Talk:Bonnie Tyler

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[edit] Clean up

I've cleaned the article up as it was a total mess. I've tried to include all of the relevant information from all previous versions of the article, whilst removing some of the superfluous or poorly written stuff. If somebody has the time to add a few valid sources and citations, please do so. Can we all make an effort to try to keep the article like an encyclopedia entry and not like a Bonnie Tyler fan page please. Thanks. MassassiUK 18:48, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Sales figures

Please add links to the sales claims and chart positions - I feel these are greatly inflated and find comments such as it was ' a big hit in europe' to mean in actual fact it charted and sold very badly. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 81.129.194.143 (talk • contribs) 01:08, 5 September 2006.

IM SUPRISED FANS OF BONNIE TYLER DON'T WISH TO BACK UP THEIR CLAIMS WHEN CHALLENGED???? COULD IT BE THAT THESE 'FACTS' ARE INDEED ANYTHING BUT, PLEASE BE AWARE THAT ANY REQUESTS FOR SOURCES TO BACK UP CLAIMS WHICH ARE DELETED CAN THEN BE REMOVED BY ANYONE AT ANYTIME —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 86.136.20.161 (talk • contribs) 19:40, 2 September 2006.
This entry is awful. Who wrote it, Bonnie or her manager? It reads like a hyped-up bio. The fact is this lady's career has been stalled for quite some time.


Yes, I don't believe the 80 million records sales figure AT ALL. It is truly ridiculous, and since nobody has proven this by supplying a reliable and neutral source, then I have deleted the information. I know Bonnie had huge success with her "Faster" album and "Total Eclipse", but she has only had a handful of hits and there is no way that her sales can total 80 million. In the UK she has only been certified by the BPI as selling 1.2 million records (awarded for 1 million singles sales and 120,000 album sales). This figure wont include her minor hit records that didnt sell enough to be "certified", but they obviously wouldnt add much more to her total UK sales figure. I know she had some success in the US in the 80s, but that was relatively brief, and her success in Europe seems to be varied at best. I think 8 or 18 million is a closer estimate to her total worldwide sales, so somebody has obviously misheard it as 80 and reported it that way. Please note that local newspaper stories are not reputable sources for worldwide record sales figures and must be backed up with something more substantial.Kookoo Star 16:06, 18 August 2007 (UTC)
Oh good grief, 80 million is an OUTRAGEOUS figure! There is simply no way that she could have sold that many records worldwide. I can believe 18, not 80, and even that would be pushing it. Like the above editor stated, it was probably misheard and then misquoted in the Ulster Newspaper (which is not a valid source since they don't have anything to do with the record industry or Bonnie Tyler herself). Until we can find a VALID and REPUTABLE source for her sales information, it is better that we leave this off the main page.MassassiUK 17:29, 20 August 2007 (UTC)

Ill Email her website and get the correct # ok —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tuckertough (talk • contribs) 02:53, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Well e-mailing her website wont actually provide any "usable" information as claims about sales figures and such need to come from an impartial, certified source and a link to the information needs to be provided. Her management (or whoever runs her website) could still exaggerate the figures and nobody would be any the wiser. I think sales figures are best left off the main page. It's enough just to say how many hit singles/albums she had (and any gold/platiumn awards she earned for them).79.73.34.75 21:20, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
Yes, i agree with you, unless we have this information in written form, from a reliable source, i think we should just leave it off the main page. IM kinda curious to know if you guys are Bonnie Tyler fans, because you seem to be very harsh against her. Saying things like her career is stalled, and not being supportive towards her at all. So may i ask are you guys Bonnie Tyler's fans, and if not why are you even posting about this information?

I dont mean to be rude, im just kinda curious, being a fan myself. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tuckertough (talk • contribs) 03:36, 15 September 2007 (UTC)

It's not really about whether we are fans of Bonnie or not, it's more about keeping Wikipedia accurate. Personally, I've always liked Bonnie and have several of her records. However, not for one moment do I think that she has sold anywhere near 80 million records. To even suggest such a thing devalues the whole article and makes it seem false and hyped-up. Not even Oasis or Robbie Williams have sold 80 million records (yet) and they have been far more successful around the world than Bonnie Tyler has (which just goes to show there is no accounting for taste). Wikipedia has to be a source of accurate information, not a Bonnie Tyler fan page.Kookoo Star 21:34, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Good point, i agree with you 100%. And yes 80 million is way to many, but i would just like to point out, even 60 million would be a better guess than 80, now i know 60 is probably a lot to you guys but, seeing Reba McEntire has been able to sell that many and she has been around as many years as Bonnie has. So, yes, we willleave this info off the front page, but i would stll like to give Bonnie some credit, and say her total sales are probably between 10 and 60 million. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tuckertough (talk • contribs) 03:55, 16 September 2007 (UTC)
Yes but Reba McEntire has been HUGELY successful in the US, which is the largest record market in the world. She has released around 30 albums during her career since the mid 1970s and over 20 of them have achieved platinum or multi-platinum status in the US (her Greatest Hits Vol.2 went FIVE x platinum) so its not hard to see how she has sold 60 million records in total. Bonnie has only had one hit album in the US, and that was almost 25 years ago in 1983 where as Reba's most recent platinum album was in 2005. It has nothing to do with how long an artist has been recording, it has to do with how successful they are and how long they maintain that success. It's like comparing Madonna to Cyndi Lauper - they both started out at the same time and at first were both successful, but Madonna has maintained her career where as Cyndi hasn't had a big hit for years now. There's a big difference. I would estimate Bonnie Tyler's global sales to be somewhere between 10 and 20 million - which is still a respectable figure - but apart from the recent french language version of "Total Eclipse" with Kareen Anton, she just hasn't been able to replicate the kind of success that she had in the mid 1980s.Kookoo Star 19:56, 16 September 2007 (UTC)
Ok i emaled both billboard and Bonnies website , and i got a much more believable # than 80 million. They both said Bonnie has sold around 30 million worldwide, now isnt that way more believable than 80 million. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tuckertough (talk • contribs) 20:29, 18 September 2007 (UTC)
It's far more believable than 80m, but I would even have a hard time believing 30m to be honest. As I mentioned earlier, her website are not an impartial source, and Billboard don't actually track worldwide sales figures as they are just an organisation that deals with the U.S. charts (the RIAA are the organisation that tracks sales in the US, but they only track for there and not worldwide). Again though, this isn't information that can be used on the main article page because it isn't verifiable. Just between us all though, let's just acknowledge that Bonnie Tyler has sold a decent number of records during her career and she's still making them. Kookoo Star 20:45, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

agreed, we will leave it at that. She has sold quite a few records, enough to make her a hugely successful recording artist, and i sure hope she continues to do so for a long time! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tuckertough (talk • contribs) 20:11, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Birth Name / Date

TampaPauly 03:38, 29 Jan 2004 (UTC): There is some dispute as to Bonnie's birthdate. I've seen June 8, 1951 as well as June 8, 1953. And, her real name is Gaynor Hopkins, as she took the nom-de-plume because of another UK singer of the time, Mary Hopkin.

I agree totally; my extensive research concludes that she was born in 1951, not 1953, and that her real surname is / was Hopkins. Can anyone prove us both wrong ?!

Derek R Bullamore 02:32, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Discography

This is in danger of completely overshadowing the main text / gist of the article. Is it all necessary ?!

Derek R Bullamore 20:04, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

There seems to be a major discrepancy between this statement - "Her success with "Lost in France" led Tyler to record her first album in 1977. Titled The World Starts Tonight, it met with only modest success, but Bonnie claims it did well enough that she could tour throughout Europe."

and this -

"Her next album, Faster Than the Speed of Night, proved to be a hit, and the single "Total Eclipse of the Heart", written by Jim Steinman, reached U.S. #1 for 4 weeks. "Faster Than the Speed of Night" peaked on the UK album charts at No.1, making Bonnie the first ever female artist of only three female solo singers to debut at no 1 with her first album, earning a Guinness Record, followed for Annie Lennox and Natasha Bedingfield." after all, Ms Tyler clearly didn't debut at no 1 with her first album given that she had already released "The World Starts Tonight".

I've addressed this issue (see "First Female Album..." below).Kookoo Star 16:06, 18 August 2007 (UTC)


[edit] sexuality

Isn’t she a Lesbian?


Could someone add something about her sexuality?

No, she is not a lesbian. She is married to a successful businessman.

Bonnie being bisexual or gay has been a long standing rumor, so has the claims from Dieter Bohlen that she's an alcoholic...the jury's still out on both, doesn't appear likely unless anything new comes to light. TampaPauly 00:52, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

It is inappropriate to comment on her sexuality unless it becomes absolutely clear, and only then when her sexuality is relevant to her public persona in some way. Wiki isnt the place for gossip and rumours I'm afraid. Kookoo Star 16:06, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

Shes been married to her husband, for what 30 odd years, sges not a lesbian!!!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tuckertough (talk • contribs) 02:55, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Article needs work

I added a cleanup tag to this article because it isn't properly sourced with references, is poorly written, and is full of grammatical errors. Infamous30 00:43, 19 December 2006 (UTC) Yes i agree, i think it could be a lot longer as well, for such a career, i thiknk she deserves better. Also whats with that Discography, its a mess! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tuckertough (talk • contribs) 02:16, 11 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Welsh Rich List

The Skewen-born singer is currently ranked the 49th richest person in Wales with a personal fortune of £25m thanks to her record sales and property. ref: [1] Robin Turner, Western Mail - Feb. 16th 2007 - Culnacréann 00:05, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Discography Cleanup

Her discography needs to be cleaned up badly! It's too confussing and hard to read. Is it necessary to list all the compilations that have been released about her? We should go off what's listed on her OFFICIAL WEBSITE.

[edit] It's A Heartache

What type of music is "It's a Heartache". Is it pop? disco? light rock? ballad? It's hard to categorize it....

It's a country song that crossed over to the pop charts.


I know what you mean; it has some ballad-like qualities, but ultimately the tempo and instrumentation probably put it in "pop" territory. Hassocks5489 19:47, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

Whoever keep deleting the info about "It's A Heartache" being a cover of a Juice Newton song needs to quit. It is a FACT. Bonnie Tyler was not the original artist to release the song. Yes, she had the biggest hit with it, but geez. She's covered lots of artists! And there is no shame in that. Hell, I have an entire album of Tyler doing covers!

And what an album that is,lol yes i agree with you, that is good information to have here, Yes bonnie had a big hit with it, but other people did release it before her. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tuckertough (talk • contribs) 20:45, 12 September 2007 (UTC)

Juice Newton was the only artist to release "It's A Heartache" before Bonnie Tyler. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 159.142.232.104 (talk) 14:57, 13 September 2007 (UTC) Oh ok thanks you for clearing that up —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tuckertough (talk • contribs) 20:01, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Apparently, Juice Newton's version was released first (in the US anyway) but Newton didn't actually write the song so we shouldn't refer to Tyler's version as a "cover of the Juice Newton song". It was written by Ronnie Scott and Steve Wolfe.79.65.90.84 16:36, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] First Female Album to Enter at no.1

There is considerable confusion with the way this has been written, so I have just changed it to make it clearer. Tyler was NOT the first British female to have a no.1 album - that honour belongs to Kate Bush in 1980. However Kate Bush's "Never For Ever" album did not ENTER the chart at no.1, and so Tyler was in fact the first British female artist to have an album ENTER the chart at no.1 (in 1983). Please note that this was not Tyler's debut album though, so she cannot be likened to Annie Lennox or Natasha Bedingfield, both of whom had their debut albums enter at no.1. Please try to keep this point clear. It is more than enough to highlight the fact that Tyler was the first to enter the album chart at no.1 without adding any superfluous or inaccurate information.Kookoo Star 15:38, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

ok, clear this up for me, we seem to keep refering to Bonnie as british , when she is actually welsh. Ok kate bush is british and was hte first british lady singer to do this. But Bonnie is welsh, so am i wrong but isnt bonnie the first WELSH lady singer to do this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tuckertough (talk • contribs) 20:14, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

Great Britain is the island that makes up England, Scotland and Wales, so to be deemed as "British", you have to originate from there. Both Kate Bush and Bonnie Tyler are British. To say somebody is english, scottish or welsh, is really just specifying which part of Great Britain they are from. It's almost like saying somebody is from California, Texas, or Alaska in the USA - different regional accents, they can make their own state laws, but are still part of a wider nation (although Scotland are making rumblings about "going it alone" recently).Kookoo Star 21:28, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
icic, well you learn something new everyday!haha —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tuckertough (talk • contribs) 00:02, 20 September 2007 (UTC)