SOME female singers have been around for a while.
Madonna, for example, was annoyed when Vera Lynn’s version of “We’ll Meet Again” beat hers into the charts.
But how many will have careers spanning 50 years, like Bonnie Tyler?
I never met her, but I’ve heard about her down-to-earth personality and willingness to chat to any fan who approached her.
A mate of mine who worked in TV, met her a couple of times, most memorably in the late 2000s when he co-produced a big charity show at St David’s Hall, Cardiff, to raise money for LATCH.
The show featured 16 young Welsh performers, each one introduced by a Welsh celebrity.
Now, if you can name 16 Welsh people who can truly be described as celebrities (rather than ‘a familiar face on the telly’), you’re doing well.
‘Our Shirl’ and ‘Our Tom’ were living abroad at the time, unavailable to jet over to Cardiff for a five-minute appearance for which there was no fee.
Bonnie was definitely a  celebrity and the biggest name on the show, so it was only fitting she should be the last star to introduce a young singer.
However, just before curtain-up, Bonnie and her husband Robert approached my friend with a request.
Bonnie was feeling unwell, but didn’t want to disappoint the audience.
Could it be re-arranged for her to go on first, so she could then hurry home to bed? She looked nauseous, due, apparently, to something she’d eaten.
My friend’s heart sank, worried that the audience would feel a sense of anti-climax once Bonnie had departed, leaving a less-starry line-up of weathermen, politicians and sporting personalities.
But what could he do but agree?
So, Bonnie went on first, looking fantastic, received rapturous applause, spoke her scripted introduction perfectly and then left the stage, got in the car and went home.
Some lesser performers might have pulled out altogether, but Bonnie went on, the audience having no idea of the effort it took her.
That, my friends, is the mark of a true showbiz great!