Bonnie Tyler, the Welsh singer whose thunderous power ballad Total Eclipse of the Heart became one of the defining songs of the 1980s, has died at the age of 75.
The news was announced in a message posted to her official website. “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,” the statement read.
Her death follows months of serious health problems. Earlier this year, the singer was placed in an induced coma after undergoing emergency surgery on her intestines while in Portugal. A spokesperson said at the time that her condition was improving and doctors were “confident” she would recover, despite slow progress.
Last month it was revealed she had come out of the coma but remained “very unwell and in intensive care.” Her summer tour dates were canceled, though there had been tentative hopes that some shows later in the year could still go ahead.
Born Gaynor Hopkins in Skewen, Neath, on June 8, 1951, Tyler was discovered in 1975 by a talent scout while performing at the Townsman Club in Swansea, which led to her signing with RCA Records. She went on to release a string of hits including More Than a Lover, It’s a Heartache and Lost in France.
Her fame reached new heights with Total Eclipse of the Heart, from her 1982 album Faster Than the Speed of Night, which went platinum in the US, Australia and the UK. The track even returned to number one on the iTunes chart in 2017 as millions gathered to watch the total solar eclipse.
She followed it with Holding Out for a Hero and Bitterblue later in the 1980s, and was nominated for three Grammy Awards over her career. The Welsh star also represented the United Kingdom at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden, with the song Believe in Me, and was made an MBE in 2023 for her services to music.