Hundreds of fans and mourners gathered in Swansea, Wales, on Monday for the funeral of Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler, with attendees singing along to her hit song It’s a Heartache as her flower-covered coffin was carried into Swansea Minster.
Tyler, known for hits including Total Eclipse of the Heart and Holding Out for a Hero, died in Portugal on July 8 at the age of 75.
More than 1,000 people gathered outside the church ahead of the service, which was also livestreamed. Mourners applauded as a hearse carrying her coffin, decorated with white roses and lilies, arrived at the church.
Songs including It’s a Heartache and If I Sing You A Love Song were played as pallbearers carried the coffin inside. The service also featured a male voice choir performing Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water.
Speaking to AFP, 75-year-old Swansea resident Bette Richards described Tyler as a “Welsh icon” and praised her for remaining humble despite her international fame.
In his eulogy, Tyler’s longtime tour manager Matt Davis recalled her ability to perform before audiences ranging from small clubs to major stadiums. He said the singer loved performing and had appeared at venues around the world, including the Vatican and the Kremlin.
Talent scout Roger Bell, who discovered Tyler and later became her friend, said she remained closely connected to her roots despite achieving global fame.
“She was loved by millions worldwide,” Bell said, adding that in Swansea she was known to her family as Gaynor and “Auntie Gaynor”, referring to her real name, Gaynor Hopkins.
Tyler died after being placed in an induced coma following emergency surgery in May. She had been born and raised in a former coal-mining village northwest of Swansea and in recent years divided her time between Wales and Portugal.
She rose to fame in the 1970s with songs including Lost in France and It’s a Heartache. Total Eclipse of the Heart later topped the charts in both the United Kingdom and the United States.
Her 1984 hit Holding Out for a Hero featured on the soundtrack of the successful film Footloose.
At the time of her illness, Tyler had been preparing to begin a European tour in Malta to mark 50 years since the release of Lost in France, her breakthrough single.
