Tina Turner

b. Annie Mae Bullock, 26 November 1938, Brownsville, Tennessee, USA. A singer while in her early teens, this enduring artist was a regular performer in St. Louis’ nightclubs when she was discovered by guitarist Ike Turner in 1956. She joined his group as a backing singer, but quickly became the co-star and featured vocalist, a relationship sealed two years later with their marriage. Ike & Tina Turner were a highly successful act on the R&B circuit, before expanding their audience through a controversial liaison with producer Phil Spector. They emerged as a leading pop/soul act during the late '60s/early '70s with tours in support of the Rolling Stones and hits with Proud Mary (1971) and Nutbush City Limits (1973). However the relationship between husband and wife grew increasingly strained as Ike's behaviour became irrational. Tina walked out of their professional and personal relationship during a 1975 tour, incurring the wrath of concert promoters who remained unsympathetic when the singer attempted a solo act. During this time the singer appeared in Ken Russell's film of the Who's rock-opera, TOMMY, offering an outrageous portrayal of the Acid Queen; however, this acclaimed cameo failed to launch successfully Turner's solo career. Tina's career was rejuvenated in 1983 when British group Heaven 17 invited her to participate in an off-shoot project dubbed BEF. She contributed a suitably raucous version of the Temptations Ball Of Confusion which in turn engendered a recording deal with Capitol. Turner's reading of Al Green's Let's Stay Together reached the UK Top 10, while an attendant album, PRIVATE DANCER, hurriedly completed in its wake, spawned another major hit in What's Love Got To Do With It. This melodramatic ballad topped the US chart, reached number 3 in Britain and won two Grammys as Record Of The Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female. The title track, written by Mark Knopfler, was also a transatlantic hit. In 1984 Tina accepted a role in the film Mad Max Beyond The Thunderdome, the theme from which, We Don't Need Another Hero, was another international hit. The following year she duetted with Mick Jagger at the Live Aid concert and contributed to the US charity single, We Are The World. Turner has since enhanced her popularity worldwide through a series of punishing tours, yet her energy has remained undiminished. Although commentators have criticised her one-dimensional approach, she enjoys massive popularity. She is truly happy with her present life and talks articulately about her difficult past. The voluptuous image is kept for the stage, while a quieter Tina offstage enjoys the fruits of her considerable success. Her 1985 autobiography was filmed in 1993 as What's Love Got To Do With It?, which also gave its title to a best-selling album and an extensive worldwide tour.