Bonnie Tyler dies aged 75 following illness treated in hospital in Portugal

Remembering Bonnie Tyler's Legacy With Some Of Her Biggest Career Highlights

Bonnie Tyler has died at the age of 75The music world is in mourning following the death of musician Bonnie Tyler at the age of 75.Bonnie died on Wednesday evening, months after being rushed to hospital near her home in Portugal for emergency surgery.The singer’s team issued a statement on Thursday morning confirming: “Bonnie’s 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.”Over the course of her hugely successful music career, Bonnie became known for her powerful stage presence, her distinctive singing voice and, of course, major hits including Total Eclipse Of The Heart, It’s A Heartache and Holding Out For A Hero.To celebrate her life, we’re looking back at some of the key moments in Bonnie’s career…Bonnie Tyler released her debut solo album in 1977Bonnie Tyler performing on The Russell Harty Show in 1977, the same year her debut album was releasedBorn Gaynor Hopkins in 1951, the Welsh singer adopted the stage name Bonnie Tyler early on in her music career, which is what she released her first album The World Starts Tonight under in 1977.Lead single Lost In France was a top 10 hit in the UK, while later single It’s A Heartache fared even better, peaking at number four, and remaining one of her signature tunes.She then recorded Total Eclipse Of The Heart in the early 80sIt’s well-documented that Total Eclipse Of The Heart was originally penned by Meat Loaf collaborator Jim Steinman for a scrapped musical based on the film Nosferatu.Bonnie recorded the song in 1982, and it was released the following year, winning huge acclaim and giving the star her first number one in the UK.To this day, it’s her most popular musical offering, going two-times platinum on her home turf.Bonnie Tyler performing live in 1983, the year of her international breakthrough with Total Eclipse Of The HeartTotal Eclipse Of The Heart became Bonnie Tyler’s international breakthroughAfter its success in the UK, Total Eclipse Of The Heart went on to take the rest of the world by storm.As well as topping the charts in the US, it earned Bonnie one of three Grammy nominations, not to mention a slot performing Total Eclipse Of The Heart during the ceremony, and its music video now holds a whopping one billion views on YouTube.Following this, her song Holding Out For A Hero became a huge hit, thanks in part to its placement on the Flashdance soundtrackOff the back of Total Eclipse Of The Heart’s success, Bonnie had another hit on her hands when she unveiled Holding Out For A Hero, which peaked at number two in the UK and also charted across the pond.Its global success was thanks in no small part to its positioning in the film Flashdance – although many of us know it from a completely different movie altogether, as it was famously covered by Jennifer Saunders in the animated classic Shrek 2.Bonnie Tyler on stage in Germany in the mid-1980sWhile primarily known for singing other people’s compositions, Bonnie Tyler’s album Wings featured many songs that she co-wroteWings – or Celebrate, as it was known in the UK – was Bonnie Tyler’s 15th album, released in the mid-2000s.As well as 10 new tracks co-written by Bonnie herself, the release featured new versions of her songs It’s A Heartache and Total Eclipse Of The Heart, as well as a duet with fellow powerhouse vocalist Lorraine Crosby, I’ll Stand By You.Bonnie Tyler pictured in 2005, the year she released her album Wings (known as Celebrate in the UK)In 2013, she was asked to represent the UK at the Eurovision Song ContestAfter recording her album Rocks And Honey in the 2010s, the BBC picked one of its songs, Believe In Me, to represent the UK at Eurovision that year.Initially, Bonnie had mixed feelings about going to the contest, but reasoned it would be “great publicity” for the album she was so proud of.Speaking to HuffPost UK before the live final in Malmö, Bonnie claimed: “As long as I’ll be happy with my performance when I come off that stage, and I don’t fluff up or fall over, I won’t mind at all what the scores are.”In the end, she actually fared quite well, especially for a UK act at Eurovision, finishing in 19th place of 26 competitors.Bonnie Tyler on stage at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013Bonnie Tyler picked up an MBE in 2022 for her services to music in the late Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday honoursShe received her honour from Prince William, saying at the time: “I am truly honoured to be awarded an MBE and especially so in Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year, which makes this even more special.”“This honour just goes to show that anyone from any background can become a success, and be recognised by our wonderful country, if they put their minds and efforts into what they do,” she enthused.Bonnie Tyler accepted her MBE at Windsor Castle in 2023Bonnie Tyler continued to perform and release new music in her final yearsPrior to her death, Bonnie had been due to tour Europe later this year, to mark 50 years since the release of her 1976 breakthrough hit Lost In France.Her final album, The Best Is Yet To Come, was released in 2021, earning positive reviews and featuring both covers and original songs.READ MORE:Singer Bonnie Tyler Has Died Age 75The Real Story Behind Bonnie Tyler's Signature Hit, Total Eclipse Of The Heart

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Bonnie Tyler dies aged 75 after recent health struggles

Iconic Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler has died (Picture: Metro/Getty) Bonnie Tyler, the Welsh singer behind such iconic hits as Total Eclipse of the Heart and Holding Out for a Hero, has died at the age of 75. The singer, born Gaynor Hopkins in Skewen, Neath, Wales, on June 8 1951, died after previously being in an induced coma following emergency bowel surgery and the removal of her appendix. Her death was confirmed on her website in a statement which read: ‘Bonnie’s 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.’ Tyler was admitted to a hospital in Faro, Portugal, where she has a home, and had emergency intestinal surgery after feeling unwell around a month ago. Her friend Liberto Mealha stated at the time: ‘She decided to travel to the Algarve, where she began to feel severe abdominal pain. Two days later, she went to a private hospital, which urgently transferred her to the hospital in Faro because her appendix had burst and she needed emergency surgery.’ She suffered a cardiac arrest following the life-saving surgery and ‘had to be resuscitated,’  Portuguese publication Correio da Manha reported. Born Gaynor Hopkins, Tyler change dher nbame in the 1970s (Picture: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) Breakout hit and vocal surgery Tyler’s career began at a young age when finishing second in a talent contest inspired her to pursue a career in music just before she turned 18. After working as a backup singer, she was spotted singing with her band Imagination in a club in Swansea in 1975, signing with RCA Records and changing her name to Bonnie Tyler. She had her first hit record in 1976 with Lost in France, but thought her career may already be over before it had begun after having to have a vocal cord nodule operation. As Tyler recalled to The Observer in 2009: ‘You’re not supposed to talk for six weeks after the operation, but I found it very difficult because I’m a bit of a chatterbox. I tried not speaking, but when you can’t speak, you can’t go out. ‘After you’ve had a hit record, if you go out and don’t talk to anyone, people are going to be like, “Oh my God, who does she think she is?” They would have thought I had a big head. One day I just screamed out of frustration, then went back to the specialist and he said I had done damage to my voice and it would take six months for me to recover.’ Her distinct vocal styling came after having surgery on her vocal cords (Picture: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) Despite fears that her most important instrument may be damaged beyond repair, Tyler’s voice did, in fact, return, and it had become huskier and had more of an edge. ‘It turned out losing my voice was not too treacherous for me – I had my first hit in America with my new husky voice on It’s a Heartache’ Tyler said. ‘Three other girls had recorded the song before me, and it didn’t go anywhere in America, so maybe my husky voice was what that song, and my career, needed.’ It’s A Heartache – released in November 1977 – became Tyler’s first runaway hit and stands as one of her most successful singles. peaking at number four in the UK singles chart and at number three in the Billboard Hot 100. Total Eclipse Of The Heart and further career hits Her new vocal stylings led to many labelling her the ‘female Rod Stewart’ with that distinctive edge proving to be the making of her, particularly once in the 1980s she signed with CBS and collaborated with songwriter and producer Jim Steinman, famous for his partnership with Meat Loaf. Together, Steinman and Tyler produced one of her most enduring hits, Total Eclipse of the Heart, released in February 1983, with the song going on to become one of the best-selling singles of all time. Steinman would also write one of her other major hits of the 1980s, Holding Out for a Hero, before going on to collaborate with the likes of Dieter Bohlen, Giorgio Moroder, Nik Kershaw and Harold Faltermeyer in the 1990s with the likes of Bitterblue, Angel Heart, and All In One Voice. Tyler continued to produce music and release albums right up until 2021 with the relase of her final work, The Best Is Yet To Come. She was also the UK’s entry for the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest, with the song ‘Believe in Me.’ Tyler finished 19th on the night, with 23 points, stating at the time, ‘I did the best that I could do with a great song’, adding, ‘I’m so glad and so happy that I did it because it was an incredible experience. It was like the Grammy awards all over again.’ Discussing her career with The Mirror in 2025, Tyler revealed she ‘never, ever tires’ of singing Total Eclipse, the song she has the softest spot for is Lost In France. ‘It was my very first hit single. That launched my career and I wouldn’t be where I am now without it.’ Bonnie Tyler's discography The World Starts Tonight (1977) Natural Force (1978) Diamond Cut (1979) Goodbye to the Island (1981) Faster Than the Speed of Night (1983) Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire (1986) Hide Your Heart (1988), also known as Notes From America Bitterblue (1991) Angel Heart (1992) Silhouette in Red (1993) Free Spirit (1995) All in One Voice (1998) Heart Strings (2003), also known as Heart & Soul Simply Believe (2004) Wings (2005), also known as Celebrate Rocks and Honey (2013) Between the Earth and the Stars (2019) The Best Is Yet to Come (2021) Marriage and charity work Tyler is survived by her husband, Robert Sullivan, 76, a property developer and former Olympian, having competed in Judo at the 1972 Olympics. Sullivan was working as a club manager when he met Tyler in 1970, when she started singing in nightclubs in Swansea. They married on July 4, 1973. Tyler had been married to Robert Sullivan since the 1970s (Picture: Ralph Orlowski/Getty Images) The couple had no children, with Tyler having suffered a miscarriage when she was 39. Talking about her experience, Tyler told The Mirror in 2025: ‘It’s weird, but I count myself blessed to have known that I could be pregnant, that I have been pregnant. Robert and I were so sad when it happened, but I’m not the type to dwell on things. The following weekend I was in Paris for a TV show, then I just moved on.’ Tyler also has three sisters, two brothers (her eldest brother passed away a few years ago), 16 nieces and nephews, and 14 great nieces and nephews. Together, Tyler and Sullivan have owned properties in the UK and farmland in Portugal and New Zealand. Alongside her storied career, Tyler also participated in a number of charity ventures, including the Anti-Heroin Project in 1986 and Ferry Aid in 1987, releasing a cover of The Beatles’ Let It Be to raise money for victims of the Zeebrugge Disaster. She had been a patron of Bobath Children’s Therapy in Wales since the 1990s and was an ambassador for the Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice for Wales. She also participated in events and releases to raise money for victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the Covid-19 pandemic. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source

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