Bonnie Tyler
Gaynor Sullivan MBE (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951[2]), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer who is known for her distinctive husky voice. Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album The World Starts Tonight and its singles "Lost in France" and "More Than a Lover". Her 1977 single "It's a Heartache" reached number four on the UK Singles Chart, and number three on the US Billboard Hot 100.
In the 1980s, Tyler ventured into rock music with songwriter and producer Jim Steinman. He wrote Tyler's biggest hit "Total Eclipse of the Heart", the lead single from her 1983 UK chart-topping album Faster Than the Speed of Night. Steinman also wrote Tyler's other major 1980s hit "Holding Out for a Hero". She had success in mainland Europe during the 1990s with Dieter Bohlen, who wrote and produced her hit "Bitterblue". In 2003, Tyler re-recorded "Total Eclipse of the Heart" with singer Kareen Antonn. Their bilingual duet, titled "Si demain... (Turn Around)", topped the French charts.
Rocks and Honey was released in 2013 and features the single "Believe in Me", which she performed representing the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden. After reuniting with the producer David Mackay, she released Between the Earth and the Stars (2019) and The Best Is Yet to Come (2021).
Her work has earned her three Grammy Award nominations and three Brit Award nominations (including twice for British Female Solo Artist), among other accolades. In 2022, she was awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours for services to music.
Early life[edit]
Tyler was born Gaynor Hopkins on 8 June 1951 in Skewen, Neath, Wales. Her father, Glyndŵr Hopkins, was a coal miner and serviceman in the Second World War, and her mother, Elsie Hopkins (née Lewis), was a former homemaker.[3] She grew up in a four-bedroom council house with three sisters and two brothers.[3] Her siblings had varied music tastes, exposing her to artists such as Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and the Beatles.[4] Hopkins attended Rhydhir Comprehensive School in Neath, Wales.[5] She left school, age 16, with no qualifications and began working in a grocery shop.[6] Hopkins and her family were deeply religious Protestants.[3] Her first public performance took place in a chapel as a child, singing the Anglican hymn "All Things Bright and Beautiful".[7]
In April 1969, Hopkins was entered into a local talent competition by her aunt, and she came second to an accordionist.[8] Inspired to pursue a career in singing,[9] Hopkins found work as a backing singer for Bobby Wayne & the Dixies before forming her own band, Imagination.[10] It was around this time that she changed her name to Sherene Davis, to avoid being confused with Welsh folk singer Mary Hopkin.[11]
Career[edit]
1975–1978: The World Starts Tonight and Natural Force[edit]
In 1975, Davis was spotted singing with her band in the Townsman Club, Swansea, by talent scout Roger Bell, who invited her to London to record a demo track.[12] After many months had passed, she received a phone call from RCA Records, offering her a recording contract.[13] They also recommended that she change her name again. After compiling a list of surnames and first names from a newspaper, Davis found a new name in "Bonnie Tyler".
Ronnie Scott and Steve Wolfe became her managers, songwriters and producers. "My! My! Honeycomb" was released as her debut single in April 1976, and failed to impact any charts worldwide. In September 1976, as part of a promotional campaign for Tyler's subsequent single release, "Lost in France", RCA Records allocated £4,000 for a strategic promotional initiative, which involved sending a group of 30 music journalists and radio DJs to Le Touquet, France, where they met Tyler over a four-course meal.[14] "Lost in France" peaked at no. 9 in the UK and led to Tyler's first appearance on Top of the Pops.[15][16] "More Than a Lover" followed in January 1977. Due to perceived sexual nature of the song's lyrics, it was banned from a new British children's TV series, Get It Together. Though surprised by the decision, Tyler stated she was grateful for the "extra publicity".[17] It peaked at no. 27 in the UK.[15]
Tyler's debut album, The World Starts Tonight, was released in February 1977. To promote the album, Tyler embarked on her first UK tour as a guest artist with Gene Pitney.[18] The album failed to chart in the UK, but reached no. 2 in Sweden.[19] In the spring of 1977, Tyler underwent an operation to remove vocal cord nodules and was advised by her doctor to rest her voice for six weeks. Tyler screamed in frustration one day, resulting in a permanent raspy tone.[20]
In July 1977, Tyler released her fourth single, "Heaven". It peaked at no. 24 in Germany. Tyler ascribed the underwhelming performance of the single in other regions to the passing of Elvis Presley in August 1977. This event resulted in RCA redirecting its focus towards reissuing Presley's extensive back catalogue.[21] "It's a Heartache" followed in November 1977 and became one of Tyler's most-successful singles, peaking at no. 4 in the UK and no. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.[22][23] "Here Am I" was released in April 1978, and it peaked at no. 4 in Norway.[24] David Mackay parted ways with Ronnie Scott and Steve Wolfe in 1978, and Gordon Mills briefly took over as Tyler's manager. Mills organised Tyler's first tour of the United States in July 1978, including several nights at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, supporting Tom Jones.[25]
Tyler's second studio album, Natural Force, was released in May 1978. It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), with sales of over half a million copies.[26]
1979–1981: Diamond Cut and Goodbye to the Island[edit]
Ronnie Scott and Steve Wolfe produced Tyler's third album, Diamond Cut, with Robin Geoffrey Cable.[27] Released in February 1979, it was a Top 20 record in Finland, Norway and Sweden, but only reached 145 in the US.[28][29][30][31] Tyler felt that RCA was pushing her to record more country-oriented music, which frustrated her.[32] The album yielded one major hit, "My Guns Are Loaded", which peaked at no. 10 on the Canadian AC chart.[33]
In the summer of 1979, Tyler had another UK Top 40 hit with "(The World Is Full of) Married Men".[34] She recorded it for a film adaptation of Jackie Collins' novel of the same name. Tyler performs the song during the film's closing titles.[35]
In November 1979, Tyler represented the United Kingdom at the Yamaha World Popular Song Festival in Japan. She won the Grand Prix International award for her performance of "Sitting on the Edge of the Ocean", written by Ronnie Scott and Steve Wolfe. They co-produced Tyler's fourth album, Goodbye to the Island, with Hugh Murphy. Released in 1981, it only charted in Norway.[36] RCA invited Tyler to extend her contract for another five years, but she declined, expressing disillusionment with her artistic image and noting a scarcity of performance opportunities in the aftermath of several unsuccessful singles.[37]
Artistry[edit]
Influences[edit]
Born into a musical family, Tyler grew up listening to a wide range of musical genres.[4] One of Tyler's earliest musical memories was listening to her mother singing opera music in the family home. Tyler attended church until she was sixteen years old. Her first ever performance was singing "All Things Bright and Beautiful" in church.[7] She was also exposed to the music of Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles and other 1960s bands due to her siblings' musical tastes.[4] Frankie Miller was the first live act that Tyler saw, and she later recorded duets with him.[113]
Tyler's two biggest influences from a young age were Janis Joplin and Tina Turner. She cites "River Deep – Mountain High" as being her all-time favourite song.[4] Other artists that influenced Tyler in her youth include Aretha Franklin,[4] Wilson Pickett,[56] Meat Loaf,[4] Joe Cocker,[4] Dusty Springfield[4] and Tommy Steele.[4] She has also expressed admiration for contemporary artists such as Guns N' Roses,[4][114] Anastacia, Toni Braxton, Duffy,[56][115] and Eminem. She has also expressed interest in collaborating with Adele, whom she describes as "a great song writer, singer and performer."[116]
Vocal style[edit]
Tyler's music contains elements of country, rock, pop, blues and Celtic. Her voice has been likened to Rod Stewart and Kim Carnes as a result of her vocal cord nodule operation in the 1970s,[117] sometimes even being referred to as "the female Rod Stewart",[118] and, after her collaborations with Jim Steinman, "the female Meat Loaf".[119] Soon after her operation, when recording her second album, Natural Force, the studio band complimented Tyler's changed voice.[9] Reviewers from AllMusic have described Tyler's voice as "inimitable",[61] "wonderfully gritty",[120] and an "effective instrument" for drawing notice to her first managers, Ronnie Scott and Steve Wolfe.[121]
In a review of Rocks and Honey, OMH Media described Tyler's vocals as being "good for only one thing and that's belting out gravelly vocals," suggesting that she sounds like Johnny Cash in his later years when she "tries to restrain [her voice]."[122] With reference to her modern voice, The Yorkshire Times wrote that Tyler's vocals have "still got what it takes to make you tingle."[123] Jim Steinman told People magazine that he wrote "Total Eclipse of the Heart" as a "showpiece for [Tyler's] voice."[124] AllMusic said that Tyler's voice "produced the perfect type of 'desperate lovelorn' effect to suit the romantic lyrics."[120]
Songwriting[edit]
Though songwriting has never been a significant part of Tyler's career, she has co-written a handful of B-Sides and other tracks. "Gonna Get Better", a B-Side to the 1980 Japanese single "Sayonara Tokyo", was written with her brother, Paul Hopkins.[125]
In 2001, Tyler co-wrote four songs with Gary Pickford-Hopkins on his GPH album, and duetted with him on the track "Loving You Means Leaving You".[126] Tyler was also involved in writing several tracks for her 2005 album Wings, including its singles "Louise" and "Celebrate".[127]
Philanthropy[edit]
Tyler has featured in three charity supergroups. In 1986, she joined the Anti-Heroin Project to record "It's a Live-In World". The proceeds were donated to the Phoenix House Charities who funded heroin recovery centres in the UK.[128]
In the following year, Tyler featured as a chorus vocalist in the British-American charity group Ferry Aid, who released a cover of "Let It Be" by the Beatles. Proceeds were donated to a charity supporting the victims of the Zeebrugge Disaster.[129] The single sold over 500,000 copies in the UK where it topped the charts for three weeks.[130][131] In 1990, Tyler joined Rock Against Repatriation to record a cover of "Sailing". It was a protest song in response to the repatriation of Vietnamese boat people who fled to Hong Kong.[132] The single peaked at no. 89 on the UK Singles Chart.[133]
Since the 1990s, Tyler has been a patron of the Bobath Children's Therapy Centre in Cardiff, Wales, who provide care for children with cerebral palsy. In 2013, she campaigned for Bobath to be recognised at the Pride of Britain Awards.[134] Tyler is also an ambassador for the Noah's Ark Children's Hospital for Wales.[135] In January 2005, Tyler performed at the Rock for Asia benefit concert in Ingolstadt, Germany, raising funds for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. The event was recorded and released on DVD.[136] In 2007, Tyler recorded "I Don't Know How to Love Him" for Over the Rainbow, a charity album conceptualised by Anneka Rice on the television show Challenge Anneka. The album reached no. 1 on the UK Compilation Chart,[137] with proceeds going to the Association of Children's Hospices.[138]
On 1 November 2009, Tyler performed as the headline act at the Pinktober Women in Rock concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London.[139] In the following year, she co-headlined at a benefit concert alongside Leo Sayer raising funds for Variety, the Children's Charity, in New Zealand.[140] In 2012, Tyler was named patron of the AAG animal charity association in Guia, Portugal.[141] Tyler re-recorded "Holding Out for a Hero" for the 2013 Children in Need appeal.[142] In 2014, she endorsed the BUAV's campaign to make it mandatory for animals in testing laboratories to be re-homed.[143] In 2020, Tyler contributed to a cover of "Don't Answer Me" by the Alan Parsons Project to raise funds for Bergamo, an Italian city that was deeply impacted by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.[144]
Personal life[edit]
In July 1973, Tyler married Robert Sullivan. He is a property developer and 1972 Olympic judo competitor. They have no children; Tyler miscarried when she was aged 39. Tyler and her family are Protestant.[3]
Since 1988, Tyler and her husband have owned a five-bedroom home in Albufeira, Portugal in the Algarve.[145] Tyler had recorded one of her albums there in the late 1970s, and the couple spend much of the year there.[146] In 2005, Tyler was filmed in the Algarve for the Polish entertainment TV show Zacisze gwiazd, which explores the houses of actors and musicians.[147]
Tyler and Sullivan have invested in property. As of a 1999 interview, they owned farmland in Portugal and New Zealand, 22 houses in Berkshire and London, and 65 stables offering horse boarding services.[148][149] In a 2013 interview, Tyler stated that the farm in New Zealand had been converted to a dairy farm twelve years after they purchased the land. In the same interview, she stated that she and Sullivan also own a quarry.[150]