I was rushing round the kitchen this morning, toast in one hand and school bags in the other, when the news about Bonnie Tyler came through. Another reminder that the voices we grew up with don't stick around forever. At 75, the woman behind those gravelly anthems that soundtracked so many of our heartbreaks and comebacks has gone.
She died on 8 July in a hospital in Portugal after treatment for an illness. Her family and team said in their statement that they were heartbroken to announce she had unexpectedly passed away. They asked for privacy at first, as you'd expect in the middle of such a raw loss.
Now the plans are out. Her coffin will arrive at her home in Mumbles on 15 August at 15:30 BST. Fans are invited to line Newton Road from 15:15 BST to pay their respects as the procession passes. It's a small thing, standing on the pavement, but it feels right for someone who gave us so much.
A celebration rooted in home
The following day, on 17 August at 12:00 BST, there will be a celebration of life service at St Mary's Church in Swansea. Afterwards her coffin will travel through her hometown of Skewen in Neath Port Talbot at about 13:20 BST before a private family service. Bonnie was born Gaynor Hopkins and grew up in Skewen. That connection to south Wales runs through everything she did.
Her family have asked that flowers are for them only and have invited donations instead to Noah's Ark Children's Hospital for Wales and Cerebral Palsy Cymru. She was a patron for both, and it says something about the woman behind the raspy voice that even now her farewell points towards helping kids.
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. We will issue a further statement shortly but for now ask for privacy to deal with this tragedy.
Those words came from her family and team in the official statement. Reading them again, you feel the weight of it. She leaves behind a husband of more than 50 years and siblings who must be reeling. But she also leaves 18 studio albums, the last one, The Best Is Yet to Come, released in 2021 when she was already in her seventies. That takes some bottle.