Total Eclipse of the Heart
| "Total Eclipse of the Heart" | |||||||||||
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| Single by Bonnie Tyler | |||||||||||
| from the album Faster Than the Speed of Night | |||||||||||
| Released | 11 February 1983 (UK) / May 31, 1983 (US) | ||||||||||
| Format | 7", 12" | ||||||||||
| Recorded | 1982 | ||||||||||
| Genre | Pop rock | ||||||||||
| Length | 7:02 (Album version) 4:30 (Single version) 5:32 (Music video version) 3:49 (2005 re-recording for the album Wings) |
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| Label | Columbia | ||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Jim Steinman | ||||||||||
| Producer | Jim Steinman | ||||||||||
| Certification | Platinum (RIAA)[1] Gold (SNEP, BPI)[2] |
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| Bonnie Tyler singles chronology | |||||||||||
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"Total Eclipse of the Heart" is a Platinum-certified power ballad, written and produced by Jim Steinman, and recorded by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler for her studio album Faster Than the Speed of Night.
Released as a single in early 1983 in the UK and later that summer in the US, it was the first release from the album and became Tyler's biggest career hit, reaching number one in several countries including the United States, making her the first and only Welsh singer to reach the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100. With physical sales in excess of 9 million copies, Tyler's recording is one of the best-selling singles of all time.[1]
It was Billboard's #6 song of the year for 1983.[3]
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Background [edit]
The power ballad remains Tyler's most successful song, peaking at No. 1 in the United States, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. At its peak, it sold 60,000 copies per day, and approximately 6 million copies in total.[4] It won the Variety Club award in the UK for best single of 1983.[5] The song also made number 82 of VH1's top 100 love songs.
According to Meat Loaf, Steinman had given the song, along with "Making Love Out of Nothing at All", to Meat Loaf for his album Midnight at the Lost and Found; however, Meat Loaf's record company refused to pay for Steinman and he wrote separate songs himself. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" was then given to Bonnie Tyler and "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" to Air Supply.[6]
The song's melody originally appeared as part of the soundtrack for the 1980 film A Small Circle of Friends.
Music video [edit]
The music video for "Total Eclipse of the Heart" was directed by Russell Mulcahy. It was story-boarded by Jim Steinman and drew inspiration from the 1976 film Futureworld. The Gothic-themed video features Bonnie Tyler clad in white, apparently having an erotic dream or fantasy about her students in a boys' boarding school. Young men are seen dancing and participating in various school activities such as swim team, karate, gymnastics, football, fencing, soccer, and singing in a choir. The video was shot at Holloway Sanatorium, notable for its Gothic architecture and distinguished for the multi-arched grand entrance as seen at the end of the video.
Versions [edit]
The original version of the song on Faster Than the Speed of Night, was just over seven minutes in length. The shorter edited version was, and still is, most commonly played on radio. The radio version is four and a half minutes long, and removes the entire second and third verses and trims the extended fade-out ending. The version for the music video is roughly one minute longer than the radio version, and contains the second verse.
Personnel [edit]
- Bonnie Tyler – lead vocals
- Rick Derringer – guitar
- Steve Buslowe – bass guitar
- Roy Bittan – piano
- Larry Fast – synthesizers
- Steve Margoshes – additional synths
- Max Weinberg – drums
- Jimmy Maelen – percussion
- Holly Sherwood - lead backing vocals
- Rory Dodd – 'Turn around' and backing vocals
- Eric Troyer – backing vocals
Versions with Bonnie Tyler or Jim Steinman involvement [edit]
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This section needs additional citations for verification. (April 2012) |
- In December 2003, a re-recorded French/English duet version called "Si demain... (Turn Around)" was released. It was sung by Bonnie Tyler and Kareen Antonn and peaked at #1 in France, Belgium and Poland.
- Tori Amos has added the song to the popular repertoire of cover songs she performs in concert. A live version appears on the recording made at Boston's B of A Pavilion on August 21, 2005, part of Amos' "Original Bootlegs" collection.
- Westlife recorded a cover of the song on their 2006 album The Love Album. The song would have been released as the album's second single but was cancelled due to their Love Tour conflicts, though a promo release still reached #5 on the radio charts in the Philippines. Three official remixes have been made for their version as well as a remix done by Jim Steinman, which was ultimately rejected by the record label but has surfaced on the Internet.
- The song was rewritten in 1997 with lyrics by Michael Kunze as "Totale Finsternis" for the musical Tanz der Vampire.
- BabyPinkStar recorded the song with Bonnie Tyler in a punk/electronic remix version that was released in the UK in January 2007.[7]
- In preparation for the 2002 Broadway, New York show Dance of the Vampires, a demo of the song, with some modifications in the music and lyric, sung as a duet by Steve Barton and Elaine Caswell became available on the internet. Barton and Cornelia Zenz had sung the German-language song "Totale Finsternis" on the original cast album for Tanz der Vampire. For each cast that performed Tanz der Vampire and each cast recording, in any language, the actors cast as Krolock and Sarah sang "Totale Finsternis." A bootleg recording with Michael Crawford and Mandy Gonzalez from the original Broadway cast is also available.
- Bonnie Tyler released a new version of the song with Welsh choral group Only Men Aloud! backing her.[4]
- In 2010, Tyler appeared in a television advertisement for MasterCard called "Neville" singing a parody of "Total Eclipse of the Heart".[8] A similar advert came out in Australia in November 2012.[9]
Charts and certifications [edit]
Chart successions [edit]
Formats and track listings [edit]
Cover versions [edit]It has been covered several times, and rewritten with Michael Kunze for the musical Tanz der Vampire as "Totale Finsternis". The Fox TV show Glee recorded it for episode 17 of season 1, "Bad Reputation", and featured vocals from Lea Michele & Jonathan Groff. The NBC reality talent show The Voice recorded as a commercial for the fourth season and featured vocals by Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Usher and Shakira. Nicki French version [edit]
Nicki French released a dance cover of the song in 1993, which was also a worldwide hit. In the United States, French's version peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100[16] and garnered frequent airplay on CHR and AC radio. It also reached No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart after being re-issued in 1995.[17]
Other versions [edit]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
External links [edit]
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- Singles certified platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association
- Singles certified platinum by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique
- Singles certified gold by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry
- Singles certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry
- Singles certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
- 1980s ballads
- 1983 singles
- 1995 singles
- Bonnie Tyler songs
- Rock ballads
- Westlife songs
- Nek songs
- Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
- Billboard Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs) number-one singles
- Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
- Number-one singles in Australia
- Number-one singles in New Zealand
- Number-one singles in Norway
- RPM Top Singles number-one singles
- UK Singles Chart number-one singles
- Song recordings produced by Jim Steinman
- Songs written by Jim Steinman
- Music videos directed by Russell Mulcahy
- Dance-pop songs
- Pop ballads
- Singles certified platinum by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry
