Bonnie Tyler, 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' singer, dies at 75

Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler, born Gaynor Hopkins in a Neath council house, has died at 75. Discovered in a Swansea club after seven years playing rugby and working men’s clubs, she charted first with 1976’s ‘Lost in France’ before her gravel-toned delivery earned comparisons to Rod Stewart. Her career spanned 50 years and included ‘It’s a Heartache,’ ‘Holding Out for a Hero,’ and a 2013 Eurovision entry for the UK.

Her defining hit was Jim Steinman’s ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart,’ whose eight-minute original was cut to a four-minute radio edit that topped the UK chart for two weeks and the US for four — making her the first and only Welsh artist to reach US number one. The song has since passed a billion Spotify streams and 1.3 billion YouTube views. She earned three Grammy nominations and was awarded an MBE in 2023.

Tyler had been placed in an induced coma in May following emergency intestinal surgery in Portugal and remained in intensive care. She is survived by her husband, Robert Sullivan.