Bonnie Tyler

Bonnie Tyler (born Gaynor Hopkins) is a British pop singer born in 1951.

In the beginning, Gaynor Hopkins sang in pubs and clubs all over south Wales with her bands; first Bobby Wayne and the Dixies and then Imagination. By 1975 she had settled on the stage name Bonnie Tyler and had recorded her first single for RCA Records, "My Honeycomb". Though it failed to chart, her second release, "Lost in France" reached the British Top Ten and charted well in Europe.

Prior to the release of her first album, The World Starts Tonight (1977), she underwent surgery to remove nodules on her vocal cords. Fears that her singing career would be over proved unfounded as the resultant husky quality in her voice became her trademark. Her next album, Natural Force (1978), led to the release of "It's a Heartache", which showcased the power of her gravelly voice and reached the charts in several countries. As a result of the success of the single she undertook her first American tour. She continued to release moderately successful albums but it was in 1982 that her career took off, with the release of Faster Than the Speed of Night. The album contained the operatic rock masterpiece single "Total Eclipse of the Heart", written by Jim Steinman, and earned her a Grammy nomination - making her nominations that year total three. She followed this success with "Holding Out for a Hero", which was her contribution to the Footloose soundtrack and appeared on her next album, Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire.

For her next big success she had to wait until she released Bitterblue in 1991. The album was a huge success across Europe, achieving quadruple platinum sales in Norway. Angel Heart (1992) continued this run of success.

Her most recent album was 2007's compilation album, From The Heart: Bonnie Tyler's Greatest Hits, but it is reported that she is working on a follow-up with Jim Steinman; the friend who provided her with such success several years ago.