SWANSEA – A sea of fans gathered outside a church in Wales on Monday to bid farewell to the iconic singer Bonnie Tyler, whose husky voice captured hearts around the globe.
As her rose-adorned coffin was solemnly carried into Swansea Minster, the emotional strains of Tyler’s “If I Sing You A Love Song” filled the air during the private funeral service, which was shared with fans via a screen outside. Her poignant hit “It’s a Heartache” accompanied the procession as the coffin was placed reverently at the altar.
In one moving tribute, her manager, Matthew Davis, reflected on Tyler’s life, stating, “Bonnie was always a star but never a diva. She remained true to her roots and origins. The incredible global love shown since her sudden and unexpected death would have truly touched her heart.”
Tyler, who gained international fame with her 1983 smash hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” passed away last month at the age of 75 while in a hospital in Portugal. She had undergone emergency intestinal surgery in May in Faro, where she owned a residence.
Just under a week before her final farewell, her iconic track served as a fitting soundtrack to celebrations that accompanied a total eclipse, which darkened skies over parts of Europe.
Crowds lined the streets Saturday in her seaside Welsh village of Mumbles as a hearse carried her coffin, draped in a Welsh flag, home.
Kathleen Davies, who joined the crowd outside the church, said she was starstruck when she first saw Tyler but later came to learn she was down to earth.
“She’s Welsh through and through,” Davies said. “Everything about her, she’s natural, there’s no fake stuff. When you see her on the interviews, she’s just who she is.”
Tyler was born Gaynor Hopkins, a coal miner’s daughter in public housing with an outside toilet in Skewen, Wales, about 7 miles (11 kilometers) outside Swansea. She grew up with three sisters and two brothers.
Canon Justin Davies said in a eulogy written by her family that she first performed in a contest at a rugby club in the late 1960s, singing ”Those Were The Days,” made famous by Mary Hopkin.
“She came in second and won just one pound, but was hooked,” Davies said. “The rest, as they say, was history.”
Tyler went on to earn three Grammy nods and in 2013 represented Britain at the Eurovision Song Contest, where she came in 19th. She was honored as a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2022 for her services to music by Queen Elizabeth II, thanks mainly to “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”
The ballad shot to the top of the charts in Britain and the United States and has had more than 1 billion streams, boosted by real eclipses in 2017, 2024 and most recently during last week’s solar eclipse.
She was also known for “Holding Out For a Hero,” from the soundtrack of the film “Footloose.”
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Melley reported from London.
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