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Information About

Total Eclipse Of The Heart




  Cover Total Eclipse of the Heart - single coverjpg
  Artist Bonnie Tyler
  From Album Faster Than The Speed Of Night
  Written 1978
  Released 1983
  Format 7"
  "Recorded" class="copylinks" target="_blank">=
  Genre Power Ballad , Wagnerian Rock
  "Length" class="copylinks" target="_blank">= 7:02
  Writer Jim Steinman
  Producer Jim Steinman
  "Certification" class="copylinks" target="_blank">=
  Chart Position <li>#1 <small>( UK , US , France , Ireland , South Africa , Australia , Canada , Brazil , Norway , Mexico , Philippines , New Zealand , Japan , Venezuela , Argentina , Spain , Portugal & Belgium )</small></li>
  Last Single ''Goodbye to the Islands'' (1981)
  This Single ''Total Eclipse of the Heart'' (1983)
  Next Single '' Faster Than The Speed Of Night '' (1984)
  Upper Caption Audio sample
  Audio File Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tylerogg




"Total Eclipse of the Heart" is a Power Ballad written, edited, composed, and produced by Jim Steinman . It was originally performed by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler in 1983. It has been covered several times, and rewritten (with Michael Kunze ) for the musical '' Tanz Der Vampire '' as "Totale Finsternis".


CHARTS

It is probably Steinman's most successful commercial composition to date and Bonnie Tyler's most successful song, going to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and number one in Canada , Australia and the UK Singles Chart . At its peak, it sold 60,000 copies per day, and approximately 5-6 Million copies in total, and was number one throughout (almost) the entire world charts according to Bonnie Tyler's Greatest Hits manual.

Tyler's career reached new heights with this release and put her in the history books as the only Welsh artist to hit the number-one slot in the U.S '' Billboard Magazine '' charts.

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's record company refused to pay for Steinman and he wrote the songs himself. Steinman's songs were then given to Bonnie Tyler and Air Supply .1


Chart positions of cover versions


''See infobox (right) for the positions of the original)



Spain #1,
Brazil #1,
Hong Kong #1,
Canada #1,
Israel #1,
Japan #1,
United States #2,
United Kingdom #5,
The Netherlands #10,
Ireland #15,
Germany #65.


  • 2003 , Jan Wayne.

  • UK #28.

  • 2003 , Bonnie Tyler/Kareen Antonn (French/English version).

  • France #25

  • 2004 , Bonnie Tyler/Kareen Antonn (French/English version).

  • France #1, Belgium #1, Poland #1, Swiss #7, Russia #155, Eurocharts #3, World Singles Charts #9.

  • 2006 , Nikki French/Diva DJs

  • UK #168



LENGTH

The song appears on Tyler's 1983 version is about one minute longer than the radio version. The video mix of the song was released on the ''Billboard magazine'' compilation album for 1983 .


MUSIC VIDEO

The video was directed by Russell Mulcahy . The video opens in a room decorated to resemble the set of a stereotypical 1980s Soap Opera , with rows of burning candles and dramatic white lighting. Bonnie Tyler herself is dressed like a stereotypical Soap Opera actress. For the first several moments of the video Tyler stares out a window into the night; the image of a teenage boy with glowing white orbs in place of his eyes entering her bedroom prompts her to run into the hall. As Tyler progresses through the building, her surroundings become increasingly surreal:

  • A group of teenage school boys in prep school uniforms, seated at their desks with their ties slightly loosened, as a breeze causes their white dress shirts to billow open and reveal their bare chests.


  • A little boy on a throne with bird's wings opens his hands to release a dove, which flies towards Tyler


  • Tyler passes by a room filled with nude teenage boys, who are then replaced by members of a high school swim team, who are themselves then splashed with water from offscreen


  • A trio of Ninjas dance onscreen, wielding samurai swords, and mock-battle one another


  • Tyler finds five teenage boys in tuxedos sitting at a banquet table in the middle of a ballroom; they all raise their glasses in toast


  • The camera abruptly cuts to a shot of two men fencing



  • Football players form two Lines Of Scrimmage while a man in leotards bounces up and down in the background


  • Numerous teenage boys wearing Ray-Ban Wayfarers , dressed like Greasers , dance up a flight of glowing stairs in imitation of '' West Side Story '', all of them reaching towards Tyler, who is standing above them on a balcony


  • A quartet of football players dive onscreen, dance, and then abruptly dive back offscreen


When the instrumental portion begins halfway through the song, the focus of the video switches from Tyler to a series of shots of the building's hallways, as doors burst open to reveal white light flooding out and red, filmy curtains blowing in the wind. These shots are intercut with a variety of other images including:

  • A shirtless, muscular boy does a cartwheel across the screen in slow-motion


  • A different muscular boy, dripping wet, drags his hair back while staring at the camera


  • The boys in tuxedos begin throwing food at one another and otherwise trashing their table and one another


  • A fencer, played by Andrew Clay, slowly pulls off his mask, stopping when it reaches his nose


  • The boys in tuxedos continue trashing their table


  • A fencer slowly pulls off his mask to allow a rush of water to cascade down his face


When the instrumental segment ends, Bonnie Tyler is shown entering a fog-filled room; dozens of Choir Boy s with glowing white eyes rise up from the floor like Zombies and begin singing in unison while beckoning to Tyler. After a few lines, one of them levitates and flies towards Tyler. When he lands in front of her, the image abruptly cuts to a child in a business suit staring at the camera, followed by a shot of numerous boys dressed as Tarzan running up a flight of stairs to meet and dance around Bonnie Tyler. The remainder of the video comprises montages of the boys dressed like Tarzan (who are later joined by a few teenage boys in S&M gear) gyrating around Tyler, intercut with shots of the glowing-eyed choir boys levitating and spinning around Tyler, and close-up shots of boys in neckties and dress shirts singing. At the conclusion of the song, an angel—a teenage boy in briefs with giant wings growing out of his back—wraps his arms around a crying Tyler.

The video ultimately concludes in a largely non-surrealist scene on the steps of a Private School , in a denouement indicating that Tyler's character is one of the teachers. As Tyler and her husband inspect the graduating class, Tyler and several boys exchange glances; the last boy she approaches takes her hand and refuses to let go, and sings the song's final line ("Turn around, bright eyes"), revealing that his eyes have been replaced with glowing white orbs. Tyler remains in place while the boys make their way past her into the school. She eventually follows them into the school

The meaning behind the video is that Tyler's character is fantasizing about her students, which is the reason for the numerous Beefcake images. It so happens that last night's fantasies were, in fact real. Pop-Up Video


MUSICIANS



RECEPTION

In November 2002, it was voted the #72 in "The Greatest Number Ones Of All Time" in UK. Also in the UK, the video was voted #94 in "Greatest Music Video Of All Time" poll held by aired a 4 episode series in 2006 titled Top 50 Guilty Pleasures and listed it at #9.


COVER VERSIONS



Versions with Bonnie Tyler or Jim Steinman involvement


  • In December of 2003, a re-recorded (French/English) duet version called "Si Demain (Turn Around)" was released. It was sung by Bonnie Tyler and Kareen Antonn , and went to number one in France , Belgium and Poland , selling two millions copies all over world. {Link without Title}

  • In October 2004, Australian Tenor Peter Brocklehurst recorded this as a duet with Bonnie Tyler on his album ''For You''. {Link without Title}

  • In 2005, Bonnie Tyler recorded an edited version for the album '' Wings '', the album charted at No. 133 in French top 200 album charts.

  • September 2006 , Lucy Lawless duet with Bonnie Tyler TEOTH in '' Celebrity Duets ''.

  • Westlife has recorded the song for their new album, '' The Love Album ''. (A version remixed by Jim Steinman , but ultimately rejected by the record label, has surfaced on the Internet.)

  • The song has also been rewritten for the musical '' Tanz Der Vampire .''

  • BabyPinkStar has together with Bonnie Tyler recorded the song in a new punk/electronic-remixversion that was released in the UK in January 2007.

  • March, 2007 , Bonnie Tyler ''From The Heart'' greatest hits, incl. "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "Si Demain (Turn Around)", charted at #2 in Ireland, #31 in UK and #74 European top 100 album charts.



Versions by Nicki French


Nicki French released a dance remake of the song in 1994, which was also a worldwide hit. In the U.S., French's version was a number two Hot 100 hit and garnered frequent airplay on CHR and AC radio.

In June 2006 Nicki French released an updated version of the track along with the Diva DJs, the track not charted in the UK top 75, but is due for release in USA, Germany and Austria.


Talent TV show versions


The song has been performed numerous times on television talent contest shows.

''.

The Conway Sisters performed a rendition of this song on the UK show '' The X Factor ''. Nathalie Schmeikal performed the song in '' Idol 2004 ''. She later recorded the song for the compilation CD '' Det Bästa Från Idol 2004 ''.


Other versions


  • The song is a longstanding staple for cult-favorite ''.

  • Experimental Norwegian rockers Hurra Torpedo did a cover version of the song on the Norwegian television programme '' Lille Lørdag ("Little Saturday") '' in 1995 . A video of this performance, featuring kitchen appliances as percussion, became an Internet Meme in 2005 . Since the video the band has found a strong following in the United States .

  • At the end of 2001 it was a European dance hit by Jan Wayne .

  • There is a popular Anti - Drug Skit based on this song, called the "Turnaround Skit." Description of the Turnaround Skit ; Photos of the Turnaround Skit

  • On 21 August 2005 , Tori Amos covered the song during a live performance in Boston . It is featured on the album ''Official Bootlegs, Volume 6: B of A Pavilion, Boston, MA'', CD 1, Track 8.

  • The song was released in Icelandic in 2005, entitled "Mundu mig" ("Remember Me") by Icelandic Idol star Heiða .

  • On The Beta Band 's self titled album in 1999, they offer a unique adaptation of the song during "The Hard One." The chorus is changed to "Once upon a time I was falling apart, now I'm always falling in love."

  • An infamous profanity-laced version by The Dan Band . Two versions of this song are included on the album The Dan Band Live - a studio version and a live version. The Dan Band shot to fame by performing their version of this song in the film '' Old School ''.

  • Jason Anderson covers this song as of 2006.

  • Lissette performed a cover of this song in 1985 in Spanish called "Eclipse Total del Amor".

  • In the " Tundra " episode in the first series of '' The Mighty Boosh '' Dixon Bainbridge ( Matt Berry ) and Bob Fossil ( Rich Fulcher ) perform an over the top, and (somewhat in keeping with the nature of the series) surreal version.

  • In the episode " Amazon Women In The Mood " of the animated television show '' Futurama '', the alien Kif Kroker performs a karaoke version of the song, singing it to Amy before Zapp takes over to sing " Lola " by The Kinks .

  • Guster covered the song on their Satellite EP .

  • In the film '' Thunderstruck '' the four protagonists have a tense moment, upon which one asks if anyone still want to turn around and another begins to sing quietly. The others join in and sing the song in alternating bass and falsetto voices.

  • In 2005 this song was covered by the duet Zap Kan (Zapór & Kanti) from Poland .

  • Amateur Transplants used the melody for their Anaesthetists Hymn



AWARDS

RIAA - USA.

Bonnie Tyler
  • Gold 10/03/1983

  • Platinum 09/18/2001


Nicki French
  • Gold 06/14/1995


British Phonographic Industry BPI - UK.

Bonnie Tyler
  • Silver 03/01/1983

  • Gold 03/01/1983


Nicki French
  • Silver 1995


SNEP {Link without Title}
Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique - France.

Bonnie Tyler
  • Silver 1983

  • Gold 1983


Bonnie Tyler & Kareen Antonn (french version).

Si Demain (turn around)
  • Silver 05/04/2004

  • Gold 05/04/2004

  • Platinum 05/04/2004



  Before " Billie Jean " by Michael Jackson
  Title UK Number One Single
  Years March 8 1983
  After " Is There Something I Should Know " by Duran Duran


  Before " Tell Her About It " by Billy Joel
  Title Billboard Hot 100 Number One Single
  Years October 1 1983 - October 22 1983
  After " Islands In The Stream " by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton



REFERENCES




EXTERNAL LINKS