The death of Rock 'n' Roll Queen Tina Turner at 83

Tina Turner2

Tina Turner (Image via BBC)

By Nehru Odeh

Tina Turner, the legendary Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, died on Wednesday at the age of 83.

Turner, who was famous for hits such as “We Don’t Need Another Hero” and “What’s Love Got To Do With It, died at her home in Küsnach near Zurich, Switzerland, following a long, unspecified illness.

She had suffered ill health in recent years, being diagnosed with intestinal cancer in 2016 and having a kidney transplant in 2017.

In a statement on Wednesday night, her publicist Bernard Doherty said: “Tina Turner, the ‘Queen of Rock’n Roll’ has died peacefully today at the age of 83 after a long illness in her home in Kusnacht near Zurich, Switzerland. With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model.”

An accompanying statement on the singer’s social media page on Wednesday said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tina Turner.

“With her music and her boundless passion for life, she enchanted millions of fans around the world and inspired the stars of tomorrow.

“Today we say goodbye to a dear friend who leaves us all her greatest work: her music.

“All our heartfelt compassion goes out to her family. Tina, we will miss you dearly.”

Turner is survived by two of her four sons – two preceded her in death – and her husband, Erwin Bac who donated one of his kidneys to her in 2017 following years of chronic kidney failure and a cancer diagnosis.

A music legend, Turner said in an interview with the Guardian last month that she wanted to be remembered as ‘the Queen of Rock ‘N’ Roll’

Born Anna-Mae Bullock in 1939 in Brownsville, Tennessee, to Zelma and Floyd Bullock, Turner overcame a turbulent childhood and abusive marriage to become a musical sensation and legendary performer.

In her early 20s, she found fame with the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, a live act with her former husband.

Behind their veneer of success and marital bliss, she endured brutal abuse throughout the marriage. They divorced in 1978.

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Turner, determined to succeed on her own and with four sons to raise, stunned fans and the media by speaking publicly about the abuse.

‘I wanted to stop people from thinking that Ike & Tina was so positive, that we were such a great team,’ Turner explained in an eponymous documentary.

In 1969 – a year after trying to kill herself with 50 valium pills – she was awarded her first solo Grammy award for The Hunter.

It wasn’t until she split from Ike in the late 70s and overcame bleak career prospects in Las Vegas that she launched a remarkable comeback.

By the early 80s, she was a musical powerhouse in her own right, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the world’s most revered rock stars.

Electrifying performances with Mick Jagger and David Bowie set her success on fire and she was quickly celebrated with awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Throughout her career, Turner won eight Grammys from 25 nominations and three lifetime Grammy Awards. Her final stadium concert was in Sheffield, England, in 2009.

In recent years, she has been memorialized by Tina – The Tina Turner Musical – in London’s West End across the US.

By 1986, Turner had braved it as a solo artist. The risk paid off – she quickly amassed Grammys and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Turner’s final performance was in 2009 at the end of her 50th Anniversary Tour. She is shown during the multi-city tour in the UK.

In December last year, Turner’s son Ronnie died at the age of 62 from complications caused by colon cancer.

Turner posted a tribute to her son, Ronnie, after it was revealed he died outside his Los Angeles home at the age of 62.

In 2020, Turner told the Guardian that despite having some serious health problems, the last 10 years of her life had embodied her ideal vision of happiness.

“True and lasting happiness comes from having an unshakeable, hopeful spirit that can shine, no matter what,” she said. “That’s what I’ve achieved, and it is my greatest wish to help others become truly happy as well.”

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