Bonnie TylerTotal Eclipse of The Heart
Bonnie Tyler (0000)
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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 | 5 March 1983 | ||||||||||
| Format | 7", 12" | ||||||||||
| Recorded | 1982 | ||||||||||
| Genre | 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, Bonnie Tyler | ||||||||||
| 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 song written and produced by Jim Steinman and recorded by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler in 1983 for her fifth studio album Faster Than the Speed of Night. The song was the first single release from the album and is Tyler's biggest hit.
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[edit] Background
The power ballad remains Tyler's most successful song, peaking at No. 1 in the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. At its peak, it sold 60,000 copies per day, and approximately 6 million copies in total.[3] It won the Variety Club award in the UK for best single of 1983.[4]
According to Meat Loaf, Steinman had given the song, along with "Making Love (Out of Nothing At All)", to Meat Loaf for his Midnight at the Lost and Found album. 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.[5]
[edit] Music video
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 a 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, fencing, football, and singing in a choir. Amongst these were future Chelsea football player Gianfranco Zola, who featured prominently in the closing scenes. 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.
[edit] Length
The original version of the song, on Faster Than the Speed of Night, was just over seven minutes in length. Thus, an edited version was and still is most commonly played on radio. The radio version is four and a half minutes, and removes the entire third verse and trims the extended fade-out ending. The music video version is roughly one minute longer than the radio version.
[edit] Reception
In November 2002, it was voted No. 72 in "The Greatest Number Ones Of All Time" in UK. It was also voted No. 94 in the "Greatest Music Videos of All Time" poll held by Channel 4. In October, 2006, VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 80s" special included "Total Eclipse of the Heart" at No. 56. MuchMoreMusic aired a four-episode series in 2006 titled Top 50 Guilty Pleasures, and listed the song at No. 9.[citation needed]
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