I was there as Wales bade goodbye to Bonnie Tyler

Gwyneth ReesSat, August 15, 2026 at 5:53 PM UTC

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Locals gather en masse as Bonnie Tyler’s cortège makes its journey through Mumbles village, near Swansea - Jay Williams

She was a global star, beloved for her powerhouse anthems and iconic Eighties style.

But as thousands gathered in Mumbles village on Wales’ Gower coast to pay their respects to Bonnie Tyler’s cortège under a bright blue sky, it was clear this was a very local affair.

“She was just a local Welsh girl,” said Sue Cook, a retired dressmaker, who was waiting on the seafront for her moment to say goodbye.

“She never forgot her roots and was just one of us. We had to come out to give her the send-off she deserves.”

Since news of Tyler’s unexpected death at the age of 75 broke in July, this close-knit community, where Tyler lived since 1988 in a large beachfront property, has not missed its chance to celebrate her life.

When the solar eclipse hit last week, her iconic song Total Eclipse of the Heart was blasted out over the sea, while nationwide streams spiked. Gifts, too, have been left at her home, which she shared with her husband, Robert Sullivan, known locally as Bobby.

But this – her cortège passing through Mumbles, down the high street of Newton Road, past its many independent shops, to the seafront – was a chance for the community to gather en masse. And so they did.

Families and friends gathered to remember the singer under a bright blue sky - Zoe Head-Thomas/PA Wire

At 2pm, families and friends, many brightly dressed and in fine spirits, began gathering in cafes and bars, and taking their place on the pavements along which her hearse would pass.

As police cordoned off the road and numbers began to swell in the blazing heat, some elderly, or with dogs and young children, took refuge in the shade of shop fronts while others braved it out on the concrete under large sun hats and shades.

And at just past 3pm, as the local sea hit low tide, a director from the local Pressdee funeral firm, dressed elegantly in black hat and tailcoat, stepped out onto the road, followed by the hearse bearing Tyler’s coffin.

Simple and poignant, it was draped in a large Welsh flag, and adorned with a bouquet of white roses and lilies. An iconic black-and-white shot of Tyler from her Eighties heyday was propped up alongside it.

As the cortège began its slow journey, the chattering among the crowd stopped. Some respectfully bowed their heads, others clapped. A few cried out: “We love you Bonnie.”

At one pre-arranged moment, a close friend of Tyler’s – Margaret Thrush, 84 – approached the vehicle, laying flowers on its bonnet and giving the glass a large hug.

“Bonnie was amazing,” an emotional Thrush, who has raised more than £4 million over her lifetime for charity, told me later. “She gave me so much money to give to the MacMillan cancer nurses.

A black-and-white photograph of Tyler from her Eighties heyday was propped up alongside her coffin - Jay Williams

“She has to be remembered. She was just incredible. She should have been a dame.”

There were more emotions to come, some from significantly further afield.

Ludo Janssens, 65, on hearing of the event, had driven over from Belgium to pay his respects.

Standing in the three-deep crowd, with a daffodil brooch pinned to his shirt and draped in a large Welsh flag, he choked up as he revealed his reasons for making the nearly five-hundred-mile journey by car and ferry.

“Growing up, I loved Bonnie’s music. I was always watching Top of the Pops and I remember all her songs,” he said.

“It was the most amazing moment when she did the duet with Shakin’ Stevens [A Rockin’ Good Way].

“I once saw her in Belgium when she was performing but I froze and couldn’t talk to her. Her music fills my soul, and I just wanted to come to say goodbye to her. She is worth it.”

Ludo Janssens, 65, travelled nearly 500 miles from Belgium to pay his respects - Jay Williams

The Belgian traveller was an outlier though. For by far, the majority of the well-wishers were locals, and many with a tale to tell.

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“She wasn’t Bonnie to us,” said Chris Francis, owner of Cash Hardware Stores, who stood outside his store alongside staff as the cortège passed.

“Her real name was Gaynor Hopkins and we just knew her as Gaynor from up the road.

“She came in quite a lot when she wasn’t on tour or living in Portugal and was just like a normal customer going about their business.

“We’d deliver to her house if needed. She was just a nice person.”

“You heard her before you saw her,” said another. “But not in a bad way, just because she was fun and had quite a loud voice because she was a singer.”

“I used to go to the disco with her in the 1970s,” said a man who gave his name as William, his shirt buttons undone in the heat.

“I once asked her for her autograph but because I didn’t have paper, she signed her name on my white t-shirt I was wearing.”

‘She never forgot her roots and was just one of us,’ said Sue Cook (right), pictured with her daughter Sarah Matthews - Jay Williams

For Cathy Cody, 76, a former hotel worker who had travelled 30 minutes over from Pontarddulais in the valleys to join the masses, there was a family connection.

“I am close to one of Bonnie’s sisters who lives in my village so I had to come by,” she said.

“She was an iconic person and so generous. I once asked her for a donation to Romanian orphanages and she just gave me a hundred quid.”

Heidi Walton, a silversmith and owner of Fire and Soul jewellery on Newton Road, agreed.

“We would occasionally see her in a pub, and everyone was fond of her,” she said before shutting up her shop to pay her respects.

“I often heard of her doing nice things, like helping old people carry their shopping.

“It’s very sad. Still, that’s life.”

Local silversmith Heidi Walton said: ‘I often heard of her [Tyler] doing nice things, like helping old people carry their shopping’ - Jay Williams

She stood and watched as the cortège peeled around the bottom corner of Newton Road, and drove off out of sight, leaving the crowds to slowly mingle away, keen to get out of the heat.

But it is not quite the end of Tyler’s journey.

On Monday, a celebration of her life for family and friends will take place at Swansea Minster, before her body will be driven home to Skewen, Neath, where she grew up, for a private family committal and farewell service.

For these Mumbles locals though, those who bumped into her in the shops, or knew her and Bobby socially, this event will be what they remember.

“I have so many memories of Bonnie’s music,” said Sarah Matthews, who works at the Royal Mint, and who waited on the seafront to say goodbye.

“When I was a teenager in the 1980s, we would all go to the disco and have a smooch to Total Eclipse.”

With a wave of her hand, she indicated the stunning view – the flat sand, blue sea and cawing gulls.

“Bonnie was so glamorous, especially for someone from Wales. But while she may have toured all over the world, this was her home. She loved the Mumbles and the people here. She would have loved this.”

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