Bonnie Tyler hasn't really been away, just simply and patiently searching for the right material to suit her extraordinary voice. After an absence from the charts of four years, that research paid off with her first single for CBS Records. 'Total Eclipse of the Heart,' which bolted to #1 on the British chart in just four weeks. Written and produced by Jim Steinman (whose work with Meatloaf and on his own solo LP has solidified his reputation in the studio), 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' acknowledges Bonnie's lifelong admiration for the 'wall-of-sound' recording technique of Phil Spector as realized by Steinman.

FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF NIGHT is Bonnie Tyler's first album for CBS, and its song-selection indicates the strength of her association with Steinman. Here is an LP without one forgotten track - every song has a reason for being there and Steinman sees that every scenario is fully and dramatically presented. Choices range from the opening 'Have You Ever Seen The Rain' (Creedence Clearwater Revival) to the closing 'Straight From The Heart' (Bryan Adams).

And as usual, Steinman has assembled a stunning array of musicians to serve as the basic band for the recording sessions in New York City, including drummer Max Weinberg and Steinman's co-arranger Roy Bittan on keyboards, both from Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band; guitarist Rick derringer; Larry Fast on synthesisers; and Jimmy Maelen on percussion. On the track that opens side two, 'It’s a Jungle Out There,' Bonnie’s backing band turns out to be the house-band of the David Letterman Late Night show: Paul Schaffer, Hiram Bullock, Will Lee and Steve Jordan.

There are other surprises: 'Goin’ Through the Motions' is a Blue Oyster Cult number (from the Septres LP) co-written by Ian Hunter and Eric Bloom, with a hearty chorus of a half-dozen childrens’ voices here; songwriter Billy Cross (of Bob Dylan at Budokan fame) contributed 'Take Me Back'; and Frankie Miller was flown into New York to duet with Bonnie on the U.K. hit single he penned, 'Tears.' And of course Steinman’s own 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' (with featured vocals by Meatloaf’s Rory Dodd) and title track 'Faster Than The Speed Of Night' sound tailor-made for Bonnie.

'Working with these people was fantastic,' she says, 'it felt just right. Max even said that if he wasn’t working with Springsteen, he’d love to tour with me'.

For Bonnie, her patience has been rewarded. Born and raised in Skewen, South Wales, just outside Swansea, blue-eyed Bonnie’s house rocked while she was growing up. 'I’ve sisters and brothers both older and younger than me and there’d always be records playing by the Dave Clarke Five, The Swinging Blue Jeans and, of course, the Beatles. But the biggest influence on me was Tamla/ Mowtown 'I used to really love those records. Apart from that, I think the one singer who really used to stand out for me was Tina Turner.'

At the age of 17, Bonnie was encouraged to enter a local talent competition. Her success led to an audition for a club residency; again she was successful and in 1969 she quit her job in a candy-store and turned professional, singing six nights a week at various nightclubs, pubs, cabarets, and even the odd rugby club social.

It was an exacting schedule for a young performer and no doubt contributed to producing Bonnie’s distinctive, highly versatile and interpretative voice, which could handle both ballads and rockers with consummate ease. 'When you’re singing in clubs,' she explained, 'you have to know what people want to hear. So I was doing all the pop hits of the time, ballads, a few rock ‘n roll things, even waltzes!'.

Her hard-working efforts didn’t go unnoticed. She was performing with a local band at Swansea’s Townsman Club when she was heard by songwriters Ronnie Scott and Steve Wolfe. They thought her the perfect girl to sing their latest song, signed her to their production company, and in turn secured her first recording contract. 'Lost in France,' a heart-rending ballad was the song that gave Bonnie her first taste of stardom back in October-November, 1976, as it rose to #9 in the British chart. Doors were opened for numerous television and personal appearances and Bonnie was at the very forefront of British female vocalists.

Although the follow-up single did respectively well, 'More Than a Lover,' going to #27, it was the third that was the charm. 'It’s A Heartache' was issued in the U.K. before Christmas, 1977, and eventually hit the #4 spot there; It was issued in the U.S. the following spring and was a #3 hit through that summer, evening faring quite well on the country charts, and inspiring a memorable cover version by solo artist David Johansen of the New York Dolls. When neither heavy album sales nor significant touring materialised, however, Bonnie felt that she’d gone as far as she could go with her old managers.

'I’d always had a great relationship with them,' she explains, 'but I felt they were pulling me too far into country music and I wanted to do other things.' Her new managers immediately started to guide her through the pain-staking process of finding appropriate songs, a staggering experience. 'Whereas before I was given a selection of songs to record, I suddenly found myself with about 400 tapes to listen to - songs from everywhere! It took us about 18 months to whittle them down to a few we thought would be good to record as demos.'

For someone who was always a Phil Spector fanatic, it came as no surprise that Bonnie’s list of desirable producers was headed by Jim Steinman. Ironically he almost didn’t take the project. At first, his commitment to soundtrack work had made him unavailable. One he’d finished, he asked Bonnie had she found a producer yet. She hadn’t and, armed with her song choices, flew out to discuss the idea. But Steinman had also come up with a selection of songs - which Bonnie loved. 'As it turned out, Jim said he wouldn’t have done the album if I hadn’t liked the songs he’d got together.'

The sessions went swiftly as Bonnie found herself in her true element. The net result is one of the most eagerly awaited returns to the front line in years. And for Bonnie, the overwhelming success and acceptance of 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' is as impressive a vindication of one artist’s self-confidence as you will find anywhere.

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