Hundreds gathered in the seaside Welsh village of Mumbles on Saturday to pay tribute to Bonnie Tyler as her coffin, draped in a Welsh flag, was brought home following her death last month in Portugal.
The Grammy-nominated singer, celebrated globally for her 1983 hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” died aged 75 after being hospitalised in Faro for emergency intestinal surgery in May.
Mourners lined the streets near Swansea to watch the hearse pass, with many leaving flowers outside her former home.
Eighteen-year-old fan Carys Edwards said Tyler always made a point of returning to her Welsh fanbase, adding that her music had deeply resonated with people across the country.
Born Gaynor Hopkins in Skewen, near Swansea, Tyler grew up the daughter of a coal miner in public housing, one of six siblings. She went on to earn three Grammy nominations and represented Britain at Eurovision in 2013, finishing 19th.
In 2022, Queen Elizabeth II appointed her a Member of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of her contribution to music, largely credited to the enduring success of her signature anthem, ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’.
