Welsh rock-pop legend Bonnie Tyler has today unveiled her latest LP The Best Is Yet To Come. The new record – Tyler’s eighteenth studio album – had originally been set for release in March 2020, but was pushed back as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking to her fans on Instagram, Tyler wrote “Very excited to release my latest album today. Hope you enjoy hearing these songs as much as we enjoyed making them! 2020 was a hard year for the entire world. For me, personally not being able to perform and see all the wonderful fans has been hard, but compared to so many who have suffered loss of loved ones, my loss is nothing. I want to reach out to all of you who have battled through a year none of us could have imagined possible. I can’t wait to get back on stage with my band and team and look towards better times together. The BEST is YET TO COME.”
‘The Best Is Yet to Come’ is out now. Hope you enjoy hearing these songs as much as we enjoyed making them!
I want to reach out to all of you who have battled through a year none of us could have imagined possible.
The BEST is YET TO COME.
Bonnie https://t.co/nInZzIlbU1 pic.twitter.com/jmnZLZ4Nbg— Bonnie Tyler (@BonnieTOfficial) February 26, 2021
The album quite literally wears its 1980s influences on its sleeve, with the artwork hinting at an aesthetic that is more Miami Vice than West Glamorgan. For lead single When the Lights Go Down, released last December, Tyler told Ultimate Classic Rock that she had aimed to channel the sound of Bruce Springsteen and Rod Stewart to create a ‘timeless rock feel‘. It was also a case of ‘back to the future’ on follow-up single The Best Is Yet To Come, which Retro Pop described as a “slice of ’80s new wave perfection” replete with “pulsing synths and a harmony laden sing-a-long chorus that proves irresistible.”
To coincide with the album release, Tyler released the third single from the record today – Dreams Are Not Enough. The 80s feel is again in full flow, with echoes of the driving pop-rock vibe that once powered radio-friendly for Bon Jovi, Starship, Meatloaf, Belinda Carlisle and Pat Benatar.
Like so many vocalists from her homeland, Tyler (whose real name is Gaynor Hopkins) attained her musical education through a South Walian chapel upbringing. The Skewen product would later enter local talent contests and form her own soul band, Imagination. Her big break came in 1975, when she was spotted performing in a Swansea club by talent scout Roger Bell and invited to record a demo in London. A year later, Tyler released her breakthrough single, Lost In France, which reached number #9 in the UK.
In 1977 her distinctive Janis Joplin-esque tones went global with It’s A Heartache, a number one single in Australia, Canada, France and Scandinavia; and a top 5 hit in the UK and the USA. Even greater commercial success came in 1983 with the epic pop ballad Total Eclipse of the Heart, a transatlantic chart-topper that shifted over a million copies in the UK alone. Tyler would enjoy further 1980s top ten hits in Britain with A Rockin’ Good Way (to Mess Around and Fall in Love) – a collaboration with compatriot Shakin’ Stevens – and Holding Out For A Hero.
The singer remained prolific over the decades to follow, enjoying a surprise smash hit France in 2002 with Si demain… (Turn Around), a duet with Kareen Antonn that topped the French charts for some three months. She went on to represent the UK in the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden with Believe In Me; a song co-written by Desmond Child, who had previously conjured hits for the likes of Cher, Ricky Martin, Bon Jovi, Kiss and Aerosmith. Prior to her latest release this week, Tyler’s last studio album was 2019’s Between The Earth and the Stars.
