Tribute: Queen of Rock n’ Roll Tina Turner Passes Away, Aged 83

Superstar singer and performer Tina Turner has passed away, aged 83.

Tina Turner passed away in her home near Zurich in Switzerland, where she had been a citizen since 2013.

Hailed as the Queen of Rock n’ Roll, Tina was one of the top recording artists of all time and responsible for a cavalcade of hit songs since the 1960s, including ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’, ‘The Best’ and ‘Proud Mary’.

Singer, songwriter, dancer, actress and author, Tina Turner proved herself a versatile, prolific and enduring talent. An iconic pioneer and trailblazer, she was also the first Black artist and woman to be featured on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine, appearing on the 23 November issue of 1967.

Tributes for Tina have been rolling in since the news broke. Sir Mick Jagger posted on Instagram:

“I’m so saddened by the passing of my wonderful friend Tina Turner. She was truly an enormously talented performer and singer.”

Rick Astley, also via Twitter:

“What a woman, what a life, what a voice! One of the GREATS!”

Tina was born Anna Mae Bullock in 1939 in Brownsville, Tennessee. She grew up in a nearby farming community called Nutbush, which would become the namesake for one of her most memorable songs. As a young girl she sang in the choir of the local Baptist church.

In her teens, she and her sister began frequenting nightclubs in St Louis where she first met Ike Turner performing with his band Kings Of Rhythm. Their tumultuous and abusive personal/professional relationship as The Ike & Tina Turner Revue would come to define much of her early career until they split in 1976.

Their divorce was finalized in 1978, leaving Tina to rebuild her image as a solo artist in the face of mounting debt. The late ‘70s and early ‘80s saw Tina headline a series of cabaret shows, embark on her first Australian tour and release several albums, fostering an incredible comeback as an artist in her own right.

Australia has a profound love for Tina Turner, happily adopting her as one of our own. She worked with renowned Australian manager Roger Davies; in 1985 she appeared alongside Mel Gibson in the post-apocalyptic film ‘Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome’; and in 1992 she re-recorded ‘The Best’ as a duet with Jimmy Barnes. The song was used to promote the NRL and remains synonymous with the sport over 30 years later.

MADCAP Managing Director Stephen Morris helped promote Tina’s 1996 album ‘Wildest Dreams’, which features collaborations with The Pet Shop Boys, Sting and Bono as well as the title theme to the James Bond film ‘Goldeneye’.

“She was a beautiful woman a real pioneering firebrand and inspiration to women all around the world and not just for her music but also for her stance on violence against women,” Stephen says.

“Her music will live on forever; she will be deeply missed. Our sincere thoughts go out to Tina’s family and friends.”

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