I never get tired of singing it, I love it because everyone can't wait to sing it
Tyler died unexpectedly at a Portugal hospital after emergency intestinal surgery in May left her in intensive care for weeks. The Welsh icon became the first Welsh person to score a US number one hit with Total Eclipse of the Heart in 1983, which recently passed 1 billion Spotify streams.
- Died at age 75 following complications from emergency intestinal surgery in May
- Total Eclipse of the Heart (1983) made her the first Welsh person to score a US number one hit
- The song passed one billion Spotify streams in 2026, 43 years after its release
- Married to Robert Sullivan for more than 50 years
- Made an MBE for services to music in 2023
Bonnie Tyler, the Welsh singer behind 1980s hits Total Eclipse of the Heart and Holding Out for a Hero, has died at 75 following illness in Portugal. Tributes poured in from celebrities including Catherine Zeta-Jones and Prince William.
Bonnie Tyler, the Welsh singer whose raspy voice and theatrical power ballads defined the 1980s, died unexpectedly on Wednesday night at a hospital in Portugal at the age of 75. She had been undergoing treatment for an illness that began in May, when she suffered a medical crisis severe enough to require emergency intestinal surgery and an induced coma. By last month, she had regained consciousness but remained in intensive care, very unwell. Her family released a brief statement Thursday morning saying she had died as a result of the illness she was being treated for, asking for privacy to grieve.
Born Gaynor Hopkins in a council house in Neath, Tyler was discovered singing in a Swansea club by talent scout Roger Bell in the late 1960s. Her first single, Lost in France, came out in 1977. That same year she released It's a Heartache, a country-pop ballad that climbed to number four in the UK and number three on the US Billboard Hot 100. But it was Total Eclipse of the Heart, released in 1983, that made her a global phenomenon. The song, written by Jim Steinman—the lyricist behind Meat Loaf's biggest hits—topped charts on both sides of the Atlantic and earned her a Grammy nomination. With that achievement, Tyler became the first Welsh person ever to score a number one hit in America. The track was originally titled Vampires in Love and had been written for a musical adaptation of Nosferatu; Steinman later wrote another of her signature songs, Holding Out for a Hero, which appeared in the Footloose soundtrack and later in Shrek 2.
Tyler's career spanned more than four decades. She represented the UK at Eurovision in 2013, finishing 19th out of 26 competitors. In 2023, she was made an MBE for her services to music. Last year, a club remix of Total Eclipse of the Heart, produced by David Guetta, was released under the title Together. This year, the original song—43 years after its release—passed one billion streams on Spotify. When asked about the milestone, Tyler noted the sheer improbability of it: "I'm really happy, when you think about it, there's only 8.3 billion people in the world." She had also mentioned that despite the song's astronomical reach, she had never earned much from it. Yet she said she never tired of singing it. "I love it because everyone can't wait to sing it," she said in January.
Celebrity tributes arrived swiftly. Catherine Zeta-Jones, the Oscar-winning actress and fellow Welsh icon, posted on Instagram that her heart was broken. Zeta-Jones is married to Michael Douglas, and back in 2000 she had asked Tyler to sing Total Eclipse of the Heart at their wedding in New York. "A one of a kind artist, who so easily could have been a comedian because she was one of the funniest people I ever met," Zeta-Jones wrote. She added that Tyler was "such a part of my life." The Prince of Wales described Tyler as a "proud Welsh icon" whose "extraordinary voice and unforgettable music touched millions around the world." He signed off his statement in Welsh: "Diolch am y gerddoriaeth"—thank you for the music.
Other musicians and public figures shared their own memories. Shakin' Stevens, her fellow Welsh pop-rock star, called her "a true professional, and a bright, shining light." Sir Cliff Richard mourned "another wonderful friend gone too soon." Bryan Adams wrote that Tyler "had such a great voice" and that he would always be grateful for her rendition of his song Straight from the Heart. Rod Stewart paid tribute by performing It's a Heartache at an event in Gleneagles. Pete Waterman, the legendary Stock Aitken Waterman producer, compared her voice to Tina Turner's. "She had an amazing voice and was equal to Tina Turner in my opinion," he told the BBC. "If you think of Tom Jones, he was the closest Britain had to a soul star, and Bonnie was that too."
Owen Money, a musician and radio presenter who had known Tyler since the late 1960s when she was starting out in Swansea, told the BBC he was in disbelief. "She was one of those ladies who just loved life," he said. "I was up her house last summer and the first thing she did was open a bottle of champagne." He described her as family and noted that she remained hugely popular in Europe, particularly in Germany and Holland. Carol Vorderman, the broadcaster, highlighted what Tyler's music meant to Welsh people: "As a Welsh woman Bonnie and her music represented so much to us, it was about fighting and power and living life without apology."
Tyler is survived by her husband of more than than 50 years, Robert Sullivan, who is Catherine Zeta-Jones's cousin. She had been scheduled to perform at the Sunshine Festival in Worcester this summer, along with several European dates, and was booked to sing at Cardiff's Utilita Arena on December 17. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was saddened by the loss of "one of Britain's greatest recording artists," noting that her catalogue "continues to touch lives, flood dance floors and fill karaoke booths." The First Minister of Wales called her a "true icon." Her music, it seems, will outlive her by generations.
Citações Notáveis
A one of a kind artist, who so easily could have been a comedian because she was one of the funniest people I ever met.— Catherine Zeta-Jones
She had an amazing voice and was equal to Tina Turner in my opinion. If you think of Tom Jones, he was the closest Britain had to a soul star, and Bonnie was that too.— Pete Waterman, music producer
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
What made Total Eclipse of the Heart so different from everything else she'd done?
It was the theatricality of it. Steinman wrote it as a dramatic piece—originally for a Nosferatu musical—and Tyler's voice had this raw, almost desperate quality that matched the song's emotional intensity. It wasn't a pop song in the traditional sense. It was operatic, almost gothic.
And yet it became a global smash. Why do you think that was?
Because it was honest about longing and despair in a way that felt real. The 1980s were full of synthesizers and polish, but this song had grit. Her voice cracked. It felt like she meant every word.
She never made much money from it, though.
No. She said so herself—despite a billion streams, she barely saw a penny. But she also said she never got tired of singing it because everyone wanted to sing it with her. That's a different kind of wealth.
What does it say about her that she kept performing it for 43 years?
That she understood what the song meant to people. It wasn't about her ego or the paycheck. It was about the moment, the connection. She was a professional in the truest sense.
Her husband was Catherine Zeta-Jones's cousin. Did that shape her life?
They were married for over 50 years. That's a long partnership. But she was her own person—discovered in a club, managed by the same impresario who handled Tom Jones. She made her own way.
What will people remember most?
The voice, first. That raspy, powerful instrument. But also the spirit—the willingness to live without apology, as someone said. She was funny, she loved life, she opened champagne at her house in summer. That mattered as much as the music.