Bonnie Tyler

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Bonnie Tyler
Background information
Birth name	Gaynor Hopkins
Born	June 8 1951 (1951-06-08) (age 56) Skewen, Neath, Wales
Genre(s)	Pop rock, Wagnerian rock, Country rock
Occupation(s)	Singer
Instrument(s)	Vocals
Years active	1975 - present
Website	http://www.bonnietyler.com/

Bonnie Tyler (born June 8 1951 in Skewen, Wales, United Kingdom) is a Welsh pop/rock singer. Born Gaynor Hopkins, she is widely recognizable by her highly distinctive, husky voice.

Career

Following the Top 10 success of her 1976 song "Lost in France", Tyler released her first album in 1977 entitled The World Starts Tonight. The album met with only modest success, though Tyler did embark on a tour throughout Europe. A further single from the album, "More Than a Lover," made the UK Top 30. In 1977, Tyler was diagnosed with nodules on her vocal cords that were so severe that surgery was mandatory. She was then ordered by doctors to not speak for six weeks. One day in the middle of her healing process, she accidentally screamed, causing her voice to carry a distinctive rasp. At first, this made her believe that her singing career was at an end. But to her surprise, her next single made her an international star. "It's a Heartache" made #3 on the US chart and had become a hit worldwide, topping the charts in France and Australia, peaking at #2 in Germany and at #4 in the UK. The Natural Force album was also retitled It's a Heartbreak for the U.S. market. Though further success was elusive during this era, Tyler did have a minor UK top 40 hit with "Married Men" in 1979, the theme to the film The World is Full of Married Men based on the novel by British author Jackie Collins. Tyler released the albums Diamond Cut (1979) and Goodbye to the Island (1981), but these met with little success in the UK or the U.S. However, the track "Sitting on the Edge of the Ocean" (featured on her Goodbye To The Island album) was the Grand Prix winner of the 1979 Yamaha World Song Festival held in Tokyo. Tyler released four albums for the RCA label between 1977-81. During that time Tyler became dissatisfied with her management, who were trying to lean her closer to the country music market. When her contract with RCA ran out, she sought help from songwriter Jim Steinman to give her music a rock style and signed with CBS Records in 1982. Her next album, Faster Than the Speed of Night, was released in Spring 1983 and spawned the single "Total Eclipse of the Heart", written by Jim Steinman. The song was a worldwide smash and reached no.1 in no less than 18 countries including the UK, France, Australia, Japan, Germany, Canada, and the United States (where it remained at the top for 4 weeks). Faster Than the Speed of Night entered the UK album chart at No.1, making Tyler a Guinness Record holder as the first ever British female artist to have an album enter the UK chart straight at no.1. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" also brought Tyler a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. In 1984, she performed the track at the Grammy Awards, and received another Grammy nomination as Best Rock Female Vocalist for "Here She Comes", a song that was part of the soundtrack for the 1984 restoration of the film Metropolis. She also released the singles "A Rockin' Good Way" (a duet with fellow Welshman Shakin' Stevens) which made #5 in the UK, and "Holding Out for a Hero" from the film soundtrack Footloose which made #34 in the U.S., #1 in Ireland and #2 in UK (in the summer of 1985). The track was also used as the main theme for the 1984 US television series Cover Up, though the version heard on the TV series was not sung by her but by a Bonnie Tyler sound-a-like ^[1]. The albums Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire and Hide Your Heart (called Notes From America in the U.S.) followed later in the 1980s.

1990s-present

In the early 1990s, Tyler switched to BMG German label Hansa. Her first album on her new label was "Bitterblue" in late 1991. This album went quadruple-platinum in Norway, platinum in Austria, and gold in Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden. Tyler followed up with a new album, Angel Heart, which repeated the success of Bitterblue. The following album Silhouette in Red saw her win Best International Female Vocalist in the ECHO Awards. In 1995, Tyler released the album Free Spirit, featuring the single "Making Love out of Nothing at All" which reached #2 on the European charts. 1998 saw the release of All in One Voice. In 2002, Tyler released a collection of classic rock covers called Heart Strings (aka "Heart & Soul - 13 Rock Classics"). The album enjoyed mild success in Germany and other parts of Europe. Tyler's follow-up album, Simply Believe, was released in 2004 and contained the #1 hit duet with Kareen Antonn, "Si demain... (Turn Around)" (a French language remake of "Total Eclipse of the Heart") which became a huge hit in France (where it was no.1 for ten weeks), as well as Belgium and Poland, eventually selling 2 million copies worldwide.^[2] 2005 saw Tyler release her third album in four years, Wings (aka Celebrate). The album contained two remakes: "It's a Heartache" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart". Two singles were released - "Celebrate" (released as a promo single), and the track "Louise". In September 2006, Tyler made her first appearance on U.S. television in many years, as she sang a duet of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" with actress and now singer Lucy Lawless on the American show Celebrity Duets. In 2007, a new Bonnie Tyler best-of collection, From The Heart, was released. Also in 2007, Tyler contributed with a track, "I Don't Know How to Love Him", for the charity record Over the Rainbow At a recent concert in Niagara Falls, Tyler stated that she will be recording a new album with friend and long-term collaborator Jim Steinman. News releases CD/DVD "Das Konzert 25 Millionen Golf" Various Artists inc. Bonnie and CD "Hit Collection Edition".

Discography

Main article: Bonnie Tyler discography

External links

• Bonnie Tyler official page
• Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse Of The Heart is enjoying a new lease of life - Extrageographic Magazine