LONDON (AP) 鈥� the gravelly voiced, Grammy-nominated Welsh pop star best known for singing the chart-topping power ballad 鈥淭otal Eclipse of the Heart鈥� in 1983 and seeing new generations succumb to its bombastic charms during solar and lunar eclipses, has died. She was 75.
Tyler died 鈥渦nexpectedly鈥� in a hospital in Portugal where she was being treated for an illness, her family said Thursday in a statement on her website. She was hospitalized in May in Faro, where she had a home, for emergency intestinal surgery and was later placed in an induced coma.
鈥淏onnie鈥檚 family and team are heartbroken to announce that Bonnie unexpectedly passed away last night in hospital in Portugal as a result of the illness that she was being treated for, her family said.
Tyler earned three Grammy nods, represented Britain at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 鈥� where she came in 19th 鈥� and was awarded an MBE for her services to music by Queen Elizabeth II in 2023, all largely thanks to 鈥淭otal Eclipse of the Heart,鈥� which has had more that 1 billion streams, boosted by real eclipses in 2017 and 2024.
The song spent four weeks at No. 1, the video has surpassed 1 billion views and when Stereogum reevaluated it in 2020, the music outlet declared it an 鈥渆xtinction-level event rendered in musical form.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 pop music as heart-pounding, chest-thumping, blood-gargling, heavens-falling passion explosion. It鈥檚 sheer spectacle. It鈥檚 fireworks and lasers and lightning and thunder. It soars and swoops and barrel-rolls,鈥� the site said.
The song has never really gone away, covered by the English singer Nicki French in 1995 and the band Westlife in 2006. Cate Blanchett sang it while hitting Billy Bob Thornton with her car in 2001鈥檚 鈥淏andits,鈥� it appeared at a wedding scene in 2003鈥檚 鈥淥ld School鈥� and on a U.K. version of 鈥淭he X Factor.鈥�
Early life
Tyler was born 鈥� as Gaynor Hopkins 鈥� a coal miner鈥檚 daughter in public housing with an outside toilet in Skewen, Wales, about seven miles outside Swansea. She grew up with three sisters and two brothers.
She adored the Beatles and her first album was 鈥淎 Hard Day鈥檚 Night.鈥� The first song she bought was 鈥淗ippy Hippy Shake鈥� by the Swinging Blue Jeans at 13 and watched 鈥淭op of the Pops鈥� religiously, according to her memoir, 鈥淪traight From the Heart.鈥�
She would record 鈥淭op of the Pops鈥� on a reel-to-reel two-track recorder and write down the lyrics of songs she loved. Her favorites were songs by Janis Joplin, Nina Simone, Tina Turner, Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding.
鈥淚 used to sing them into my hairbrush for hours and hours, and that鈥檚 how it all started for me. I fell in love with singing just from doing that. Looking back, even then my voice had a husky tone to it, but I didn鈥檛 think much of it. I thought everyone鈥檚 voices were different from each other鈥檚,鈥� she wrote.
In 1976 she had to have surgery to remove nodules on her throat, leaving her with that trademark vocal sound. Changing her name to Sherene Davis, she was fronting a soul band when she was discovered by talent scout Roger Bell, who brought her to London for demo sessions. Then she waited for a label until RCA said it was interested.
Under her new RCA-sanctioned name Bonnie Tyler, her debut album 鈥淭he World Starts Tonight鈥� in 1977 contained her first chart hit, 鈥淟ost in France,鈥� and she was nominated for a breakthrough artists award at the Brits Awards. She then had a No. 3 hit in 1978 with 鈥淚t鈥檚 a Heartache,鈥� but soon drifted. She then signed with Sony and saw Meat Loaf perform 鈥淏at Out of Hell鈥� on the BBC. Impressed, she requested to work with Meat Loaf songwriter and producer Jim Steinman.
鈥楾otal Eclipse of the Heart鈥�
Steinman introduced her to his song 鈥淭otal Eclipse of the Heart,鈥� which would become the debut single for her fifth studio album, 鈥淔aster Than the Speed of Night.鈥� He borrowed one of the song鈥檚 lyrics 鈥� 鈥淭urn around, bright eyes鈥� 鈥� from his 1969 musical 鈥淭he Dream Engine鈥� written as a student at Massachusetts鈥� Amherst College. He told her the song was from a prospective musical version of 鈥淣osferatu.鈥�
鈥淛im liked to put down a basic rhythm track, do nine takes of the song, choose the best one and then put the kitchen sink on there, like Phil Spector used to,鈥� Tyler told The Guardian in 2023. 鈥淗e gave me a cassette to listen to in my hotel and we both preferred take two.鈥�
Featuring E Street Band members Roy Bittan on piano and Max Weinberg on drums, 鈥淭otal Eclipse鈥� is a rumination on lost love: 鈥淥nce upon a time there was light in my life/But now there鈥檚 only love in the dark,鈥� she sings.
, a staple of early-days MTV, was shot in a frightening gothic former asylum in Surrey, where the guard dogs apparently wouldn鈥檛 set foot in the rooms downstairs where they used to give people electric shock treatment. The visuals included slow-motion tossed doves, candles, dancing ninjas, dancing greasers, Tyler in frighteningly big shoulder pads, fencers, gymnasts, wind machines and shirtless boys wearing swim goggles being doused with water.
鈥淔aster Than the Speed of Night鈥� earned a Grammy nomination for best rock vocal performance 鈥� losing to Pat Benatar鈥檚 鈥淟ove Is a Battlefield鈥� 鈥� and Tyler got another nod for 鈥淭otal Eclipse of the Heart鈥� in the best pop vocal performance category, losing to Irene Cara鈥檚 鈥淔lashdance 鈥� What a Feeling.鈥�
After the 鈥楨clipse鈥�
Tyler never reached such dizzying heights again but stayed current with such movie soundtrack singles as 鈥淗olding Out For a Hero鈥� 鈥� from 1984鈥檚 鈥淔ootloose鈥� 鈥� and 鈥淗ere She Comes鈥� from 鈥淢etropolis鈥� also in 1984.
Her 2019 disc 鈥淏etween the Earth and the Stars鈥� featured duets with Rod Stewart, Cliff Richard and Status Quo鈥檚 Francis Rossi, and she ended that year performing a Vatican Christmas concert before Pope Francis.
In 2013, she switched gears to make a country-flavored record in Nashville, 鈥淩ocks and Honey,鈥� which included the Vince Gill duet 鈥淲hat You Need From Me鈥� and a little ballad called 鈥淏elieve in Me,鈥� written by American songwriter Desmond Child and British songwriters Lauren Christy and Christopher Braide. 鈥淏elieve in Me鈥� was picked to represent the United Kingdom at that year鈥檚 Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden.
鈥淚t was an absolutely wonderful atmosphere there,鈥� she told the San Francisco Examiner in 2023. 鈥淚 was being interviewed every 15, 20 minutes, and when I walked out onstage behind the British flag, I thought the roof was going to come off! It was awesome, just awesome!鈥�
In 2017, she joined Joe Jonas鈥� band DNCE for a performance on the cruise ship Oasis of the Seas as part of a 鈥淭otal Eclipse Cruise.鈥� When the moon passed in front of the sun, they played 鈥淭otal Eclipse of the Heart.鈥�
Tyler was married to property developer and former Olympic judo competitor Robert Sullivan.
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