Belinda Carlisle thinks artists such as Dua Lipa are "embarrassing" themselves with their "sexualised" appearance

She told the i newspaper: "These days young women in the music industry are just so sexualised. Like, what happened? I don't get it.

"It's not empowering. It's embarrassing.

"Yes, you will get attention, but not the right kind, and down the line you are going to look back and say: 'Wish I hadn't done that.'

"I mean: Dua Lipa? It's shocking! She's so talented. She doesn't need to do that."

The 66-year-old star is aware some women in the music business in the 1980s experienced sexual assault and sexist abuse but "no man ever messed with a Go-Go. We were like a five headed monster".

And Belinda experienced one instance of overt sexism when she launched her solo career.

She recalled: "A big manager told me: 'You should show your t***and sing some songs like, "Stick it in me." And I said simply; 'No. I don't do that.' "

The Heaven is a Place on Earth singer told how years of public scrutiny about her weight led to her developing an eating disorder.

She said:"I was always described as 'pretty and plump', 'cute and chubby'. The papers were all, 'Oh look, she's lost weight! Oh no, she's gained weight!' It really f**** up your brain as a young girl.

"I developed what turned into an eating disorder.

"It was a form of bulimia that still sometimes comes back. I think the press are more mindful now, but they weren't then. And those judgments can destroy women. They do. They destroy us."

But as she's got older, Belinda has found scrutiny has shifted from her appearance to her age, which she finds just as infuriating.

She said: "Now the weight comments have stopped, it's all about my age. I'm always 'Belinda Carlisle, 66'. They never do that to the men, do you notice?"