Page 3 Profile: Tina Turner, Singer

Tina Turner (Getty)

A fool in love?

She’s in love, certainly, but thankfully the legendary singer has taken her sweet time in assessing the merits of her long-time partner Erwin Bach. The 73-year-old has married the German music executive, 57, in a civil ceremony at a registry office near Zurich, Switzerland.

So is Mr Bach Simply The Best?

You’d hope so. Turner, born Anna Mae Bullock, has been dating Bach since the mid 80s. Markus Ernst, the mayor of the town of Kuesnacht, where Turner owns a lakeside chateau, said the ceremony was “really completely normal”.

Was there any diva behaviour? A flock of doves?

Disappointingly, no. Mr Ernst said she was a “normal” resident of what is an incredibly wealthy area. “You can meet her in a restaurant. You can meet her like anyone else.” Celebrities love Switzerland for the discretion it affords them, but Mr Ernst admitted Turner is “probably the best known inhabitant of our community”.

No celebrity guests?

This Sunday is the wedding celebration. According to local papers David Bowie, Sade and Oprah Winfrey are among the 120 people invited. It’s being held at Turner’s home, where a small concert stage has been erected for the event. In a rather nice gesture for someone of her fame and means, she has written to neighbours in advance to apologise for any noise.

Why is it all taking place in Switzerland?

Turner has lived there for nearly two decades, acquiring Swiss citizenship earlier this year. She’s beloved on the continent, and recently became the oldest Vogue cover star by appearing on the front of the German edition.

I hope it goes well for her.

Her first husband, Ike Turner, battered her and burned her with cigarettes. She fled in 1976 after he beat her bloody, taking refuge at a local inn with just 36 cents in her pocket. Eight years later, she was a megastar. Ike died of a cocaine overdose. I think it’s safe to say she’s had the last laugh.