Bonnie Tyler, the Welsh singer known worldwide for her powerful voice and dramatic rock ballads, has died at the age of 75, BBC News reported on Thursday.
Tyler became one of Britain’s most recognisable singers after her distinctive gravelly voice helped transform songs such as “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and “Holding Out for a Hero” into international hits.
Her signature husky sound was the result of an accident following an operation to remove vocal cord nodules in 1977. After being told to rest her voice, Tyler once screamed in anger, permanently changing the quality of her vocals.
Six years later, that unique voice became central to “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” which went on to become her biggest success and earned a Grammy Award nomination.
Rise to international fame
Born Gaynor Hopkins in south Wales in 1951, Tyler was the fourth of six children of a coal miner father and a homemaker mother.
She grew up in a council house in the village of Skewen, outside Swansea, where music was a constant part of family life. Her mother sang around the home, and Tyler later recalled that seeing a musical at a local church when she was seven inspired her dream of performing.
Although she described herself as shy as a child, Tyler said she always had a desire to sing in front of audiences.
She began her career as a teenage backing singer before releasing several albums during the 1970s. Her major breakthrough came in the early 1980s after she began working with American songwriter Jim Steinman, who was already known for composing Meat Loaf’s “Bat Out of Hell.”
FILE PHOTO: Singer Bonnie Tyler performs during ‘The Last Night of the Proms’ celebration in Hyde Park, London, Britain September 14, 2019. Picture taken September 14, 2019. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez/File Photo
‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ becomes a classic
Tyler said she immediately recognised the potential of Steinman’s composition when she first heard “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”
“I knew this was the song I had been waiting for all my life,” she recalled.
The song topped the charts in both the United Kingdom and the United States, with its dramatic production and Tyler’s powerful vocals becoming her defining musical achievement.
The track has since been streamed more than one billion times on Spotify and has appeared in films including “Old School” and “Bandits,” as well as television shows such as “Glee” and “Grey’s Anatomy” and a Mastercard advertisement.
Another of Tyler’s major hits, “Holding Out for a Hero,” also became widely recognised through appearances in films, television and advertising.
Her other popular songs included “It’s a Heartache” and “Lost in France.”
Later career and legacy
From the 1990s onwards, Tyler found greater success in countries including Norway, Austria and France, while continuing to perform internationally.
She represented Britain at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest and was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2022 for services to music.
Tyler married property developer Robert Sullivan in 1973, and the couple remained together for decades. They did not have children.
The singer later explained that she created her stage name by combining first names and surnames she found in a newspaper.
“I came up with Bonnie Tyler,” she said. “And it’s been a brilliant name.”
Her distinctive voice and dramatic performances made her one of the most recognisable figures in pop and rock music, with “Total Eclipse of the Heart” remaining her defining song.
