Bonnie Tyler, the Welsh singer best known for her hit song “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” died on Wednesday, July 8, at age 75.
Tyler passed away two months after she was placed in an induced coma following emergency intestinal surgery in Portugal. Her spokesperson revealed in June that Tyler was out of the coma but remained “very unwell” in an intensive care unit.
Her death was announced on Tyler’s official website early Thursday, July 9. Her family and team stated they were “heartbroken to announce that Bonnie unexpectedly passed away last night in hospital in Portugal as a result of the illness that she was being treated for.”
Tyler’s first hit song was “It’s a Heartache,” off of her 1977 album The World Starts Tonight. It peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 4 in the UK. “Heartache” sold six million copies.
The song showcased Tyler’s raspy vocals, the result of permanent damage after surgery to remove nodules from her vocal cords.
“Total Eclipse of the Heart” was the lead single from Tyler’s fifth studio album, Faster Than the Speed of Night (1983). The song topped the U.S. and UK song charts. It remained at No. 1 on the Billboard chart for four weeks in 1983 and became the fifth best-selling song in the UK.
Tyler said she could “Never get tired” of hearing “Total Eclipse of the Heart” played during every solar eclipse. “Every time the eclipse comes around, it’s a bit crazy,” she told Good Morning America in 2024.
According to Spotify, “Total Eclipse of the Heart” was the most popular song added to eclipse-themed playlists in 2024.
“They send me all these stats all the time, and it’s always amazing,” Tyler told the New York Post in an interview.