FOR someone whose songs are so vividly emotional, Vonda Shepard is surprisingly low-key when it comes to talking about her own rollercoaster success story.

It began in Los Angeles six years ago when a woman she describes as "an old friend" came to hear her perform at a club and, afterwards, introduced her husband to the singer.

Only under close questioning does it becomes apparent that Vonda's old friend was Hollywood star Michelle Pfieffer and her husband successful TV executive David Kelley, who was looking for an act to be the "voice" of his new TV show Ally McBeal.

"My songs just seemed to click with the character of Ally," explained Vonda. "Afterwards I found out David told Calista Flockhart, who played Ally in the show, that if she really wanted to get to know the character she was about to play she should listen to my album It's Good Eve."

Vonda's songs played a key part in helping the audience identify with Boston lawyer Ally too.

As the show took off and its cavalcade of kooky characters became hits on both sides of the Atlantic, Vonda's songs helped viewers tap into the lovelorn loneliness of Ally, lending a touch of pathos to the bizarre comedy aspects of the programme.

For Vonda, who in 1992 had been dropped by her record label, the jump from small-time singer to TV star was sudden and unexpected.

She said: "When I first got the job on Ally I thought I would be lucky if it paid my rent for two or three months. Then some guy came up to me and said, 'Enjoy your anonymity while you have it. Most of David's shows are very successful,' and he was right. Suddenly we had won our first Golden Globe, but it felt so totally unexpected. It was just out of this world."

Equally unexpected for Vonda was that within months of the series launching she had a worldwide hit soundtrack CD to her name. It included the Ally McBeal theme song Searching My Soul -- the very same track from her album that had been dumped by her record company six years before. She explained: "We used to joke about me making a CD for David Kelley's car, then we thought, 'Wouldn't it be great to release it?' So we did, and suddenly the radio stations were all playing Searching My Soul. Everything happened so fast, it was wild.

"It's great to know that if you just keep working, some day it goes somewhere."

Meanwhile, Vonda's role on Ally McBeal was blossoming, as she gradually developed from being the token songstress in Ally's favourite bar to producing all the music on the show.

"It was really good fun and very exciting," she said. "I produced the music of most of the guest artists that came on the show, so I was working in the studio with people like Sting, Al Green and Gladys Knight. I got to work alongside some real legends.

"But after five years of doing the show I was ready for a break. I'd done a lot of touring and I'd released six albums in five years. When David decided to wind up the show I was ready for it."

Now, with her solo career taking off, does Vonda find it a problem to be identified so strongly with a TV show?

"I wouldn't have any popularity whatsoever if it wasn't for Ally McBeal," she said, sensibly.

"I always made an effort over the five years of the show to keep my solo career going by touring and playing new songs. I have this whole other life away from the show, but I think people will always associate me with it, and I have to accept that."

Hence her choice of music in her latest tour, which brings her to Manchester's Bridgewater Hall on Wednesday, October 22. She explained: "It's really important not to forget about where you've come from, so I'm not going to distance myself from my Ally roots. Most people at my concerts will have the first Ally album, so of course I'll be playing some songs from that.

"But I'll also be doing about five songs from my new album China Town."