business that retires you, isn’t it? If you’re not getting booked then the decision is taken out of your hands.

“But for the last few years I’ve had a whale of a time. We still perform regular shows, I did the Masked Singer, I was in a musical which toured the UK, I’ve just come off a big 80s cruise out of Miami, which was amazing. I was on Dancing on Ice - singing not skating - and I just did Comic Relief.

“I’m also doing the Piano Room for Radio 2 this month and the other year I did a huge tour across Germany performing with a 60-piece orchestra. Just lots of lovely different things keep coming my way.”

So how many times, I ask, does she think she’s performed China In You Hand over the years - and what is her relationship with the one song - from the numerous albums she has recorded - she will forever be associated with?

“It was almost like a millstone around my neck for a while,” she admits. “I am a creative person so that could become quite frustrating that no-one wanted to hear my new material. But, eventually, I came to the conclusion that this is a super fickle business and, 37 years later, I’m still doing all these amazing things thanks to it.

“As to how many times I’ve played it? It must be in the thousands.”

Rewind at Dreamland takes place on Saturday, June 14 as part of the venue’s Summer Series of shows. Tickets are available now.

You can bet your house China In You Hand will be on the setlist.