Famous For: Singer who reached number one in the UK and US with the song 'Total Eclipse of the Heart'

Trivia:

A well-known TV ad for chocolate, improbably featuring a drumming gorilla, decided to replace 'In The Air Tonight' by Phil Collins with Bonnie's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' in September 2008 - could this introduce her to a new legion of fans?

And 'Total Eclipse' also featured in the 2008 Big Brother, when some of the contestants had to sing it - not an easy song even for a musical person to attempt.

Bonnie has appeared on 'Top of the Pops' 14 times. Her song 'Holding Out For A Hero' was voted the number one favourite driving song among women in 2008.

Fans of Argentine football team, San Lorenzo, chant out the name of their club to the tune of the 'It's a Heartache.'

Catherine Zeta Jones is a cousin of Bonnie's husband.

Biography:

In 2007, a new Bonnie Tyler 'Greatest Hits' collection, 'From The Heart', was released and she contributed with a track, "I Don't Know How To Love Him", to the charity record 'Over the Rainbow'.

She also mentioned in an interview that she will be working with Jim Steinman (he wrote 'Total Eclipse of the Heart) again for her next album.

Born Gaynor to miner Glyn Hopkins and his wife Elsie Hopkins, Bonnie was the second oldest child, with two brothers and three sisters. Her mother Elsie is a keen opera fan and shared her love of music with her daughter.

Aged 18 Bonnie won second prize in a local talent contest, where she sang the Mary Hopkin's classic, 'Those Were The Days'. It was this early success that made her realise that she wanted a singing career.
So during the day she worked as a shop assistant, and in the evenings she sang with 'Bobby Wayne and the Dixies'.

After two years of performing in clubs throughout South Wales with Bobby she became the lead singer with the soul group 'Imagination'.

In July 1973 she performed under the name of Sherene Davis and married Robert Sullivan.

1975 saw Bonnie talent-spotted singing in The Swansea Townsman Club. This led to her move to London, where she recorded the single 'My, My, Honeycomb!'. Unfortunately this first attempt at chart success didn't work out, making little impact on the pop world.

Undeterred, Bonnie went on to record the song "Lost in France" in 1976, which reached Number Nine in the British charts. It was also a massive hit across Europe, staying in the German Top Ten for more than six months.

It was at this point that she had to have a throat operation, which resulted in her very distinctive 'husky' voice - leading to descriptions of her as "the female Rod Stewart".

Her first album, 'The World Starts Tonight' was released in 1977. It was well received by the critics, but only just scraped into the Top Thirty.

Stardom finally came her way in January 1978, when her single 'It's A Heartache' saw Bonnie reach Number One in several countries.

The song was taken from her second album 'Natural Force', which went on to give her greater commercial success. Bonnie then embarked on an American tour, supported by fellow Welsh legend Tom Jones when playing in Las Vegas.

In 1981 Bonnie left record label RCA, joining forces with David Aspden who secured her a record deal with CBS. This gave her the opportunity to work with Jim Steinman (better known in latter years for his hugely succesful collaborations with Meatloaf on the 'Bat Out of Hell' albums') and they put together the hugely successful 'Faster Than the Speed of Night'.
The album went straight to Number One in Britain - only the second British female artist to do so.

The now-infamous track 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' sold 57,000 copies in the UK in one day.

Bonnie's success continued unabated throughout the 1980s, with 1988 seeing her join a stellar cast of big Welsh names (such as Anthony Hopkins) and Carmarthenshire schoolchildren on George Martin's version of 'Under Milk Wood', adding an inimitable version of 'I Loved a Man' to the album.

In 1991 she recorded 'Bitterblue' which gave her further success in mainland Europe and Japan. She went on to win a German Grammy for Best Female Performer.

In 1995 she signed a five-album deal with EastWest Records. Success has continued to be strong for Bonnie in mainland Europe, though it has in recent years been more limited in Britain.

In 1998 she recorded a song from the musical 'Whistle Down the Wind' for a compilation alongside the likes of Boyzone and Meatloaf.

Bonnie continues to have success on the continent - January 2004 saw her release a bilingual version of 'Total Eclipse Of The Heart' in France, with French actress and singer Karen Antonn. It reached No. 1 in the charts.