BONNIE TYLER [UK] - Pop/Rock
Gaynor Hopkins
Introduction
Born as Gaynor Hopkins on June 8, 1951, Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler – widely known by her raspy voice – has spent several years performing in clubs and pubs before she got signed to RCA in 1975. Since then she has released no less than 16 studio albums: 4 for RCA, 3 for Columbia, 3 for Hansa, 2 for EastWest and 1 for CMC, Sony, Stick Music and ZYX Music each. Only four of them reached the UK charts: the three she recorded for Columbia and her latest, “Rocks And Honey” (2013). With regard to singles, up to now she has released a total number of 83, of which “Lost In France” (1976), “It’s A Heartache” (1977), “Total Eclipse Of The Heart” (1983), “A Rockin’ Good Way (To Mess Around And Fall In Love” (with Shakin’ Stevens, 1984) and “Holding Out For A Hero” (1984) reached the top-5 in the UK.
After having released four albums for RCA, Bonnie Tyler changed course and went for a rockier approach with Columbia. Having watched Meat Loaf in an episode of The Old Grey Whistle Test, she approached Jim Steinman, asking him to produce her next album. “Faster Than The Speed Of Night” was released in April 1983. Consisting mainly of reworked cover songs, this bombastic opus would become her most successful album, reaching the #1 position in the UK (certified silver) and the #4 position in the US (certified platinum). The title song, written by Jim Steinman, became Tyler’s biggest career hit, reaching the top position of the singles chart in countries like Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the UK and the US. Worldwide the song sold over 6 million copies and was certified platinum by the RIAA for shipments of over 1 million copies in the US alone. Tyler continued to work with Jim Steinman as executive producer for her sixth studio album, “Secret Dreams And Forbidden Fire” (1986), writing four songs for it, including its most successful single, “Holding Out For A Hero”, which was originally released two years earlier as part of the soundtrack to “Footloose”. The album topped the Norwegian albums chart, while peaking at #24 in the UK and only #106 in the US. The last album for Columbia was “Hide Your Heart” (1988), released in the US as “Notes From America”. For that album noteworthy songwriters like Michael Bolton, Mike Chapman, Albert Hammond, Holly Knight, Diane Warren and Desmond Child (who also produced the album) were invited, but the album didn’t score in the US and only peaked at #78 in the UK. Strange but true: the singles from “Hide Your Heart” were minor hits for Bonnie Tyler herself, but would later become major hits for other artists, including KISS (“Hide Your Heart”), Robin Beck, Cher & Freda Payne (“Save Up All Your Tears”) and Tina Turner (“The Best”).
When German producer and songwriter Dieter Bohlen proposed Bonnie Tyler a collaboration in 1991, he convinced her to return to pure pop again. So, for AOR and pop/rock fans only the three albums Bonnie Tyler recorded for Columbia are of real interest.
Chris Lambert
After having released four albums for RCA, Bonnie Tyler changed course and went for a rockier approach with Columbia. Having watched Meat Loaf in an episode of The Old Grey Whistle Test, she approached Jim Steinman, asking him to produce her next album. “Faster Than The Speed Of Night” was released in April 1983. Consisting mainly of reworked cover songs, this bombastic opus would become her most successful album, reaching the #1 position in the UK (certified silver) and the #4 position in the US (certified platinum). The title song, written by Jim Steinman, became Tyler’s biggest career hit, reaching the top position of the singles chart in countries like Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the UK and the US. Worldwide the song sold over 6 million copies and was certified platinum by the RIAA for shipments of over 1 million copies in the US alone. Tyler continued to work with Jim Steinman as executive producer for her sixth studio album, “Secret Dreams And Forbidden Fire” (1986), writing four songs for it, including its most successful single, “Holding Out For A Hero”, which was originally released two years earlier as part of the soundtrack to “Footloose”. The album topped the Norwegian albums chart, while peaking at #24 in the UK and only #106 in the US. The last album for Columbia was “Hide Your Heart” (1988), released in the US as “Notes From America”. For that album noteworthy songwriters like Michael Bolton, Mike Chapman, Albert Hammond, Holly Knight, Diane Warren and Desmond Child (who also produced the album) were invited, but the album didn’t score in the US and only peaked at #78 in the UK. Strange but true: the singles from “Hide Your Heart” were minor hits for Bonnie Tyler herself, but would later become major hits for other artists, including KISS (“Hide Your Heart”), Robin Beck, Cher & Freda Payne (“Save Up All Your Tears”) and Tina Turner (“The Best”).
When German producer and songwriter Dieter Bohlen proposed Bonnie Tyler a collaboration in 1991, he convinced her to return to pure pop again. So, for AOR and pop/rock fans only the three albums Bonnie Tyler recorded for Columbia are of real interest.
Chris Lambert
Tyler's three albums for Columbia Records
1983
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1986
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1988
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Discography01|1977|The World Starts Tonight
02|1978|Natural Force aka It’s A Heartache US #16 (Gold) 03|1979|Diamond Cut US #145 04|1981|Goodbye To The Island 05|1983|Faster Than The Speed Of Night UK #1 (Silver) US #4 (Platinum) 06|1986|Secret Dreams And Forbidden Fire UK #24 US #106 07|1988|Hide Your Heart aka Notes From America UK #78 08|1991|Bitterblue 09|1992|Angel Heart 10|1993|Silhouette In Red 11|1995|Free Spirit 12|1998|All In One Voice 13|2003|Heart Strings aka Heart And Soul 14|2004|Simply Believe 15|2005|Wings aka Celebrate 16|2013|Rocks And Honey UK #52 
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Rock Report's choice
Faster Than The Speed Of LightCBS, 1983
Produced by Jim Steinman Charts & Certifications: UK #1 (Silver) | US #4 (Platinum) Ratings: HH: 81 (7) | RYM: 3.18 (241) Total rating: 723 Updated: 150902 Line-upBonnie Tyler (v)
+ Dave LeBolt (sy on tr. 1) Eric Troyer (v) Frankie Miller (v on tr. 7) Hiram Bullock (g on tr. 5) Holly Sherwood (bv on tr. 1) Jimmy Maelen (p) Larry Fast (sy) Martin Briley (g on tr. 2) Max Weinberg (d) Paul Shaffer (or on tr. 5) Rick Derringer (g) Rory Dodt (v on tr. 4, bv) Roy Bittan (pi) Stephanie Black, Erica Katz, Brian Pew, Edward Skylar, Tristine Skylar, David Varga (cch on tr. 6) Steve Buslowe (b) Steve Jordan (dr on tr. 5) Steven Margoshes (k on tr. 2 4) Will Lee (b on tr. 5) |
Track listing01|Have You Ever Seen The Rain? (JF)
UK #47 02|Faster Than The Speed Of Night (JS) UK #43 03|Getting So Excited (AG) UK #85 04|Total Eclipse Of The Heart (JS) UK #1 (Gold) | US #1 (Platinum) 05|It’s A Jungle Out There (DP/PP/WM) 06|Goin’ Through The Motions (IH/EB) 07|Tears (FM) 08|Take Me Back (BC) US #46 09|Straight From The Heart (BA/EK) SongwritersAG = Alan Gruner
BA = Bryan Adams BC = Billy Cross DP = Dennis Polen EB = Eric Bloom EK = Eric Kagna FM = Frankie Miller IH = Ian Hunter JF = John Fogerty JS = Jim Steinman PP = Paul Pilger WM = William Moloney 
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