‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’: Bonnie Tyler streams spike amid solar eclipse
Bonnie Tyler’s 1983 hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart” is getting a streaming boost ahead of today’s (8 April) total solar eclipse.
According to Spotify, searches for the power ballad have shot up by nearly 50% in the US in the past week.
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The song is also the number one tune added to user-generated “eclipse” Spotify playlists.
On iTunes, the song has leapt up the charts to become the tenth biggest-selling song of the day.
Speaking to The New York Post last week, Tyler, 72, said: “Every time the eclipse comes around, it’s a bit crazy.”
“They send me all these stats all the time, and it’s always amazing.”
Tyler, who was born Gaynor Sullivan, added that she’s lost count of the number of times she’s belted the song out in the last four decades.
“Well, put it this way, I’ve been singing it in every show that I’ve done since I recorded it, and I’ve just finished nearly 40 shows in Europe,” said the Welsh singer.
“Every time it comes along, I’m just happy to sing it because everybody waits for this song and they just love it.”
“Total Eclipse of the Heart” was written and produced by Jim Steinman, the flamboyant late songwriter best known for his collaborations with Meat Loaf including “Bat Out Of Hell” and “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)”.
Steinman gave “Total Eclipse of the Heart” to Tyler after Meat Loaf temporarily lost his voice, and it became the lead single for Tyler’s 1983 album Faster Than the Speed of Night.
“Every time I saw Meat Loaf, he said, ‘Bonnie, that song should have been mine,’” recalled Tyler. “I said, ‘Well, Jim gave it to me.’”
The song topped the charts in both Britain and America, and has gone on to be a perennial favourite. During the 2017 eclipse, sales of the song rose by 500%.
Last year, Tyler was presented with an MBE by the Prince of Wales and said she would “never get bored” of singing “Total Eclipse of the Heart”.
She told PA: “Lots of people ask me aren’t you fed up of singing it, but there is no way, I love it and everybody does, it is a karaoke classic.”
She added that she never expected to be awarded an MBE, but did not think twice about accepting.
She said: “I never ever thought I would have something like this, my mother and father would be so proud.
“To be nominated for a Grammy was wonderful, but to be given an MBE for something I absolutely love doing is a highlight of my career.”
