In 1991, Peckham-born Zoe Pollock penned a song that stormed up the charts to reach the top five, cavorted on the Top of the Pops stage and saw her debut single become a Brit-nominated classic.

Sunshine on a Rainy Day was a perfect example of pop at its infectious, catchy best, and became a massive club anthem. Produced by Martin "Youth" Glover, it reached number four in the UK chart, sold a quarter of a million copies and hit the spot at discos across Europe, capturing a feelgood moment in time for those on the 90s dance floors.

Known simply as Zoe, the distinctive-voiced singer went on to record more singles and albums, working with artists as diverse as legendary guitarist Steve Hillage, revered Irish producer Donal Lunny and English band Morcheeba. But not long after releasing her 1996 album Hammer she disappeared off the scene ... prompting, some years later, the inevitable websites asking "Whatever happened to Zoe"?

But the song was never going to lie down. Used on TV ads to sex up the Amiga 500 computer, it went on to be covered by Emma "Baby Spice" Bunton, supermodel Naomi Campbell and was a huge hit in Australia for Aboriginal singer Christina Anu.

Zoe, meanwhile, had embarked on a world of new opportunity, living in India, Sicily, Ibiza, Brazil and the USA, becoming a talented sculptor and potter and studying herbal medicine and yoga - all the while continuing to write music and collaborating with other artists. Her last release was an EP recorded under the alias Hephzibah Broom on the Manchester underground folk label Red Deer Records.

The original free spirit, Zoë is now back in the UK, happily rooted near Land's End in wild west Cornwall in a windswept cottage by the sea which she shares with her acclaimed poet husband Murray Lachlan Young and two young sons. But in summer she takes up residence in a Kazakhstan yurt - and hopes it doesn't rain too much!

Zoe believes it's high time to reclaim her landmark song - but this is a less fierce Sunshine: acoustic, rootsy, ethereal and Eastern with additional, thoughtful lyrics and spoken musings; a melodic melting pot of influences she has soaked up round the globe - percolated with Indian, Arabic and Mexican mariachi sounds. The end result is a recognisable hit, skilfully and sensitively revamped and delivered by her characteristic haunting vocals.

Without the pressures of record label agendas, it reflects something of the personal and geographical journey she has taken in the intervening years. "I feel that it's a new phase in my creative life. I feel very good about it. It's not really a departure, it's a continuation - and hopefully it will encourage some of my original audience to listen to the new album that's going to follow," says Zoe.

Recorded in the Chyglidden studio of Irish sculptor Tim Shaw, near the small Cornish village of Mabe, the single features Penzance-based singer/songwriter Sarah McQuaid on guitar and backing vocals as well as Tiffany Bryant (flute) and Andy Jarvis (drums, percussion, trumpet, harmonium) - both members of Thistletown, the quirky, offshore Cornish band, recently signed to the new Big Bertha record label of Will "Song Man" Hodgkinson.

The single will be released on July 7 on iTunes and other music download sites. A video of the song, featuring Zoe and the guest musicians, will be available shortly.

The summer sound of Sunshine will now be heard by a new generation as well as those that remember it vividly from the first time around. It will be a forerunner for Zoe's first new album in 12 years - a collaboration with Sarah McQuaid, who recently relocated to Cornwall from Ireland and who is already making her mark on the English acoustic music scene. Together, they have formed the new band Mama and the album, due for release later this year, has the intriguing working title Crow Coyote Buffalo.