Dore is most famous in the United States for her 1980 single, "Pilot of the Airwaves," but is also known in Europe for her 1995 album, Things Change.

She was a drama student in Newcastle, and appeared on the TV show Rainbow briefly, but then dabbled in music. She formed a country band called Prairie Oyster, which attracted interest from Island Records, but the band imploded before terms could be finalised and she was signed as a solo act. Her first album, Where To Now, recorded both in Nashville, Tennessee and in London, was released in 1979. "Pilot of the Airwaves," the first single taken from it, hit #13 on the U.S. charts, and scraped up to #66 in her native UK. The follow-up single, "Fear of Flying", did not take off and her performing career stalled after her follow-up album, Listen, failed to attract interest.

She then returned to acting, starring with Tim Curry and Jonathan Pryce in 1984's The Ploughman's Lunch, and appearing in other TV shows, include South of the Border and Hard Cases.

However, her songwriting career also took off, as she penned hits for Tina Turner, Celine Dion, Barry Manilow and other best-selling artists. She returned to performing music with Things Change, and in 2004, she released Sleep All Day and Other Stories.

Dore's most recent release, Cuckoo Hill, appeared on the Black Ink Music record label, and was released in July 2006.