Bonnie Tyler

“I am going to keep on singing. I have no intention of retiring. Actually, I always wonder whether people know my songs in the different countries I visit. I feel nervous over whether they will sing along with me or not.”

“My voice was left with its husky sound after surgery on large vocal nodules.”

“I've been able to help my family financially since making my first hit record. I bought my parents a house. My husband and I have a property in Portugal and one in Mumbles, Wales, and my family are always coming out to visit us. It has been fantastic to have such a successful career and to have been able to help everyone.”

“My mother, who died aged 82, had Alzheimer's. Losing your memory is bad enough, but everything shuts down. You can't remember how to eat or go to the toilet. It's a terrible disease and so distressing to watch it take over someone you love.”

“I lost dozens of pairs of expensive glasses because I'd put them down and then not be able to find them again.”

“I was born Gaynor Hopkins, one of seven children. My mum, Elsie, and dad, Glyndwr, always said they had seven children, although my sister Paulene was stillborn.”

“When I was young, I used to wear a lot of wigs, and I was running on stage at a gig and tripped over and it fell off. It was in the 1970s, and Swansea were doing really well in the league, and most of the team were there. I almost died, but I picked it up, put it back on my head and carried on.”

“The best thing about success was being able to buy my parents a house.”

“I love my nice things, but I'm still the Welsh family girl.”

“I know I express myself best singing love songs, and Jim Steinman gave me my rock style, which I have always wanted. I can express myself best putting a lot of emotion into singing rock songs.”

“I'm always late to bed - usually after midnight - but then I sleep for around ten hours.”

“My mum was a wonderful mother. She died, aged 80, of Alzheimer's disease, which was dreadful to watch. I remember she said to me: 'Believe in yourself because no one else is going to do it for you.' I'm sure a lot of my success is due to her words of advice.”

“When I was in the recording studio, I needed to concentrate on what my voice was doing, which is rather difficult if you can't actually see what you are supposed to be singing.”

“It's no good singing if you just want to be a pop star; you've got to work at it and do it for the love for it, not because you think it will make you famous.”

“Whenever I sing 'Total Eclipse of the Heart,' the way people sing along with me still excites me. It's one of the songs that audiences know all the lyrics to, and they sing along with me, and it makes me so happy. People also know my songs 'Holding out for a Hero' and 'Lost in France,' and this gives me so much joy on stage.”

“When I do a T.V. show, I hear all these artists in their dressing rooms doing scales - I've never done it because I've never had voice training. What I do to prepare is get in my car and sing along to the radio for about 20 minutes.”

“אני חושבת שבורכתי בחיים רגילים ושקטים. מעולם לא הייתי חלק משגרת ההרס העצמי של הרוקנרול. אני בחורה וולשית פשוטה, שגדלה למשפחה ממעמד הפועלים ותמיד מנסה להסתכל על חצי הכוס המלאה. אני חיה מחוץ לבריטניה, ליד הים, במקום שקט, שבו אנשים בדרך כלל לא נתקלים אחד בשני. לכן יש סיכוי נמוך שמישהו ברחוב יזהה אותי. אני חושבת שעברתי את השלב בקריירה שבו רודפים אחרייך ציידי חתימות. אני תורמת לארגוני צדקה רבים.”

“אני מקבלת מספיק כבוד מעמיתיי למקצוע, וחשוב מכך, מהמעריצים שלי, שתמיד תמכו בי מאוד, וזה מה שיותר חשוב לי.”

“נכנסתי לעסק הזה כדי לשיר, לא כדי להיות מפורסמת. החלום שלי היה להיות זמרת, ושרתי ברמה מקומית הרבה לפני שהתפרסמתי. למזלי התגליתי בסופו של דבר והפכתי לזמרת בינלאומית, שמופיעה בכל העולם. זה מה שחלמתי לעשות, ואם עוד משלמים לי בשביל זה, זה נפלא.”

“I love watching movies with happy endings or anything with Steve Martin or stuff like that.”