Bonnie Tyler, the Welsh singer whose commanding voice made "Total Eclipse of the Heart" into an 1980s classic, has died at 75. Her family announced that she passed away unexpectedly in a hospital in Portugal where she was being treated for an illness.
In May, Tyler had undergone emergency intestinal surgery at a hospital near Faro, Portugal, where she lived. She was later placed into an induced coma to assist her recovery. After being taken out of the coma, she remained in intensive care in very poor health before her death.
Born Gaynor Hopkins in the village of Skewen near Swansea, Tyler grew up in a council house with five older siblings. She began her music career singing cover versions in local clubs while working in a grocery shop. A talent scout heard her performing and helped her record a demo. After two years of pitching to record labels, RCA signed her, and she adopted her stage name.
Her early singles flopped, but "Lost in France," a Francophile ballad with accordions, reached the UK Top 10. After undergoing surgery on vocal cord nodules, her voice became huskier with more of an edge. This new vocal quality perfectly suited "It's a Heartache," which became her first major international success, reaching number 3 in the US and number 4 in the UK.
Tyler proved versatile, moving between country ballads and disco-pop tracks. She later pursued rock music and worked with Jim Steinman, who had collaborated with Meat Loaf on "Bat Out of Hell." Steinman gave her "Total Eclipse of the Heart," a seven-minute epic that was shortened to a radio-friendly four minutes. The song, featuring interjections from uncredited singer Rory Dodd, became a massive international hit, topping charts across multiple countries and becoming a karaoke favorite.
"Some people think this song is about a vampire, but I've never understood that interpretation," Tyler said of the ballad. "I've always thought of Total Eclipse as an impassioned love song."
Her album "Faster Than the Speed of Night" topped the UK album chart. "Holding Out for a Hero," another Steinman collaboration, showcased her bombastic vocal style and became another major hit. A 1984 collaboration with Giorgio Moroder on "Here She Comes" earned her a third Grammy nomination in two years.
While her UK and US commercial success declined after the mid-1980s, Tyler remained hugely popular across western Europe. A 2003 bilingual re-recording of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" with French star Kareen Antonn was a massive success in France, spending 10 weeks at number 1. She represented the United Kingdom at Eurovision in 2013 with the song "Believe in Me."
Tyler's distinctive voice became one of the most recognizable in popular music, and her songs have remained fixtures on radio and in popular culture decades after their release.