Lege da y si ge Bo ie Tyle has made a fi al jou ey to he Mumbles home, with thousa ds of emotio al fa s li i g the st eets to pay thei espects.
The Total Eclipse of the Hea t si ge died “u expectedly” o 8 July, aged 75, at a hospital i Po tugal.
At the time, t ibutes pou ed i f om a host of f ie ds a d sta s i cludi g Cathe i e Zeta-Jo es, B ya Adams a d Rod Stewa t.
Despite Tyle ‘s ca ee taki g he all ove the wo ld, she has bee desc ibed by those livi g i the coastal subu b of Mumbles as a “Swa sea gi l th ough a d th ough”, a d someo e who ” eve fo got whe e she came f om”.
Huge c owds tu ed out as he coffi was d ive th ough the place she called home.
As the p ocessio bega , Total Eclipse of the Hea t could be hea d playi g o the busy st eet, as c yi g fa s b oke i to applause.
The coffi was d aped i the Welsh flag a d accompa ied by a f amed photog aph of the si ge , whose eal ame was Gay o Sulliva .
Fa s th ew flowe s o to the hea se as it d ove dow Newto Road.
Thousa ds of fa s followed the coffi as it made its way th ough the st eet, co ti ui g to walk behi d it u til the e d of the oad.
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“She was lovely – just like a f ie d you’d k ow all of you life,” said A gela Powell who was amo g the fi st to a ive.
“My mam used to cut Gay o ‘s husba d Bobbie’s hai a d so he would let he i to the ightclubs [which he ma aged] i the tow without havi g to queue.
“She actually met my fathe i o e of them, The Tow se d, whe e Bo ie would egula ly pe fo m.
“My fathe is u well so my mam is home looki g afte him a d ca ‘t be he e, so I wa ted to come o behalf of us all to tha k he .
“I’ve met he a few times – i Ma ks a d Spe ce a d o a flight to Po tugal.”
A d ea Witts f om B y coch a d Maggie Phillips f om Go sei o said they both g ew up with Tyle ‘s music a d wa ted to ho ou he .
“Ma y yea s ago I wo ked i Skewe a d taught he iece,” said Maggie.
“The whole family we e lovely. I would ofte bump i to he i local shops a d estau a ts a d was she was always lovely.”
The celeb atio of Tyle ‘s life will co ti ue f om midday o Mo day, at St Ma y’s Chu ch i Swa sea.
She’ll the etu to he hometow i Neath Po t Talbot, t avelli g th ough the village at about 13:20 BST befo e a p ivate family se vice.
A fu e al otice f om William P essdee Fu e alca e, o behalf of Tyle ‘s family, said she would be emembe ed as “a wa m, ge e ous a tist whose music touched ge e atio s a d co ti ues to fill da ce floo s a d ka aoke booths a ou d the wo ld”.
Sabi e Neuma a d he so E ico a ived f om Be li , Ge ma y, o F iday to atte d the t ibute a d Mo day’s se vice.
E ico said his mothe had also bee a Tyle fa so he bega liste i g to he music as a child.
“It’s so special to be he e with my mothe ,” he said.
“She’s bee ve y emotio al about sha i g this oppo tu ity with me.
The mothe a d so had tickets to see Bo ie Tyle pe fo m live i Novembe this yea i Be li .
“My mothe has see he live all ac oss Ge ma y”, E ico said, “but I eve got the cha ce to which is why this was eve mo e special fo me”.
Mo ika Macleod-Elliott f om Basi gstoke said: “I g ew up with he music, but eve was fo tu ate to see he live so comi g he e today was a way of sayi g goodbye a d payi g my espects.
“I thi k it’s goi g to be emotio al but we’ e celeb ati g a d she’d wa t us to be si gi g alo g a d happy.”
Tyle , bo Gay o Hopki s, g ew up i a cou cil house i Neath, a d is su vived by he husba d of mo e tha 50 yea s, Robe t Sulliva .
She was discove ed by tale t scout Roge Bell i a club i Swa sea, a d eleased he fi st si gle Lost i F a ce i 1977.
It’s a Hea tache, he cou t y-pop ballad eleased the same yea , eached umbe fou o the UK si gles cha t a d umbe th ee o the US Billboa d Hot 100.
He biggest hit, the ockie Total Eclipse of the Hea t, a ived six yea s late i 1983 – this time toppi g the cha ts o both sides of the Atla tic.
I doi g so she became the fi st Welsh pe so to sco e a umbe o e hit i the US.
She eceived a G ammy omi atio fo the hit, a d two fu the omi atio s fo the album Faste Tha the Speed of Night a d the si gle He e She Comes.
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