Bonnie Tyler, 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' Singer, Dies at 75

Bonnie Tyler, the Welsh singer best known for the 1983 hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” has died at 75, her family and team said Thursday. In a statement reported by The Associated Press, they said Tyler “unexpectedly passed away last night in hospital in Portugal as a result of the illness that she was being treated for.” News coverage identified Faro, in Portugal’s Algarve region, as the city where she had been hospitalized. Tyler also had a home there.

Tyler was one of the most recognizable pop-rock singers of the late 1970s and 1980s, with a husky, powerful voice that carried hits on both sides of the Atlantic. Though “Total Eclipse of the Heart” became her signature song, she had already established herself as a major recording artist with chart success before that record made her an international pop fixture.

Official updates on Tyler’s website had documented a serious illness in recent months. On May 6, her site said she had been admitted to a hospital in Faro for emergency intestinal surgery and that the operation “went well.” A later update in May said she remained “seriously ill but stable.” On June 15, her family and team said she was “no longer in a coma but remains very unwell and in intensive care,” adding that summer shows through August were being canceled or postponed. Thursday’s family statement did not disclose a more specific medical cause of death.

Born Gaynor Hopkins on June 8, 1951, in Skewen, Wales, Tyler broke through in the late 1970s with songs including “Lost in France” and “It’s a Heartache.” The latter became one of her first major international hits, reaching No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 4 in the United Kingdom. Her biggest global success came with “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” released in 1983 from the album Faster Than the Speed of Night. Written and produced by Jim Steinman, the song became the defining record of her career. She also recorded “Holding Out for a Hero,” another enduring hit from the same era.

In later years, Tyler remained a visible figure in British music. She represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013, finishing 19th. In 2022, she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, or MBE, in the Birthday Honours for services to music. Her family asked for privacy and said a further statement would follow.