In July Barbara receives an Honorary Fellowship from the Liverpool John Moores University for Services to Music and the Dramatic Arts. Recent collaborations include an array of leading figures from the music scene, including Sam Lee, Rab Noakes and Emily Smith. In 1985 Barbara’s single ‘I Know Him So Well,’ recorded with Elaine Paige and taken from the musical ‘Chess’, was released. It reached Number One in the UK and went on to become a Top Ten hit around the world, eventually selling over 900,000 copies. The ‘90’s also saw Barbara beginning to diversify more into acting, with major roles on TV including ‘Taggart’, Kay Mellor’s ‘Band of Gold’ and ‘The Missing Postman’. On stage, ‘The Seven Ages of Woman’ won Barbara the 1997 Liverpool Echo ‘Best Actress in Theatre’ Award and in 2000 she won her second Olivier award for her role as the infamous 1960’s pools winner, Viv Nicholson, in the musical ‘Spend Spend Spend’.

In February the single "I Know Him So Well" with Elaine Paige reaches the top of the charts giving Barbara her first UK # 1. In 2017, Barbara narrated the acclaimed ‘Ballads of Child Migration’, the success of which led to a major UK tour the following year, closely followed by a tour of ‘Far, Far From Ypres’, the award-winning story of the Scottish war effort during the First World War. November sees Barbara in the USA again - she films a walk-on role in "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" in Los Angeles. Barbara joins 'The Great Fife Road Show' and tours Scotland with artists including Rab Noakes, Davey Stewart and Cilla Fisher.The next few years saw her gradually ‘paying her dues’ on the Scottish and English folk circuit, steadily building a reputation and working with the likes of Billy Connolly, Gerry Rafferty, Rab Noakes and Archie Fisher. Early folk albums, which she recorded for Trailer and Decca Records, were well received. Whilst Barbara remains modest about her many achievements, with seventeen Platinum and Gold albums to her name she remains Scotland’s biggest-selling female singer of all time. Also in November Barbara guests on several episodes of the long-running quiz show 'Countdown' for Channel 4.

Barbara continues to play live locally - venues include the Kinema Ballroom, The Green Tree and the Belleville Hotel in Dunfermline plus a residency at the Rosyth Hotel. The album was released following her return to the top 20 with the single " January February". Produced by Alan Tarney, the album was a success, reaching No.7 in the UK Charts and remaining in the top 75 for three months. [2] It was certified gold by the BPI for sales of over 100,000 in the UK. [3] Further singles taken from the album were "In the Night" and "It's Really You".The Liverpool Arts and Entertainment Awards name Barbara as Best Actress in Theatre ActressIn Theatre for the show. During September and October she plays several dates as the special guest of Peter Karrie and in also in October plays 7 UK solo concerts. Barbara's first Christmas special, 'Joy To the World', is broadcast by BBC RadioScotland on Christmas Day. By 1982, regular TV appearances and sold-out tours had cemented her status as one of the UK’s most popular female vocalists. Her ‘All for a Song’ album that year was certified platinum and went on to spend almost a year on the album chart. Between August and November, Barbara tours as part of 'Far Far From Ypres', the story of the Scottish war effort during WW1.