Tina Turner bids an emotional final farewell to fans in new documentary
She has had an incredible career
Last updated 18th Mar 2021
Music icon Tina Turner has issued a final farewell to her fans in her new film.
Tina will tell the story of the performer’s incredible career, from her early career with Ike and Tina Turner Revue, her suffering at the hands of her former husband and achieving global stardom and record-breaking sell-out tours.
The film will give fans a glimpse into her private world as well as portray how the music megastar overcame adversity to dominate the charts and become one of the best-selling recording artists of all time.
The 81-year-old hasn’t appeared on stage for over 10 years, with her last ever performance at Sheffield Arena in 2009 and has recently been suffering from poor health.
Tina has been battling a number of illnesses in recent years, including kidney failure and intestinal cancer as well as effects from a stroke she had in 2013.
In the film, she describes how she also suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the abuse she suffered during her relationship with former husband and music collaborator Ike Turner until the pair divorced in 1978.
She explains how she now wishes to step back from the spotlight and spend her remaining years in privacy.
In the documentary, she says, "I had an abusive life, there's no other way to tell the story. It's a reality. It's a truth. That's what you've got, so you have to accept it.
"Some people say the life that I lived and the performances that I gave, the appreciation, is blasting with the people. And yeah, I should be proud of that. I am.
"But when do you stop being proud? I mean, when do you, how do you bow out slowly? Just go away?"
Tina married her second husband Erwin Bach in July 2013 after spending 27 years together. He described how the star still endures flashbacks of her abuse from her younger years, comparing her to a “soldier coming back from war”.
Three weeks after their wedding, Tina suffered a stroke and had to learn to walk again. In 2016, she was diagnosed with intestinal cancer, with the treatment causing damage to her kidneys which resulted in kidney failure. In 2017, her husband Erwin donated his kidney and she had a kidney transplant in April 2017.
Tina Turner has received 12 Grammy awards in a career spanning over six decades and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.
The film produced by HBO will be available to watch on Sky Documentaries from end of March.
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Tina Turner
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As a testament to how much of star she was, Tina was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. Although she retired from music in 2009, tributes to the superstar continued, with a musical about her created in 2018, and a documentary about her life released in 2021. Sadly, in May 2023, Tina Tuner passed away at the age of 83. Her publicist confirmed that she passed "peacefully", following a long illness.
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Now read:
10 huge moments from Tina Turner's incredible career
Tina Turner: The pop icon behind 'Proud Mary' and many more hits