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In Wales, Swansea sings a final farewell to Bonnie Tyler

In Wales, Swansea sings a final farewell to Bonnie Tyler
In Wales, Swansea sings a final farewell to Bonnie Tyler

Thousands of fans gathered on Monday, August 17 in Swansea, the hometown of British singer Bonnie Tyler, who died on July 8 at the age of 75, to pay her a final tribute in song outside St. Mary's Church.

The crowd sang along to the hit songs at the top of their lungs.

When the funeral service began inside the church with "It's a Heartache," the fans outside, whose access was restricted to close family and friends, didn't hesitate to join in singing the song at the top of their lungs, as the ceremony was being broadcast on a large screen for the thousand or so people in attendance. Just a few minutes earlier, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" had been playing in the streets of the Welsh town.

Paige Morris, 37, who came with her nine-year-old daughter, said that this song remained her favorite, explaining that she loved singing it with her daughters, especially since it had become so popular recently. With this hit, released in 1983, Bonnie Tyler became the first Welsh singer to reach the top of the American charts, a success that has now surpassed 1,2 billion streams on Spotify.

A career that took her all the way to the Vatican and the Kremlin

She performed all over the world, from the smallest clubs to stadiums, on mountaintops, on beaches, in the Vatican, in the Kremlin, recalled Matthew Davies, her tour manager for forty years, during the ceremony. Bonnie Tyler had been hospitalized in early May for intestinal surgery at her home in Portugal, where she ultimately passed away.

Also the performer of Holding Out for a Hero, from the soundtrack of Footloose, the singer with the inimitable gravelly voice represented the United Kingdom at Eurovision in 2013 with the song Believe in Me.

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