Bonnie Tyler, ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ Singer, Dies at 75

Bonnie Tyler, the singer whose “Total Eclipse of the Heart” became one of the most indelible worldwide hits of the ’80s, died Wednesday.

She was 75.

In a statement, Tyler’s team announced, “Bonnie’s family and team are 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.”

They promised to provide a further statement, asking for privacy in the meantime.

The singer had been seriously ill since May 6, when a perforated intestine led to emergency surgery in Portugal, the couple’s primary home since the ’80s.

She was placed in a coma, suffered a heart attack, and as of June 15 had woken up but was in a fragile state.

Tyler is forever famous for “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” a no. 1 smash that arrived with a high-drama music video featuring dancing boys’ school students with glowing eyes. The song sat atop the U.S. Hot 100 for a month, becoming the sixth-most-popular single of 1983.

But before that, the Welsh-born singer-songwriter had already put in the work — that single was on her fifth studio album. She’d tasted great success from the release of her first record, “The World Starts Tonight,” in 1977. That album’s “It’s a Heartache,” a country-tinged ballad, hit no. 3 in the U.S.

Her rock journey, aided by producer-songwriter Jim Steinman, encompassed all her other chart successes, including the minor hit “Take Me Back” (1983), a second signature song in “Holding Out for Hero” (1984) from the “Footloose” soundtrack, and a well-received cover of Air Supply’s “Making Love Out of Nothing at All” (1995), written by Steinman.

She also worked with disco king Giorgio Moroder on “Here She Comes” (1984), a modern song that was part of a new soundtrack for the restored 1927 German film “Metropolis.”

Tyler released 18 studio albums through 2021, was honored with three Grammy nominations, and received an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2022.

She met her husband Robert Sullivan in 1970 and married him three years later. They had no children, but Tyler spoke about a painful pregnancy loss at 39.

Tyler’s marriage endured a scandal in 2016 when one of her fans alleged Sullivan had carried on an affair with her for 18 months. Tyler took it in stride, and the couple stayed together. He survives her.