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Beth Alaw WilliamsBBC Wales
With her instantly recognisable gravelly-voice and big, blonde hair, Gaynor Hopkins became an international sensation as Bonnie Tyler with her 80s hit, Total Eclipse of the Heart.
43 years on, and the song has cemented its place as one of the most famous power ballads of all time by surpassing a billion streams on Spotify.
But despite joining Taylor Swift, The Weekend and Eminem in the exclusive one billion club, Neath-born Tyler says that she’s made “about nothing” in revenue from the classic track.
As the platform’s most streamed song by a Welsh artist, Tyler “never gets tired” of singing the iconic tune, despite the astronomical streaming numbers not making a dent in her bank account.
Born Gaynor Hopkins in a council house in Neath, Tyler grew up with a love for music before she was discovered by talent scout Roger Bell in a Swansea club.
Tyler released her first single, Lost in France, in 1977, but it was the release of Total Eclipse of the Heart five years later which changed her life.
“The first time I heard it was when Jim Steinman just played it on the piano in New York.
“He sang the song all the way through and I was like, ‘Oh my God, this song is amazing. I can’t believe Jim is giving it to me.’
“When I recorded the song, I thought no one is going to end up playing this because it’s so long.
“The original version is eight minutes long.”
But the four-minute radio version took the world by storm, with the ballad spending two weeks at UK number one, and four weeks in the US.
Getty ImagesNow, 43 years on, it’s clear the best of all the years have not gone by, as Tyler shared her delight with fans at receiving a one billion streams plaque from Spotify.
The feat came as a surprise to the singer, who only found out after the streamer contacted her website to send her the “beautiful” disk.
“I’m really happy, when you think about it, there’s only 8.3 billion people in the world.
“It’s quite an evergreen song – how many times have you heard it popping up in adverts and movies?
“People just love it.”
As one of the most iconic love songs of all time, the music video has already surpassed 1.2 billion views on YouTube.
But does she ever get a little bit tired listening to it?
“Never, I never get tired of singing it, I love it because everyone can’t wait to sing it.”
While the song has been listened to over a billion times, streaming means that the number doesn’t necessarily translate to the artist’s bank account.
“Oh it’s nothing, just about nothing,” Tyler said.
Tyler also received another plaque in the same week – a gold disk for the success of David Guetta’s Together, which samples the iconic song.
Except for taking photos and getting her nephew to hang the plaques in her music room, Tyler says she won’t be doing “anything special” to celebrate the spectacular milestones.
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Grammy-nominated Tyler has had a string of other hits, including Holding out for a Hero and also represented the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013.
She was named in the Queen’s last Birthday Honours list in 2022 and was awarded an MBE for her services to music by Prince William the following year.
Tyler shows no signs of slowing down, with a string of tour dates scheduled for spring.
“I’m 74 now and I never would have imagined that I’d still be singing.
“I’m really looking forward to the shows and hope everyone comes along and has a great time.”
