LONDON, July 9. British singer Bonnie Tyler (born Gaynor Sullivan), known for her global hits "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "Holding Out for a Hero," has died at the age of 75, according to a statement on her official website.
"With deep sadness, Bonnie's family and team announce that Bonnie passed away unexpectedly last night in hospital in Portugal after an illness she had been treated for," the statement said. As previously reported by The Sun, Tyler suffered a ruptured appendix in May, which required emergency surgery. Previously, her representatives stated that she was hospitalized in Portugal for urgent surgery due to a perforation of the gastrointestinal tract.
While the cause of the illness has not been disclosed, her team emphasized that the operation was successful. Portuguese media later reported that Tyler was placed in medically induced coma after post-operative complications, which led to the cancellation of her summer tour. She was scheduled to perform at a festival in Worcester, England, as well as in several European cities and Cardiff, in December.
Tyler was born in Wales in 1951 and first gained fame in the 1970s with her pop album "The World Starts Tonight." In the 1980s, she moved towards the rock genre and released her biggest hits, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "Holding Out for a Hero." In 2013, Tyler represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest, where she finished 19th. The singer, who was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2023, was widely known for her distinctive raspy voice.
As noted by The Times, Tyler was inspired by the powerful rock styles of Janis Joplin and Tina Turner in her youth, but she developed her signature gravelly singing style accidentally – as a result of an operation to remove nodules from her vocal cords. As a result, she was nominated for a Grammy three times and was often nicknamed "the woman Rod Stewart." In 1988, Tyler performed 17 concerts in several cities of the Soviet Union and subsequently returned to Russia many times. In 2020, she went on tour that included several Russian cities.