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BOnnie Tyler had an unusual career: two world-beaters who seemed to have nothing to do with each other beyond a name that appeared on the soundtrack. His first major British singles, 1976’s Lost in France and 1977’s It’s a Heartache, were prime examples of what writer Pete Paphides later called “medium wave pop”, the forgotten stuff that filled the charts and Radio One playlists at a time when rock’s low profile would have shocked the world. It was a little soft rock, a little country, a little reminiscent of the famous 70’s Smokie, and so catchy that no one noticed that somewhere in between his releases, Tyler’s voice changed dramatically: he has a great tone. Lost in Francesurgery to remove the tinatake from his voice caused him to start shaking like Rod Stewart by the time of It’s Heartbreaking.
It seemed like It’s Heartache would turn Tyler into a big star: it sold 6m copies, and the accompanying album made the Top 3 on the US country chart. But his success made it difficult for him to continue, compounded by the fact that his artist did not seem to know what to do with him. Have him cover Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, like on Louisiana Rain? Prepare him for the easy listening market through the version of Sometimes When We Touch? Encourage him to go to a disco, like at the most beautiful camp (The World Is Full of Married Men)?
Nothing worked and it would have, if Tyler hadn’t taken matters into his own hands. A rock fan, he considered asking Phil Collins or Jeff Lynne to work with him, but they had limited access. Jim Steinman at the right time. The producer-songwriter’s relationship with Meat Loaf came to an end after 1981’s Dead Ringer failed to replicate the platinum sales of Bat Out of Hell, while the release of his solo album, Bad for Good, proved that no one was interested in hearing Jim Steinman sing his songs. Two going in, Steinman obviously felt that he had something to prove, and the best way to prove it is double: no one is too dedicated, the music that Tyler gave was great even by his standards, making Bat Out of Hell sound like a round song.
Because Tyler’s voice reminded him of John Fogerty, he asked him to cover Creedence Clearwater’s revival of Have You Ever Seen the Rain?, Steinman’s version of which changed the acoustic roots of the original to classical piano and wailing, metal-adjacent guitar; it also had castanets. This, it turns out, was just fun before classes started.
Total Eclipse of the Heart lasted for seven minutes, had only a flute that sounded like it was being played by Count Dracula and was sealed with an explosion that was supposed to represent the sound of nuclear bombs being dropped: as they did, Steinman said that he was deeply influenced by Wagner. It would have sounded absurd, had it not been for the fact that Tyler’s voice gave off an image he didn’t think was ridiculous: he sang as if his life depended on it. To use a modern term, he gave himself so completely that his voice seemed to appeal to the star of the song, rather than being swallowed up by the bedlam going on around him. Slow the song down to three and a half minutes in: Count Dracula has just finished doing his thing, a large group of backing singers continue to urge the glowing eyes to turn, there’s a nuclear explosion going off left, right and center, but when Tyler’s voice reappears – “ALL NOW AND I’M GONE!” – you forget about everything but him.
The result wouldn’t have been much longer with Heartache if it tried. It went platinum in nine countries, hit No 1 on both sides of the Atlantic, inspired Tyler’s album Faster Than the Speed of Night to sell 3m, and proved it’s irreplaceable to fashion. In the 21st century, it continued to re-enter the charts randomly in Britain, America, Canada, France, Denmark, Belgium and Hungary; in 2026 it exceeded a billion streams on Spotify.
It was successful at a level that Tyler considered impossible to repeat, although he came close to Holding Out for a Hero, a Steinman extravaganza, this time from the voice of the youth movie Footloose: with more explosions, someone did Tyler’s voice with Giorgio Moroder-ish support, it was another big one.
But Total Eclipse of the Heart may have ruined his collaboration with Steinman, precisely because it was so successful: his career was reshaped, Steinman found himself important again, working with everyone from Barbra Streisand to Def Leppard to the wrestler Hulk Hogan, which meant that he was only slightly present on 1986’s Hidden Dreams and 1986’s Forbidden Dreams. Clue – leaving others to take it differently: with the best will in the world, the spirit of Freda Payne’s 1970 hit Band of Gold may not have been suitable for a Steinman-esque candidate when he heard that his talent was well understood to cover in the Swansea club in the 1970s).
After that, his work in the UK and America declined, and he had no chance to be unhappy with his work. Very goodthe lead single from 1988’s Hide Your Heart. It’s hard to know why it wasn’t a big hit anywhere except in Norway: it obviously had nothing to do with the song, as evidenced by the fact that, when Tina Turner covered it the following year, it sold millions of copies and became her signature song (very little, Tyler said that Turner “did it better than me”). Even the collaborative effort of 1995’s Free Spirit – which reunited him briefly with Steinman, and elsewhere involved everything from collaborations with Jeff Lynne to guest appearances by Lenny Kravitz to dance remixes with Ralphi Rosario – could bring him back to the charts.
However, he continued to record platinum albums in Europe well into the 90s, and his tours never stopped going to stadiums. The woman who, at the beginning of the 80s, interrupted her list of games created by Steinman by recording songs with Shakin’ Stevens, her musical approach is very different: she seemed happy to make music with Rick Wakeman or Steve Hackett who was the former guitarist of Genesis, the words from Total Eclipse of the Heart on her single 2025 Together. Again, he sang as if his life depended on it.
