Sadly, on the 24th of May 2023 the undisputed Queen of Rock ‘n Roll took her final bow at the age of 83, after a long illness. Born Anna Mae Bullock, in Tennessee (U.S.A.) on November 26, 1939, she was known to the world as Tina Turner. Rising to prominence as part of Ike & Tina Turner Revue in the late 1950’s, she never looked back, rising to stardom as a solo artist in a career spanning till a few years ago. Her list of hits is too long to mention.
Apart from being a performer, Tina Turner was also a renowned songwriter, dancer, actress and author. She had been living in Switzerland since 1994 and in 2013 Tina Turner received Swiss citizenship after relinquished her U.S. citizenship.
In 2008 she made a comeback as regards to live performances, when aged 69, Tina Turner performed more than 90 shows to celebrate her 50th anniversary in music.
For us Maltese, especially the ones that attended, the performance that will remain in our hearts will surely be that of 30 August 1990, when she performed for the first and only time in Malta.
This was the concert that opened the way for major artists to start visiting Malta. This would not have been possible without the patronship of the Government, through the Parliamentary Secretariat for Youth & Culture, and numerous other private sponsors. The tickets, at LM6.25 and LM4.00, soon sold out and more than 22,000 punters filled the Independence Arena (Floriana) from early afternoon, on that faithful Thursday.
The concert in Malta was organised as part of Maltafest and formed part of The Foreign Affair Farewell Tour. This tour, her seventh, was organised to support her studio album Foreign Affair (1989). It started on April 27, 1991 in Antwerp (Belgium) and winded down on November 4, 1991 in Rotterdam (Netherlands). The backing band for this tour was something to behold on their own right: Jack Bruno on drums; Timmy Capello on sax, keyboards, percussion and harmonica; John Miles on guitar and vocals; Kenny Moore on piano and vocals; James Ralston on guitar and vocals; Annie Behringer and Lejuene Richardson as dancers and backing vocalists. Tina Turner was 51 years old when she performed in Malta and the two hours set included the following songs:
1. Steamy Windows (Tony Joe White cover)
2. Typical Male
3. Foreign Affair
4. Undercover Agent for the Blues (Tony Joe White cover)
5. Ask Me How I Feel
6. We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)
7. Private Dancer
8. I Can't Stand the Rain (Ann Peebles cover)
9. Nutbush City Limits (Ike & Tina Turner song)
10. Addicted to Love (Robert Palmer cover)
11. The Best (Bonnie Tyler cover)
12. I Don't Wanna Lose You (Albert Hammond cover)
13. What's Love Got to Do With It (Graham Lyle cover)
14. Let's Stay Together (Al Green cover)
15. Proud Mary (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover)
16. What You Get Is What You See
17. Show Some Respect
18. Better Be Good to Me (Spider cover)
19. Be Tender with Me Baby
Her performance and interaction with the crowd was infectious, resulting in rapture applause after every song, especially the best known ones.
Tina Turner’s concert was the prelude of many great the events we lived to witness.
The Queen is dead............long live the Queen!
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