Debbie Sledge says her hit song is about “so much more” than just family.

The 68-year-old star shot to fame when she and her sisters Kathy, Kim and Joni – who passed away in 2017 - released the single ‘We Are Family’ in 1979 as part of Sister Sledge and explained that despite its title, it can mean “unity” or building each other up to achieve good.

She told HELLO Magazine: “It is so much more than just a family thing. It means unity and it reaches beyond family. It can go through any group of people who align for the purpose of building each other up or accomplishing something for good.”

These days, Debbie performs with her adult children Camille and David as well as her nephew Thaddeus and friend Tanya Ti-et as part of a group called Slegendary and went on to recall that it was her grandmother – an opera singer – who taught the girls to sing as she remembered noticing how much “love” her family had for music.

She added: “I think this might be the most fun I’ve ever had on the road. It's hard, but nobody is in a bad mood. They’re just enjoying this, and I’m enjoying it because I get to see my kids every day.

“Maybe [my grandmother] thought: 'These girls are not tone deaf - let me see what I can do.' So, she would sit down at the piano and teach us gospel songs and hymns, which meant a lot to us because we grew up in the church.

"It did a lot for me, and I realised that I love music and I saw the love that they had.”