Bonnie Tyler recently joined an interview with the Telegraph and recalled when she got on Meat Loaf’s nerves while discussing her 1983 hit, ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart.’
The song was originally written by Jim Steinman, known for Loaf’s ‘Bat Out of Hell’ album. After switching record labels, Tyler recorded the song quickly in New York. Still, Loaf wasn’t happy that the track went to Bonnie. Tyler recalled meeting the late singer and his reaction with the following words:
“Of course, I met Meat Loaf – and he was really pissed off with Jim giving me that song! He said: ‘That song was meant for me!’ I said: ‘Tough sh*t, I’ve got it.'”
Before his passing in January 2022, Loaf had asserted that Steinman originally penned ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ for his album, ‘Midnight At The Lost and Found.’ However, Steinman refuted this claim and stated in a 2006 interview:
“I didn’t write [‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’] for anyone but Bonnie.”
In a different interview, Steinman disclosed that he initially crafted the song as a ‘vampire love song’ and originally titled it ‘Vampires In Love.’ His initial version of the composition exceeded seven minutes in length, but Tyler thought it wouldn’t be suitable for radio, so it was shortened to four and a half minutes.
‘Total Eclipse Of The Heart’ reached number one in various countries, including Ireland and the United States, where it stayed at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks and ranked as the sixth-best song of 1983.
Bonnie’s hit marked the first time a song by a Welsh artist reached number one on the US charts. Neither Tom Jones nor Shirley Bassey had achieved this feat; even Bassey’s ‘Goldfinger’ peaked at Number 8.
You can listen to the song below.
