Tina Turner, one of rock’s greatest vocalists and most charismatic performers, has died at the age of 83.
His spokesman said: “Tina Turnerthe ‘Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll’ died peacefully today at the age of 83 after a long illness at her home in Kusnacht, near Zurich, Switzerland.
“With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model.”
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The American-born star was one of rock’s iconic singers, known for her electric stage presence and hits such as The Best, Proud Mary, Private Dancer and What’s Love Got to Do With It.
Among the first to pay tribute were Sir Mick Jagger, Sir Elton John, Diana Ross, Bette Midler and Giorgio Armani.
“She was a truly gifted performer and singer,” said Rolling Stones frontman Jagger.
“She was inspiring, warm, funny and generous. She helped me a lot when I was young and I will never forget her.”
Sir Elton posted a photo of himself with Turner and said he was “untouchable” and a “total legend on record and on stage”.
Turner previously had bowel cancer and suffered a stroke, revealing in 2018 that she her husband had donated a kidney to save his life while contemplating assisted suicide.
Her manager of 30 years, Roger Davies, called her “a unique and remarkable force of nature with her strength, incredible energy and immense talent” and said she would be deeply missed.
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Turner’s stage presence and dance moves were legendary
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Ike and Tina Turner with The Ikettes in 1976. Photo: AP
Turner found fame in the 1960s alongside ex-husband Ike Turner, with the classics River Deep, Mountain High and Nutbush City Limits among her hits.
The domestic abuse Ike subjected her to – and her struggle to break free – was documented in a 1993 film starring Angela Bassett, which won three Oscars.
Turner’s life story was also immortalized in a popular West End show that is still running.
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Turner lived in Switzerland with her husband. Image: AP
The singer’s popularity waned in the late 1970s and her days in the spotlight waned, with Turner mainly hitting the cabaret circuit as a heritage act.
However, her career was dramatically resurrected in 1983 when a cover of Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together became a huge hit.
Turner, then 40, signed a new deal with Capitol Records that led to the album Private Dancer in 1984.
It went on to sell more than 10 million copies and established her as a mega star.
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Turner sang the theme song for the 1995 Bond film Goldeneye (pictured at the UK premiere)
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At a concert in Cologne, Germany in 2009. Photo: AP
The title track from Private Dancer as well as What’s Love Got to Do With It and I Can’t Stand the Rain were among the album’s seven singles.
His best-known song, with its distinctive intro, consistent structure and powerful chorus, is probably The Best.
Released in 1989, part of the Foreign Affair album, it’s actually a cover of a song by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler.
Proud Mary is also an established classic, with Turner performing dance moves to the beat to his ‘rolling down the river’ refrain into his 70s at live shows.
Tina Turner’s most played songs in the UK
1. The best 2. What does love have to do with it? 3. Proud Mary 4. What does love have to do with it? (with Kygo) 5. River Deep Mountain High (with Ike Turner) 6. We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) 7. Nutbush City Limits (with Ike Turner) 8. Private Dancer 9. It’s Only Love (with Bryan Adams ) ) 10. Proud Mary (with Ike Turner)
After his return, there was also a foray into cinema alongside Mel Gibson in 1985’s Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.
The film spawned another hit, We Don’t Need Another Hero.
Born Annie Anna Bullock in a segregated hospital in Tennessee in November 1939, Turner became a Swiss citizen a decade ago.
Read more:
Simply the best: Tina Turner in pictures
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Turner was photographed with her husband Erwin Bach in Zurich, Switzerland
She lived in a sprawling estate on Lake Zurich with her husband and former EMI record executive Erwin Bach, some 16 years her junior.
The couple met in 1985, and Turner once told Oprah Winfrey that it was love at first sight when he was sent to pick her up at an airport in Germany.
“She had the most beautiful face. You couldn’t miss her,” she said.
“It was like saying, ‘where did it come from?’ He was really so handsome. My heart broke. It means a soul has been found. My hands were shaking.”
Turner had four children, two of whom she adopted from Ike’s first marriage.
Her eldest son, Craig Raymond Turner, who she had when she was 18, died in an apparent suicide five years ago
The singer said that scattering her ashes in the sea off California was her “saddest moment as a mother”.
She wrote on Twitter: “I was 59 when he died so tragically but he will always be my baby.”
Tragedy struck again in 2022 when their second son, Ronnie, died of cancer.
