Thomas was best known for hits such as ‘High Energy’, ‘Doomsday’ and ‘Weak Spot’

Influential disco singer Evelyn Thomas has died aged 70. No cause of death has been given.

The news was shared by Northern soul legend Ian Levine, who took to X/Twitter to announce Thomas’ death. “It is hard for me to accept that my lifelong protege really has left us”, he wrote, adding that “her music will outlive us all”.

Levine worked with Thomas and co-producer Fiachra Trench to create the Hi-NRG classic ‘High Energy’ in 1984 and signed the singer to his label in 1975. Though the pair fell out of contact after their last recording session in 2009, Levine revealed that Thomas had “reached out to me in love” a few months ago knowing she was dying.

Upon hearing from Thomas, Levine and Trench “immediately dropped everything” to write one last song for her called ‘Inspirational’. Though Thomas was too sick to record the song, he revealed her daughter Kimberly (aka YaYa Diamond) intends to record the song as a tribute to her mother, adding that “Kimberly has been the most amazing and caring daughter”.

Evelyn Thomas was born in Chicago, Illinois on August 22, 1953. Working across genres such as disco, dance, and R&B, she was discovered by Levine in 1975, who signed her to his label.