"I was discovered by mistake!" Bonnie Tyler

Bonnie Tyler reveals to Suzanne Byrne that her hugely successful career, spanning over 30 years, may never have happened.

"I'm enjoying the fruits of my labour darling!" jokes Bonnie Tyler, speaking from her summer home in the Algarve, where she tells me the sun is blazing. "Last night we took my boat to a small island with a group of friends for dinner. It's just so idyllic here." Bonnie, who has been working in the music industry for over 40 years, and has just celebrated her 60th birthday, is taking a well deserved break, between several appearances at festivals across Europe and a three-date tour in Ireland this August.

Like so many pop stars of today, when Bonnie was 17-years-old, she took part in a talent competition in her hometown of Skewen in Wales. It may not have had the audience of shows like The X Factor, but it is where she discovered her appetite for performing. "I came second, but there is nothing wrong with coming second, believe you me. After that, I found myself a band and started gigging up and down the country. Seven years later, we were at this club that had two floors. A music scout had come down from London to see the bands that were performing on the top floor, but instead he ended up downstairs at mine by mistake, and that night I was offered my first record deal."

Bonnie's debut single, Lost in France, was released in 1976, reached number 9 in Britain and was a million seller in the US. Other smash hits followed, including It's A Heartache, Holding Out for a Hero, Faster Than The Speed Of Night, and of course, the worldwide number one Total Eclipse of the Heart. "What can you say about that song?" says Bonnie. "When I first heard it, I just cried with joy, thinking, 'Oh my god, this song is amazing'. I never get tired of singing it. Everybody loves it. One of my fans in Denmark sent me the link to Crystal Swing's version of it. It's just brilliant."

Speaking of karaoke tunes, Bonnie reveals that if she's forced to sing something at a wedding or a party, she normally goes for Tina Turner's River Deep Mountain High, but that's not the only song of Turner's she performs. "Not many people know this, but I recorded Tina's famous song Simply the Best, two years before she did. So you know, it's swings in roundabouts! She sings my song, I sing hers."

Is she annoyed about the success Turner had with a tune that was hers to start out with? "No, you know what; it gave me my confidence back in my choice of material. I could never understand why it wasn't released. I didn't know why the record company didn't release it. But two years later when Tina did it, I was relieved - it proved I knew a good song when I heard one." 

 
Bonnie can not only pick a good song, she also picked herself a good husband. Bonnie has been married to Robert O'Sullivan for almost 38 years and explains the key to making her marriage work is spending time together and apart. "The first ten years we were together I would travel and tour without him, but it came to a point when I was sick of staying in hotel rooms by myself. It was lonely. So I said to him, I'm going to give all this up and go back to local singing if you are not going to come with me. He simply said OK, and he has been with me ever since. The only time we are apart is when we are heading to Portugal and I normally come out here a few days before him. It's nice to have a little break - but not for too long. He really is so lovely, I can't be without him for long periods of time."

Bonnie reckons that her career longevity has come down to hard work, dedication and a fair bit of luck. "I've been very lucky in my career as I haven't just sold records in the UK, but across the world. My first record to break America was It's a Heartache and I've luckily had many more hits there. So many people can't wait to break America, like Robbie Williams for instance, and I have done it a couple of times. Nana-nanana!"

Bonnie Tyler plays the INEC in Killarney on August 5, The Royal Theatre in Castlebar in Mayo on August 6 and The National Concert Hall in Dublin on August 7.

Tickets are on sale now from ticketmaster : http://www.ticketmaster.ie/

Source : http://www.rte.ie