Press Release - All In One Voice
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People keep asking her about her bright blue eyes and how they always seem to look so
cheerfully and optimistically into the future. "They're naturally so blue. I don't wear
coloured contact lenses. Honestly", emphasises Bonnie Tyler, for whom eyeliner is as
important as the first cup of coffee in the morning. "Without my eyeliner I feel as
though something is missing. If the hotel were on fire I would more likely run out onto
the street without any clothes on than without my eye make-up." Humour has always
been one of Bonnie Tyler's plus points. Another is her attitude towards success:
"Whether I'm in the Top 10 or not has never made any difference. My husband Robert
serves my tea in bed every morning anyway," says the woman who has had quite a
number of mega hits worldwide, all of which stayed in the charts for weeks.
"It sounds really kitschy, but I've been singing since I was able to think. That was
probably on account of my mother warbling arias away to herself all day long. Well, I
had to counter this somehow," recollects Bonnie Tyler, who grew up with her four
brothers and sisters in Skewen, a picturesque village near Swansea in Wales. The first
record she bought out of her pocket money was "A Hard Days Night" by the Beatles.
"And I loved everything by Janis Joplin and Tina Turner; I'd spend hours dancing round
the room to their songs with a hairbrush in front of my mouth, posing in the mirror."
These dry runs soon paid off. At 17 Bonnie Tyler came second in a talent spotting
contest. "This gave me the courage to form a band." She had landslide success as the
lead singer of the band Imagination back home for seven years. During the day she
worked as a supermarket check-out cashier and sang in clubs and pubs at night,
frequently up to six evenings a week. It was at one of her live gigs in 1969 that one
person in the audience applauded exceptionally loudly: Robert Sullivan. Since then this
man has been the calming constant in her exciting life. And that started in 1976 when
she was offered a record deal resulting in "Lost In France" and her international
breakthrough. This captivating song stayed in the German Top 10 for more than six
months. A rock sensation was born.
At the end of 1976, she had to undergo a vocal chord operation. "I wan't meant to say
anything for six weeks, but I couldn't take it," the 46-year-old recalls. No reason to
grieve; not following doctor's orders made Bonnie Tyler's distinctive, barbed voice
even more husky and attractive, as the 1978 world success "It's a Heartache" clearly
proved.
In 1983 Bonnie Tyler found her perfect production partner in Jim Steinman, the
songwriter of Meat Loaf's vocal excesses. The first product from this very fruitful
collaboration was the album "Faster Than The Speed Of Night" that climbed to the peak
of the British charts in next to no time and was even awarded Platinum in the USA.
The single from the album, "Total Eclipse of The Heart", touched the hearts of many,
thus becoming a million-selling hit and going to No.1 inthe USA and Britain. "I love
this song so much that I never get tired of singing it again and again," enthuses Bonnie
Tyler. Two further pop pearls soon followed, "Holding Out For A Hero" (1986) and "If
You Were A Woman" (1988).
In 1994 Germany's highly sought-after "Echo" prize was awarded to her for best
international female vocalist. "I'm running out of space on the walls. I even had to
make room in the kitchen," Bonnie Tyler says jesting about the many silver gold and
platinum awards she has won for her work. She is happy with her life. "I don't have
any children of my own, but my 16 nephews and nieces really liven things up in my big
house. At the moment she is learning French. "We try to spend as much time as
possible in our house in Portugal. And every time we go there, I'm annoyed with myself
about not really being able to chat with our French neighbours. They don't speak a word
of English and none of us can speak any Portuguese. So now I'm learning their
language." This does, of course, have the added advantage that she will never be "Lost
In France" again either.
Instead, we see Bonnie delving into Irish realms on her new album. "Working in Ireland
with Irish musicians is a first for me," explains Bonnie who recorded her album "All In
One Voice" in Dublin, but also in Munich. This paved the way for other musical
influences onto the album, but it is always Bonnie's characteristic voice and her
sophisticated way of dealing with the compositions that put the finishing touch to the
stylistic expression of the songs. ""I'll Never Let You Down" is possibly my favourite
track on the album," says Bonnie. "My friend Frankie Miller wrote it for his wife
Annette, whose love and care helped him get over a very serious illness."
One of Germany's most successful producers, Harold Faltermeyer ("Beverly Hills Cop"),
and his colleague Jimmy Smyth in Dublin complemented one another extremely well -
the pop/rock oriented Faltermeyer sounds and the traditional Irish arrangements by
Jimmy Smyth fitted together brilliantly - "All In One Voice" - a well-chosen title for
the album.
Having recorded all the songs, Bonnie Tyler flew straight to New York where she
recorded "Tyre Tracks" for the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Jim Steinman musical "Whistle
Down The Wind". "New York is just great - I love this city! But if possible, I prefer
going to Barbados when I'm on holiday. Apart from that, my favourite place to relax is
our lovely house in Portugal." Plans abound; Bonnie desperately wants to play live on
stage with her band again soon. Or perhaps sing with Robert Plant. "We met at the
airport in London recently, he gave me his phone number. Has has an inimitable style, I
would love to sing a duet with him."
Bonnie's website: www.BonnieTyler.com
Hamburg, November 1998
ALSO FROM "All In One Voice":
All 14 sets of lyrics.
LYRICS
All 14 songs represented by mp3 sound clips.
LISTEN