Thousands of Bonnie Tyler fans are set to gather in Swansea on Monday ahead of a church service held as part of the legendary singer's celebration of life. It comes after huge crowds of emotional fans lined the streets in the coastal suburb of Mumbles on Saturday as her coffin - draped in a Welsh flag - was driven through the place she called home. As the procession began, Total Eclipse of the Heart could be heard playing on the busy street, as crying fans broke into applause.
The singer died "unexpectedly" on 8 July, aged 75, at a hospital in Portugal. Despite Tyler's career taking her all over the world, she has been described by those living in Mumbles as a "Swansea girl through and through", and someone who "never forgot where she came from". Monday's service for family and invited guests will be held at St Mary's church, Swansea, and will be live-streamed on the star's official website, with fans also able to watch it on screens outside.
The cortege will then travel to Skewen, Neath Port Talbot, where Tyler was born and grew up, arriving in the village for a private family service. There will be a heavy emphasis on Tyler's Welsh identity, with an organist playing music from Welsh legends before the service starts - with songs from Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey and Tyler herself. Choir Only Men Aloud will sing her huge hit Total Eclipse of the Heart and Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water, while the congregation will sing hymn Calon Lan.
The exit music will be a song that was close to Tyler's heart - Mary Hopkin's 1969 hit Those Were The Days. She performed it at a local talent contest in Skewen when she was young. As the two singers were from the same area, Tyler, whose real name was Gaynor Hopkins, would later change her name to avoid confusion with Hopkin.
Saturday's event saw thousands of people line the street as Tyler's hearse made its way down Newton Road in Mumbles, a seaside suburb of Swansea. "She was lovely - just like a friend you'd known all of your life," said Angela Powell who had been among the first to arrive outside the singer's home. "My mam used to cut Gaynor's husband Bobbie's hair, and so he would let her into the nightclubs [which he managed] in the town without having to queue." Sabine Neumann and her son Enrico arrived from Berlin, Germany, on Friday to attend the tribute and Monday's service.
Enrico said he had grown up listening to Tyler's music as a child because his mother had been a fan. "It's so special to be here with my mother," he said. "She's been very emotional about sharing this opportunity with me." The mother and son had tickets to see Bonnie Tyler perform live in November this year in Berlin.
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