The world has lost one of rock and roll's most famous voices as it was announced that Tina Turner has died at the age of 83. The legendary singer, who had hits including Proud Mary and The Best, passed away after a long illness, her publicist Bernard Doherty confirmed.
In a career spanning over 60 years, the American-Swiss singer, who was born Anna Mae Bullock in Nutbush, Tennessee, won eight competitive Grammy Awards including record of the year for What's Love Got To Do With It She also received three Grammy Hall of Fame Awards and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, giving her a total of 12 Grammys.
Tina, widely referred to as the Queen of Rock and Roll, has a star on both the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the St Louis Walk of Fame. Her autobiography, I, Tina, was turned into the 1993 film What's Love Got To Do With It, dramatising the mother-of-two's famously turbulent relationship with Ike Turner and it also saw Angela Bassett nominated for an Oscar for her performance as Tina in the biopic.
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She wed her long-time German beau, the music executive Erwin Bach, in a Swiss civil ceremony in 2013, and has lived in Switzerland with him since 1994. It was a second marriage for the music star, who was previously married to musician Ike Turner from 1962 to 1978.
In her 1986 book, the singer narrated a harrowing tale of abuse, including suffering a broken nose during the course of her marriage to Ike. Ike died in December 2007 and Tina's spokeswoman at the time was quoted as saying: "Tina is aware that Ike passed away earlier today. She has not had any contact with him in 35 years. No further comment will be made."
She had suffered ill health in recent years, being diagnosed with intestinal cancer in 2016 and having a kidney transplant in 2017. In a statement, a representative for the singer said: "Tina Turner, the 'Queen of Rock'n Roll' has died peacefully today at the age of 83 after a long illness in her home in Kusnacht near Zurich, Switzerland. With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model.
"With her music and her inexhaustible vitality, Tina Turner thrilled millions of fans and inspired many artists of subsequent generations." The statement added that a private funeral ceremony, attended by close friends and family, would be held, and that further press inquiries would not be answered.
Tina was born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939, in Nutbush, Tennessee, USA. She became famous in the late 60s as the singer of the band Ike & Tina Turner Revue, but became successful worldwide as a solo artist.
She had global hits including What's Love Got To Do With It, Private Dancer and The Best, with more than 180 million albums sold. Roger Davies, the singer's manager of 30 years, paid tribute to the star, saying: "Tina was a unique and remarkable force of nature with her strength, incredible energy and immense talent.
"From the first day I met her in 1980, she believed in herself completely when few others did at that time. It was a privilege and an honour to have been a close friend as well as her manager for more than 30 years. I will miss her deeply."
In her autobiography Tina Turner: My Love Story, published in 2018, she revealed that her husband saved her life by donating one of his kidneys. Her famous songs over the years include the Bond theme track for 1995's GoldenEye, with the song of the same name co-written by Bono and The Edge of U2, We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) which appeared in the 1985 film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, starring Mel Gibson and Tina, and Let's Stay Together.
In 2008 she duetted at the Grammys with Beyonce for a rendition of Proud Mary which featured both iconic singers, in sparkly outfits, mirroring each other's choreography. Other notable duets through her career included performing with David Bowie and in 1985 she took to the stage with The Rolling Stones' Sir Mick Jagger during Live Aid.
Last year, Turner said following her son Ronnie's death at the age of 62 that he "left the world far too early." Her other biological son, Craig Raymond Turner, died aged 59 in 2018.
In 2005 President George W Bush famously described her legs as "the most famous in showbusiness" and it was reported she insured them for hundreds of millions of US dollars. A musical based on her life, titled Tina - The Tina Turner Musical, opened on London's West End in 2018.
In 2021 she sold the rights to her back catalogue after reaching an agreement with BMG for an undisclosed sum, signing over her share of her recordings, her music publishing writer's share and her name, image and likeness, the company said. Her solo works include 10 studio albums, two live albums, two soundtracks and five compilations, which together have sold more than 100 million records.
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