Bonnie Tyler, the gravel-voiced star who sang her way into music history

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, The Welsh star died aged 75 after undergoing emergency intestinal surgery in Portugal earlier this year By James McCarthy BBC Wales Published 39 minutes ago Bonnie Tyler is known to millions as the gravel-voiced singer behind '80s hit Total Eclipse of the Heart. The star, who died aged 75 was born Gaynor Hopkins in a Neath council house where she grew up with a love for music before being discovered by talent scout Roger Bell in a Swansea club. In May she was placed into an induced coma after having emergency intestinal surgery in Portugal, and last month, her spokesperson said she was out of the coma but remained "very unwell and in intensive care". After finding fame she was dubbed the " the female Rod Stewart " for her husky vocals, and went on to have a career that spanned 50 years. But it all started from a young age where she would carry records in carrier bags to her aunt's house to play with her cousins. Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Bonnie had "no big ideas" about recording until she was spotted by a talent scout Young Gaynor loved rock music and wanted to be in a band. After seven years of gigging at rugby and working men's clubs, the chance to record finally came up. She said she had "no big ideas" about making records until Roger Bell came knocking. "He knew that Ronnie Scott and Steve Wolf were looking for a girl to record their songs so he told them about me," she said. "I went to London and one of the first demos I recorded was Lost in France and then I was on Top Of The Pops." Lost in France, released in 1977, was her first single. But her love of rock never left her and she wanted to do "raunchier stuff". Bonnie went on to sign with RCA, which had Elvis Presley on its books. At the time she was working under the name Sherene Davies but the label suggested she change Sherene as it " sounded like a belly dancer ". Singer Bonnie Tyler dies aged 75: Follow live Total Eclipse of the Heart singer Bonnie Tyler dies aged 75 Published 40 minutes ago Bonnie said: "I got a broadsheet newspaper and I made an effort to write all the first names I came across on one list and all the surnames on another and I went through them both and came up with Bonnie Tyler. And it's been a brilliant name." She released Total Eclipse of the Heart five years after Lost in France. It changed her life. "The first time I heard it was when [songwriter] Jim Steinman just played it on the piano in New York," she said. "He sang the song all the way through and I was like, 'Oh my god, this song is amazing. I can't believe Jim is giving it to me'. "When I recorded the song, I thought no-one is going to end up playing this because it's so long. "The original version is eight minutes long." But a four-minute radio version took the world by storm, with the ballad spending two weeks as UK number one, and four weeks in the US. Bonnie went on to have a string of other hits, including Holding out for a Hero, It's A Heart