R.I.P. - Tina Turner (26 Nov 1939 - 24 May 2023)

We're sure that by now you will have heard the sad news of the passing of the legendary Tina Turner today at her home near Zurich in Switzerland aged 83 after a long illness. She was diagnosed with intestinal cancer in 2016 and underwent a kidney transplant in 2017. She also suffered a stroke in 2013.

Her life has been documented in books, biopics and musicals and she sold out arenas, creating a world record 180k (paid) audience for a solo artist at the Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro in Jan 1988.

The trials and tribulations living and working with Ike Turner has also been well documented. After her acrimonious divorce with him in 1978, she was left with nothing and had to re-invented herself moving into more pop and rock oriented material. 

Her solo career took off in the early 80s after the release of her cover of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" produced by Martin Ware of Heaven 17 (and previously Human League) who performed backing vocals on the track with Heaven 17 member Glenn Gregory.  The ensuing album, "Private Dancer", went multi-platinum in many countries and has sold in excess on 12m copies worldwide. It would be no exaggeration to say that she went on to become a superstar, certainly one of the biggest black female artists of all time.

In a career spanning almost 60 years, from 1957 until she retired from performing in 2015, she sold more than 100m records and received 12 Grammy awards. and has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice. In 2021 she sold the rights to her music to BMG.

Although dubbed 'The Queen of Rock 'n' Roll', her contribution to soul music and live performance is undeniable.

With Ike she had some minor hits in the early 60s between 1960-62 and then they dried up. Incredulously the Phil Spector produced "River Deep Mountain High" was considered too white by black radio and too black for white radio and didn't even make the R&B charts and only reached #88 on the Hot 100. However, it rose to #3 in the UK in 1966 which triggered a UK tour supporting The Rolling Stones with the opening show at the Royal Albert Hall.

She continued to have more success in the UK and Europe than her home country in her solo career, achieving nine UK Top 10 pop hits with "Let's Stay Together" (#6 1983), "What's Love Got to Do with It" (#3 1984), "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)" (#3 1985), "The Best" (#5 1989), "I Don't Wanna Lose You" (#8 1989), "It Takes Two" (with Rod Stewart) (#5 1990), "I Don't Wanna Fight" (#7 1993), "GoldenEye" (#19 1995), "When the Heartache Is Over" (#10 1999).

Her albums also fared better in the UK, she released nine solo studio albums in total and all five from the 80s and beyond reached the UK Top 10 with three going multi platinum and two gold.

We have painstakingly been through her catalogue and selected her more soulful sides from the 60s (loosely in chronological order) as part of Ike & Tina Turner as, let's be honest, for soul listeners her later material was more pop/rock.

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