Thousands of Bonnie Tyler fans set to gather in singer’s hometown for funeral

Thousa ds of Bo ie Tyle fa s a e set to gathe i Swa sea o Mo day ahead of a chu ch se vice held as pa t of the lege da y si ge ‘s celeb atio of life.

It comes afte huge c owds of emotio al fa s li ed the st eets i the coastal subu b of Mumbles o Satu day as he coffi – d aped i a Welsh flag – 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 si ge died “u expectedly” o 8 July, aged 75, at a hospital i Po tugal.

Despite Tyle ‘s ca ee taki g he all ove the wo ld, she has bee desc ibed by those livi g i 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”.

Mo day’s se vice fo family a d i vited guests will be held at St Ma y’s chu ch, Swa sea, a d will be live-st eamed o the sta ‘s official website, with fa s also able to watch it o sc ee s outside.

The co tege will the t avel to Skewe , Neath Po t Talbot, whe e Tyle was bo a d g ew up, a ivi g i the village fo a p ivate family se vice.

The e will be a heavy emphasis o Tyle ‘s Welsh ide tity, with a o ga ist playi g music f om Welsh lege ds befo e the se vice sta ts – with so gs f om Tom Jo es, Shi ley Bassey a d Tyle he self.

Choi O ly Me Aloud will si g he huge hit Total Eclipse of the Hea t a d Simo a d Ga fu kel’s B idge Ove T oubled Wate , while the co g egatio will si g hym Calo La .

The exit music will be a so g that was close to Tyle ‘s hea t – Ma y Hopki ‘s 1969 hit Those We e The Days.

She pe fo med it at a local tale t co test i Skewe whe she was you g.

As the two si ge s we e f om the same a ea, Tyle , whose eal ame was Gay o Hopki s, would late cha ge he ame to avoid co fusio with Hopki .

Satu day’s eve t saw thousa ds of people li e the st eet as Tyle ‘s hea se made its way dow Newto Road i Mumbles, a seaside subu b of Swa sea.

“She was lovely – just like a f ie d you’d k ow all of you life,” said A gela Powell who had bee amo g the fi st to a ive outside the si ge ‘s home.

“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.”

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 he had g ow up liste i g to Tyle ‘s music as a child because his mothe had bee a fa .

“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.”

Tyle , bo Gay o Hopki s – also k ow fo hits i cludi g Holdi g Out Fo A He o a d He e She Comes – is su vived by he husba d of mo e tha 50 yea s, Robe t Sulliva .

Osca -wi i g act ess a d Wed esday sta Cathe i e Zeta-Jo es led the t ibutes to Tyle , sayi g he hea t was “b oke ” with the ews that “ou dea est Bo ie Tyle has passed away”.

The P i ce of Wales desc ibed Tyle as a “p oud Welsh ico ” a d Si Cliff Richa d said he was mou i g “a othe wo de ful f ie d go e too soo “.

I May, Tyle was placed i to a i duced coma afte havi g eme ge cy i testi al su ge y i Po tugal, but late died “as a esult of the ill ess that she was bei g t eated fo “, he family said.

Total Eclipse of the Hea t, he biggest hit, topped 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.