Tina Turner, Queen of Rock and Roll, dies aged 83 after a long illness

Tina Turner, the undisputed Queen of Rock and Roll, has died aged 83.

It’s been confirmed that Tina, who had largely retired from public life and recording in her final years, passed away in Switzerland, where she spent the latter part of her life. 

Born Anna Mae Bullock, Tina rose to fame in the 1960s as part of the duo Ike & Tina with her husband Ike Turner, the couple's biggest UK hit was soul-funk classic River Deep, Mountain High, which peaked at Number 3 in 1966.

Leaving Ike at the height of the duo's fame due to his abuse, Tina would lay low for most of the 70s, but came back in extravagant style in the 80s, pulling off one of pop's all-time comebacks and re-branding herself as a rock superstar with a series of lacquered, slinky synth-rock records like 1984's Private Dancer (UK Number 2 peak) and 1986's Break Every Rule (UK Number 2 peak). 

Tina's output at this time in her career - when most people would have written her off - is legendary, and includes all-time classics like What's Love Got To Do With It (Number 3 UK peak, but her first US Number 1 hit) and perhaps her most enduring classic, The Best, a resilient banger composed of hair-raising synths and the licks of an electric guitar, the best distillation of Tina's mid-career heel turn. 

See where all of Tina Turner's singles and albums charted in the UK here.

Retiring in 2000, Tina retreated to Switzerland (where she became a naturalised citizen) but did come out of retirement several times; she guested on Kygo's 2020 re-work of her own single What's Love Got To Do With It? which helped her become the first artist to achieve top 40 hits in seven consecutive decades on the UK Official Chart.

In 2021, she was inducted as a member of the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame as a solo artist (she was already inducted as part of the Ike and Tina Turner Revue) and was also the subject of a documentary film, Tina, which screened on Sky in the UK.

The eponymous musical based on her life is still a West End and touring hit around the country, and in 2021, Tina sold her back catalogue of hits to BMG in a landmark deal.

You can re-visit Tina Turner's Top 20 most-streamed songs in the UK here.

Article Image:  Pat Johnson/Shutterstock