Tina Turner: A life in pictures
Tina Turner, who has died at the age of 83, was widely referred to as the Queen of Rock’n’Roll.
She rose to fame as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before her career as a solo performer took off in the 1980s.
She is best known for hits including The Best, Private Dancer, What’s Love Got to Do With It, Typical Male and Let’s Stay Together.
Tina met Ike Turner at a performance by his band, the Kings of Rhythm, in 1956, and she soon became part of the act (pictured above in 1961).
In 1960, the pair’s A Fool in Love entered the pop charts, and a string of hit singles soon followed. They included It’s Gonna Work Out Fine, River Deep, Mountain High, and Proud Mary.
Turner was married to Ike Turner for 16 years but they divorced in 1978. In her 1986 autobiography I, Tina: My Life Story, the star told of the abuse she had suffered at the hands of her first husband throughout their marriage.
She released her debut solo album, Private Dancer, in 1984. It sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and won three Grammy Awards.
What’s Love Got To Do With It picked up record of the year, and best female performance. Better Be Good To Me won best female rock vocal performance.
She celebrated her 1985 Grammys haul alongside fellow 80s star, Lionel Richie.
During her career, Turner won a total of eight Grammy awards, including the lifetime achievement award in 2018.
Turner collaborated with the Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger many times over the years, supporting the band on tour and performing with him at festivals. She said she “always had a crush on Mick Jagger”.
She also had a close friendship with David Bowie, who invited her to sing a duet on the title track of his album Tonight. In return, she invited Bowie to perform as a special guest on her Private Dancer tour.
Turner’s career spanned five decades. After a farewell tour in 2000, she went back on the road in 2009 aged 69 to celebrate her 50th anniversary in music.
Turner married her long-term partner Erwin Bach in Switzerland in 2013. She suffered a stroke in the early days of their marriage and he later saved her life by donating one of his kidneys to her.
Her life has also been portrayed in West End and Broadway musical, Tina – The Tina Turner Musical. It tells Turner’s life story, focusing on how the singer dared to defy the constraints of age, gender and race during her long career.
Turner said of the musical: “It’s really important to me to have the chance to share my full story. This musical is not about my stardom. It is about the journey I took to get there. Each night I want audiences to take away from the theatre that you can turn poison into medicine.”
About retirement, Turner said: “No-one knew how tired I was of singing and dancing. This is it. I’m going home now.”
