Bonnie Tyler, the legendary Welsh singer behind hits including “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and “Holding Out for a Hero”, has died, aged 75.The news was announced by her family, who on Thursday (9 July), said she “unexpectedly passed away last night in hospital in Portugal as a result of the illness that she was being treated for”.Tyler, who lived in Faro, Portugal, was originally rushed to hospital for an undisclosed illness on 30 April, and reports emerged that the singer had been placed in an induced coma. Shortly afterwards, her team said: “Although her condition is improving, it is a slow process. Her doctors remain confident that she will make a good recovery but it is going to take time.”She was scheduled to perform on 22 May at Malta’s SummerLUST Music Festival, and had tour dates planned in Germany, Hungary, Scotland and Turkey.Bonnie Tyler has died at the age of 75 ‘as a result of the illness that she was being treated for’, her family said (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)Known for her signature husky voice, Tyler’s most famous songs were her 1983 power ballad “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and 1984’s “Holding Out for a Hero”, which was recorded for the Footloose movie soundtrack.With 18 studio albums released throughout her career, Tyler remains the only Welsh artist to have had a number one on the UK Singles Chart. Born Gaynor Hopkins to Glyndwr Hopkins, a coal miner and Second World War serviceman, and Elsie Hopkins in Skewen, Wales, in 1951, Tyler was entered into a local talent competition by her aunt as a teenager and became inspired to pursue a career in singing. Tyler found work as a backing singer for various bands and at first changed her stage name to Sherene Davis to avoid being confused with Welsh folk singer Mary Hopkin.Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon MusicSign up now for a 30-day free trial. Terms apply.Try for freeADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon MusicSign up now for a 30-day free trial. Terms apply.Try for freeADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.She was scouted in 1975 and received a record deal with RCA, who recommended she change her name again. She found her moniker, Bonnie Tyler, while searching through newspapers for name inspiration.After her first hit, “Lost in France”, in 1976, Tyler developed vocal cord nodules and underwent surgery. She didn’t know if she would sing again – but when she next performed, she realised her voice had changed. “I sounded like a female Rod Stewart,” she said after discovering her new gravelly tones.The following year, she had her first hit in the US with “It’s a Heartache”.Bonnie Tyler was known for her unique, raspy rock ‘n’ roll voice (Getty Images)The song became one of her most successful singles, peaking at number four in the UK and third on the Billboard Hot 100. The success saw her booked as Tom Jones’s support act for several nights of his United States tour in Los Angeles.Tyler has spoken about being insecure about her voice in the past, telling The Times in 2025 that she was “very nervous” talking between songs because of her Welsh accent.“I had some elocution lessons but now I’m delighted that I’ve kept my accent and that Tom Jones did too,” she said.Natural Force, her second studio album, released in 1978, sold over half a million copies and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).Tyler represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013 (Getty Images)Tyler switched from RCA to CBS/Columbia in 1982, and released “Total Eclipse of the Heart” the following year, with the song becoming one of her most popular singles of all time with more than six million sales. At the time of recording the epic track, Tyler told a friend: “I recorded an incredible song today. The trouble is, it’s so long, I don’t think anybody will ever play it”. The seven-minute song was shortened to four for radio, and it became a major hit and a go-to at karaoke nights.Her fifth studio album, Faster Than The Speed of Light, debuted at No. 1 on the UK albums chart and sold more than one million copies in the United States. Mainland Europe is where Tyler found overwhelming success in the Nineties. Her 1991 album Bitterblue wasn’t released in the UK or US, but had commercial success in Austria and Norway, and achieved Platinum status in the latter. Her following records released in the Noughties had major success in France.Tyler released the album Rocks and Honey in 2013, which featured the single “Believe in Me”, a song she chose to represent the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden. She finished 19th place with 23 points.The singer’s work earned her three Grammy Award nominations and three Brit Award nominations. She was awarded an MBE in 2023.Her final studio album was The Best Is Yet to Come, which was released in 2021.Tyler married her husband, Olympian judo athlete Robert Sullivan, in July 1973, after she sang at a nightclub in Chelsea, London, where he was a manager. The pair lived together between homes in Swansea, Wales, and Portugal.In the final decades of her career, Tyler spent significant time touring the world, re-performing her hits.“People ask me if I get tired singing the old songs, but why wouldn’t I love singing something like ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart?’” she told The Times. “As soon as I start one of those numbers, the whole audience sings it back to me — it’s magic.”She added that touring is what kept her going. “I consider myself a working-class girl and I’ve never stopped working,” she said. “Moving my parents from the council house where I was brought up to a cottage in [coastal Welsh village] Mumbles is the thing I’m most proud of, but it does feel like an achievement to still be wanted by audiences at my age.”