Tina Turner Read online

  The cover photos of Tina on the Break Every Rule album package marked the beginning of her long association with celebrity photographer Herb Ritts. Clad in a low-cut black dress with a slit up to her upper thigh, and a black leather jacket, Tina gave her trademark “rough” attitude on the cover shot. She was in her creative prime, and she looked every inch the superstar that she was. Fans around the world bought millions of copies of Break Every Rule. It hit No. 4 in Billboard magazine in the United States and No. 2 in the United Kingdom. Claimed Rolling Stone magazine, “She has never sung better” (34). She was every bit the “overnight sensation” that she sang of on this winning album.

  In October 1986, the single “Typical Male” logged in the No. 2 slot on the U.S. Pop chart, just behind Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors.” The song “Two People” hit No. 43 in the United Kingdom, and No. 30 in the United States. In November of 1986, the Break Every Rule album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

  In a year filled with more excitement, awards, and hit records, Tina was also busy conquering another creative arena as well. She was now an author who published her own story in a gutsy, frank, and forthcoming bestseller called I, Tina. Penned with Rolling Stone magazine writer Kurt Loder, I, Tina ripped the lid off her stormy marriage with Ike Turner. Told partially in sections of Tina’s own words, partially in Loder’s guiding narrative, and partially in interviews with the people in her life, the majority of the book dealt with her years with Ike. It was that material which Tina mainly wanted to communicate with the public, so that she would never have to deal with it again.

  Reportedly, she was paid $400,000 for this autobiographical work. One of the underlying reasons that Tina chose to write I, Tina, was the fact that she was sick and tired of talking about Ike. She chose to commit her harrowing experiences to paper so she could reply to interviewers, “read my book,” instead of having to go into the story all over again.

  “I wrote the book because I was so tired of people being really upset that I left Ike. Like, ‘How could you?’ When I went out on my own, I had a hit record and people were still in my ear about Ike and ‘our music.’ Music? We couldn’t get a hit record in those days. We didn’t draw people and he was freaking out, doing more drugs,” she explained (8).

  According to her, “It’s like going back into time, when you are trying to understand how prehistoric people lived. I am saying it one last time, and I hope people don’t even think about talking to me about it anymore. If they don’t understand, fine” (5).

  Tina illuminated, “I’m not looking for pity about my life with Ike. It was ten years ago. I’m done with it” (31). Working on this book was a catharsis for her. She didn’t really want to relive the hellish life she had at the hands of Ike Turner, but she forced herself to talk about it, knowing she would never have to detail it ever again. “I drank a lot of wine, but I did it,” she said about having to speak of her most painful years (29).

  People were riveted by what Tina had to say. According to her, “The world was shocked!” (8). Indeed they were! But, it made the public even more appreciative of her dramatic newfound success.

  When the annual Grammy Awards were given out in early 1987, Tina was back for more. This time around she was awarded the trophy in the category of Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female, for her song “Back Where You Started.”

  That same year, Turner returned to the road with the Break Every Rule tour. A global affair, it began on March 4 in Munich, West Germany. This particular tour broke box office records in thirteen different countries. Her sponsor for this particular tour was Pepsi-Cola. As part of her deal with Pepsi, Tina also filmed a very popular and frequently broadcast commercial for the soft drink company. In April, the song “What You Get Is What You See” hit No. 13 in the United States and No. 30 in the United Kingdom. In June, the song “Break Every Rule” peaked at No. 74 in America, and the following month it made it to No. 43 in England. In September of 1987, Private Dancer was certified Quintuple Platinum in America for having sold over five million copies in the United States alone.

  Speaking about herself and her appeal during this era, Tina claimed, “I am a fun person, and when I’m onstage I act. I like to tease to a point. I’m not teasing men. I am together and everybody gets up and they get a little cigarette and champagne and they do little things. That’s the same thing I do onstage when I’m performing for the girls and then for the guys. . . . I’m not a vulgar, sexy person onstage. I think that’s how people perceive me, because I have a lot of vulgar videos where they wanted me to do the garter-belt thing” (5).

  How did success now suit her? According to Tina, “I’m just becoming happier. Happiness has a lot to do with the glow of life” (31).

  Although she appeared to be a wild woman on stage, the offstage version of Tina Turner is quite different. “I’m really conservative in a way, although I stay somewhat within the image,” she explained (11).

  She began to relish what little time she had to chill out and recharge her internal battery. Said she, “At home, I let my body relax and take the paint off my face—because soon enough I’m going to have to paint it on and get out there again” (31).

  In Tina’s Los Angeles home, she had a jade statue of an Egyptian queen named Hatshepsut that was prominently displayed. She had learned all about Hatshepsut, and was fascinated with her history and her forceful way of ruling Egypt. According to Tina, “She was a terror. She insisted on being treated as a pharaoh” (31). Although she might have been an Egyptian queen in the past, in this lifetime Tina Turner had truly ascended to the throne as Queen of Rock & Roll!

  15

  FOREIGN AFFAIR

  In 1987, after three years of singing the song “What’s Love Got to Do With It” Tina was ready for some love in her life. This time around, she was to find it unexpectedly. She had been living so much of her life in Europe lately that she was truly picking up a very European style to her fashion and her music—and now, even her taste in men.

  The man she started a relationship with was thirty-one and from Cologne, Germany. She, at the time, was forty-eight. Erwin Bach was the managing director of her European record label, EMI, and he was assigned to deliver a complimentary Jeep to Tina for her to drive during one of her visits to Germany. Their paths crossed several times. According to Tina, “He doesn’t like to be discussed, because he is a businessman. It took three years for us to get together—it wasn’t one of those run-and-jump-in-bed situations” (5).

  Was it a case of love at first sight? Says Tina, “Oh yeah, first sight! It’s an electrical charge, really, in the body. The body responds to something. Heart boom-bama-boom. Hands are wet. But I said, ‘No.’ . . . Something happens to you when you’re secure as a woman. I began to feel, ‘Well, I’m fine. If I don’t really find anybody, I’m O.K.’ It’s just those times when you start running the streets, and seeing couples and loving, and watching those movies where there’s a lot of love, you miss being cuddled” (5).

  Bach came to Los Angeles for a visit. At the time, Tina was living in a house she owned in the “valley,” in Sherman Oaks. She was throwing a birthday party for a friend at the West Hollywood area in-spot restaurant, Wolfgang Puck’s original Spago. After the dinner at Spago, she took the whole party home. According to her, “Afterwards, everyone came to my house, and something magic started to happen. Of course, I was attracted. By then I’m sure he knew that I was [interested in him personally]. . . . I made sure I sat next to him. Because I was also analyzing him, too. . . . After everyone left, I think we exchanged a few kisses. We started to talk, and I asked him about what his record company is like.” However, his reaction was oddly cool, as he announced, “Private life is private life.” So, Tina eased up (5).

  However, she wasn’t finished pursuing Erwin. “What I did do, to actually get him,” she reveals, “was I stayed in Switzerland. I rented a house in Gstaad” (5). She decided to give a party at Christmastime in 1988. Tina invited Er
win, as well as several other mutual friends. The relationship just continued to blossom and grow from there.

  When asked how Erwin’s family felt about him having a relationship with an older, American rock star, Ms. Turner replied, “I believe they would prefer if Erwin had a German girl or a white woman. But when they met me, well, it’s the usual ‘everybody likes Tina’ ” (5).

  While her affair with Erwin was growing and developing, her career just continued to blossom and grow as well. During the South American leg of her incredibly popular Break Every Rule concert tour, on January 16, 1988, Tina Turner headlined at the Maracana Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and attracted a massive audience of 182,000 people. It was the largest audience ever drawn for a single performer—anywhere—ever! She was added to The Guinness Book of Records for this incredible achievement.

  On March 28, after 230 dates in twenty-five countries, Tina’s Break Every Rule concert tour came to a conclusion. The final night of the tour was in Osaka, Japan. She not only broke rules—she broke records!

  Her live version of Robert Palmer’s sizzling and sexy rocker, “Addicted to Love,” was released as her next European single. It made it to No. 71 in the United Kingdom in March 1988. Her new album, Tina Live in Europe, hit No. 8 in England, but oddly only made it to No. 86 in America. In May, a concert video, Rio ’88, was released of her incredible show—from the same tour—in Brazil.

  The Tina Live in Europe album captured several of the best performances from Tina’s Break Every Rule tour. It presented songs from her past, her present, and also featured several new versions of rock classics. In addition, it even had several rare duets with some of her favorite stars that occurred during the tour. These duets included “634-5789” with Robert Cray, “Tearing Us Apart” with Eric Clapton, “It’s Only Love” with Bryan Adams, and “Let’s Dance” and “Tonight” with David Bowie. There were also three great versions of rock classics on this album, which Tina brilliantly made her own. They included “Land of 1,000 Dances” and “In the Midnight Hour.” It was an exciting two-disc LP and CD.

  On January of 1989, Tina Turner was in New York City at the fourth annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Celebration, held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. She was there to officially induct her producer pal, the legendary and elusive Phil Spector, into the ranks of the Hall of Famers. Weeks later at the Grammy Awards, she won her seventh trophy in the category of Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female, for the album Tina Live in Europe.

  In June, Tina reprised her role of “Acid Queen” in a special charity event, which was part of The Who’s 1989 concert tour. The event, which took place in Los Angeles, further illustrated Ms. Turner’s versatility as a performer.

  In September 1989, Tina’s next album, Foreign Affair, was released, blasting up to No. 1 in the United Kingdom and No. 31 in the United States. The first single from the album, “The Best,” made it to No. 5 in the United Kingdom, and No. 15 in America. The song became a thematic anthem for Tina, because, according to her fans, it was she who was simply the best. “The Best” also included a searing saxophone solo by Edgar Winter.

  For Foreign Affair, recording sessions took place in Paris and in Los Angeles. Nine of the twelve songs on the album were either produced or co-produced (with Tina) by Dan Hartman. Hartman, who is famous for his own songs like “Instant Replay” and “Relight My Fire,” was a hot producer in this era and a great choice for Tina to select this time around. Other producers on the album included Tony Joe White, Roger Davies, Graham Lyle, Albert Hammond, and Rupert Hine.

  The standout cuts on Foreign Affair included “Steamy Windows,” “Undercover Agent for the Blues,” “Ask Me How I Feel,” and the title cut. However, the album is most famous for supplying Tina with the song “The Best.” Although it wasn’t her biggest chart hit, it has become one of the top five most famous songs in her entire career.

  On November 26, 1989, Tina Turner celebrated her fiftieth birthday in a London nightclub called the Reform Club. Helping her with the fete were her buddies Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Bryan Adams, the members of Duran Duran, and several more invited guests. She was half a century old, and her rock & roll career had never been hotter.

  As the decade of the 1990s began, Tina’s latest trans-Atlantic single, “Steamy Windows,” was peaking on the charts—making it to No. 39 in America and No. 13 in the British Isles. On April 27, the indefatigable Turner began her Foreign Affair world concert tour. The 121-date tour opened in Antwerp, Belgium. On June 28 she became the first woman to give a concert at the Palace of Versailles, outside of Paris. Up until this point, there had only been one other rock concert held at this famous site, and that was Pink Floyd in 1988. It seemed most fitting that Tina was there trailblazing. Who more suited for such a task than the undisputed Queen of Rock & Roll? The spirit of Queen Marie Antoinette must surely have agreed!

  In August 1990, her single “Look Me in the Heart” peaked on the U.K. charts at No. 31. She headlined Wembley Stadium in London on September 26, and the next month her next single, “Be Tender with Me Baby,” hit No. 28 in the United Kingdom. On November 4, her Foreign Affair tour concluded in Rotterdam, Holland. Over the course of the tour, she had performed in front of more than three million people.

  In December of that year, a duet of the song “It Takes Two,” by Tina Turner and Rod Stewart, peaked at No. 5 in the United Kingdom. A sizzling update of the Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston single from 1967, the Tina and Rod version first appeared on Stewart’s 1991 Vagabond Heart album. The song “It Takes Two” featured vocals that were recorded in different parts of the world, as Rod and Tina’s schedules did not permit them to be in the same place at the same time. They did, however, find the time to unite to film a nightclub performance video together. The video that they did was excellently lit, and both Tina and Rod look like they are having a blast mugging with each other. The song was also used as the concurrent Pepsi TV commercial in Britain. Reportedly, Turner and Stewart split one million British pounds as a fee from Pepsi-Cola.

  Suddenly, Ike Turner was back in the news. In his fourteen post-Tina years he was arrested eleven times for various violations. During this period, Ronnie, one of Tina’s sons with Ike, had, on one occasion, also landed in jail in Los Angeles. He had been picked up for a series of unpaid traffic violations. Ronnie was in shock when he ended up thrown in the very same jail cell as his own father. Recalls Tina, “That made an impression. He never went to jail again” (5). Finally, in 1990, Ike was arrested and put in prison. He began serving eighteen months behind bars for cocaine possession, transporting drugs, and other various charges.

  On January 4, 1991, Tina headlined a concert in Barcelona, Spain, which was entitled The Queen of Rock Struts Her Stuff. It was satellite broadcast globally on Pay-Per-View television. In September, the long-awaited album Music of Quality & Distinction, Volume 2 was released by the British Electric Foundation. Tina is heard on the album singing “Change Is Gonna Come.” Like its predecessor, this album was released in the United Kingdom only.

  That same month, a newly recorded version of one of Tina’s classics—billed as “Nutbush City Limits (The ’90s Version)”—was released in the United Kingdom and made it to No. 23. There was a very cute video done of this new danceable version of the song, which features a rolling little travelogue of now-famous Nutbush, Tennessee. In the color video footage, Nutbush landmarks are featured, like the sign reading “Welcome to Nutbush, Tennessee, Population 91,” the front of the Quik Stop convenience store, and the sign pointing to the Spring Hill Baptist Church. Tina wasn’t in her hometown to film this footage. She was instead shown in a recording studio—looking fabulous—and in classic clips of archived footage with The Ikettes.

  In October, Turner’s greatest hits collection, Simply the Best, was released, featuring the new version of “Nutbush,” as well as three brand new songs: “I Want You Near Me,” “Way of the World,” and “Love Thing.” It also included all of her 1980s hits, starting with “Let’s Stay
Together,” up to and including her hit Rod Stewart duet “It Takes Two.”

  Simply the Best soared up the charts in Britain to log in at No. 2—just behind Simply Red’s Stars album. However, in America the album only made it to No. 113. On November 26, 1991, Tina’s fifty-second birthday, she received a Quintuple Platinum award in London to commemorate 1.5 million copies of Foreign Affair sold in the United Kingdom. The EMI label chief, Rupert Perry, presented her with a solid silver CD in honor of the occasion.

  Also that year, a great Elton John/Bernie Taupin tribute album entitled Two Rooms was released, featuring a sparkling new recording of “The Bitch Is Back” by Tina Turner. The album reached No. 18 in Billboard magazine in the United States. Also on the album are Elton hits performed by The Beach Boys, Sinead O’Connor, Eric Clapton, Sting, The Who, Joe Cocker, Kate Bush, and Hall & Oates. According to Tina, “I covered ‘The Bitch Is Back’ on an old album of mine in the ’70s when I went solo—it used to open my shows and everyone loved it. I thought the time was perfect for an updated version. The attitude is right for me—a little bit shocking” (35).