Hundreds of fans gathered on the streets of a Welsh coastal town on Saturday to pay their respects to the late singer Bonnie Tyler as her casket was brought back home. The Welsh pop star, celebrated globally for her ballad ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart,’ passed away last month at a hospital in Portugal at the age of 75.
Tyler was hospitalized in May in Faro, where she owned a house, for an emergency intestinal surgery. Neighbors and fans from across the UK and other regions gathered in Mumbles, near the city of Swansea, to witness the funeral car carrying her casket, draped with a Welsh flag. Many waited outside the singer’s former home or left floral tributes there.
She always returned home, always came back to her fans in Wales,
said 18-year-old Carys Edwards. Her songs touched many people here in Wales; we loved her deeply.
Born as Gaynor Hopkins, the daughter of a coal miner, Tyler grew up in public housing with an outdoor bathroom in Skewen, Wales, about 11 kilometers (7 miles) from Swansea. She was one of six children, with three sisters and two brothers.
The singer received three Grammy nominations and in 2013 represented Great Britain in the Eurovision Song Contest, securing 19th place. In 2022, Queen Elizabeth II honored her as a Member of the Order of the British Empire for her contributions to music, primarily due to ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart.’ The ballad topped charts in Britain and the United States and has been streamed over a billion times, amplified by actual eclipses in 2017 and 2024, and more recently during this week’s solar eclipse.
She was also known for other hits, including ‘It’s a Heartache’ and ‘Holding Out For a Hero,’ from the film ‘Footloose’ soundtrack. A ceremony celebrating Tyler’s life will be held on Monday for family and friends at a church in Swansea, followed by a final tour through her hometown of Skewen.
This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.
Leave a Reply