Singer Bonnie Tyler in induced coma after emergency surgery in Portugal

Britain's Bonnie Tyler performs during the finals of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest. Photo / John MacDougall, AFP

Husky-voiced Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler was placed in an induced coma in a hospital last Friday in Portugal after emergency surgery, a spokesperson said.

The 74-year-old star, best known for her 1983 mega-hit Total Eclipse of the Heart, was operated on earlier in the week at a hospital in Faro in southern Portugal.

The singer “has been put into an induced coma by her doctors to aid her recovery”, a spokesperson said on Friday.

“We know that you all wish her well and ask for privacy at this difficult time please.”

Tyler shot to fame in the 1970s with hits including Lost in France and It’s a Heartache.

Total Eclipse of the Heart later topped the charts in both Britain and the United States.

The Grammy-nominated Tyler, who was born Gaynor Hopkins, was due to start a European tour on May 22 in Malta, to mark 50 years since the release in 1976 of Lost in France, which was her breakthrough hit.

Other concert dates have been planned for Germany, the Czech Republic and Turkey, with a final show planned in Cardiff in December.

Other hits include Holding Out For A Hero in 1984, which featured on the soundtrack to the huge US box office success Footloose.

In 2013, Tyler represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmo, Sweden, with the song Believe In Me, finishing in 19th place.

She was recognised in 2022 by the late Queen Elizabeth II, who, before her death, awarded Tyler an honour for her five-decade music career.

– AFP