It is a measure of how disposable pop music is and how fickle listeners are that Cathy Dennis is, for many, only half remembered. We might struggle to think of one of her songs, only vaguely recall what she looks like. Yet, she was a star: she had 10 consecutive UK top 40 hit singles in the 1990s and was even more adored in the US and Japan.
For anyone still trying to remember, the lyrics "hold me baby / drive me crazy / touch me / all night long" should ring some bells.
Today she is one of the most important women in the pop industry, as one of its most prolific songwriters. She went into the history books when the song she wrote for Katy Perry, I Kissed A Girl, recently became the 1,000th number one record in the Billboard US charts. Last Sunday the single reached number one in the UK charts and has become one of the songs of the summer. Quite simply, without such talented writers as Dennis the whole mad pop machine would fall apart.
The number of pop songs that Dennis has had a hand in is staggering. To name but a few: Toxic by Britney Spears, Never Had a Dream Come True by S Club 7, Anything is Possible by Will Young, About You Now by the Sugababes, Sweet Dreams My LA Ex by Rachel Stevens, and on and on.
But there is one song she co-wrote, with former Mud guitarist Rob Davis, that will be the subject of pop culture essays for years to come. Not only did Can't Get You Out of My Head rescue Kylie Minogue's then floundering career in 2001, it is, for many, one of the greatest pop songs ever.
"It's completely brilliant and hypnotic," says Peter Robinson, editor of popjustice.com. "And it's probably something that Kylie will never better. Cathy might though."
Alexis Petridis, the Guardian's pop music critic, agrees: "It's the ultimate pop record and it's interesting that it gave Kylie more respect than all her other attempts to make supposedly serious records. Dennis' songs are ostensibly throwaway pop songs but they're not, they're serious. Songs like Toxic completely stick in your head."
Robinson adds: "If it says Cathy Dennis in the credits to a song then people will always sit up and listen to it."
Dennis is from Norwich and spent some of her childhood accompanying her dad and his band as they toured local hotels. She was always a musical child but never imagined she would become a pop star. She once said: "I come from Norwich. Pop stars don't come from Norwich. All my friends were farmers or children of farmers."
She briefly worked for Norwich Union before coming on the radar of Simon Fuller, one of the most successful music managers of all time. He was impressed enough with Dennis to put her in the band D-Mob, which had limited success, but Dennis soon went solo, notching up hit after hit and touring the world.
In fairness, she never had that extra something as a performer. She was, perhaps, a bit too down-to-earth. She said in one interview: "I'd rather spend £3.50 on a second-hand skirt than £1,000 on some designer gear which I probably wouldn't wear."
Petridis believes she was slightly uncomfortable as a pop star. "She started out as a kind of Kwik Save Kylie and then had an attempt at being a faux indie diva, which didn't work."
Dennis did not seem to enjoy all the extra stuff you do to be a megastar, either, preferring to live an ordinary life and definitely stay out of the papers.
She once said: "I have no tolerance for beer. I prefer to see a film, read a good book or practise my guitar."
What she could do was write. Incredibly well. Through Fuller Dennis wrote Bumper to Bumper for the Spice Girls and then became heavily involved in the S Club 7 project, Fuller's brainchild after the Spice Girls sacked him in 1997. The group, four girls and three boys, had a string of hits and their own TV show. The band was as cheesy and manufactured as was possible, but very popular, with a string of annoyingly catchy hits.
Since then Dennis has remained close to the Fuller empire, involved in Pop Idol and American Idol by writing the themes and songs for singers such as Will Young, Gareth Gates, Clay Aiken and Kelly Clarkson.
Dennis has found her niche. She is a writer for hire and this has made her rich beyond her dreams. She is also a top player in a sector dominated by men.
Many assumed this would be it for Dennis. She would keep churning songs and maybe win a few more Ivor Novello songwriting awards, of which she has five already.
But last month she said: "I've been working for the last year-and-a-half with a band I put together called Sexcassettes. We're shooting a video for the first single, Killer Love, this month, and I hope to have it out by the end of the year. It has more of a band sound than produced pop. As usual, I have no idea what to expect."
The truth is, nor does anyone else.
CV
Born March 25 1969 in Norwich
Education Taverham high school
Family Not married
Career At 13 Dennis started singing in her father's band, the Alan Dennis Band. She briefly worked in the pensions department at Norwich Union before she was spotted by Simon Fuller and signed to Polydor Records, aged 17. In 1989 had first chart success with acid-house band D-Mob and the song C'Mon and Get My Love. In 1990 she released her debut album, Move To This, which gave her three US top 10 hits. She made two further albums, but has focused on songwriting since the late 90s. She has won five Ivor Novello awards, for such hits as Kylie Minogue's Can't Get You Out of My Head and Britney Spears's Toxic.