WHEN Tina Turner finally walked out of her marriage to the abusive, controlling Ike, she only had 36 cents in her pocket and songs in her heart.

She knew river-deep despair, but this is the story of how Britain helped rebuild her career at a mountain height.

9

9

9

Tina’s death on Wednesday at 83 in Switzerland, where she lived peacefully with long-term partner Erwin Bach, came after a decade of ill health.

It was the passing of a towering voice, an exciting live performer – and an inspiring woman who broke down racial divides “with grace, humility and humor”.

She truly was the Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

But in the late seventies, star-born Anna Mae Bullock was languishing in rural Tennessee.

As her divorce from violent, drug-abusing Ike went through, she turned to Buddhism and drew solace from her faith to get through lean years by playing hotel ballrooms, casinos and cocktail bars.

“The venues seemed a little older and tamer than I was used to,” Tina wrote in her memoir My Love Story. “But I was excited to be back on stage with musicians and dancers.”

As she hit 40, her indomitable spirit remained as strong as ever.

She still dreamed of “filling concert halls and arenas like the Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart”, but she was $500,000 (£400,000) in debt and had no recording contract.

‘Force of Nature’

It is widely accepted that one of the best things she ever did was to hire ambitious young Aussie music executive Roger Davies as her manager.

Davies was familiar with the Ike and Tina song Nutbush City Limits, a huge hit in Australia, and after some persuasion watched her perform at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco.

He loved the sheer vitality of her performance, signed her up, became “the brother I never had” and stayed with her for the rest of her working life.

“Tina was a unique and remarkable force of nature with her strength, incredible energy and immense talent,” Davies said in his heartfelt tribute this week. “From the first day I met her in 1980, she completely believed in herself when few others did at the time.”

A year after joining Davies, the first of many British connections helped catapult Tina onto the world stage where she belonged.

First came what she described as her “Cinderella moment” when Rod Stewart was in the house for her concert at the Ritz Club in New York’s East Village.

He was so delighted with her rendition of his Hot Legs that he invited her to duet with him on the great American chat show Saturday Night Live.

Let’s face it, Tina had the hottest, most high-kicking legs in the business, and no one could sparkle and shine like her.

She confirmed: “It was the start of big times for me.”

Then came an invitation from her relatives, the Rolling Stones, to open some of their North American shows.

She was able to sing Honky Tonk Women with Mick Jagger at a huge arena in New Jersey, a precious moment she said “was everything I hoped it would be. That crowd!”

Then, in 1983, during Tina’s third stint at the Ritz, David Bowie decided “to see his favorite singer” rather than celebrate the release of his Let’s Dance album. Suddenly manager Davies was bombarded with requests to attend the show.

Celebrities such as tennis ace John McEnroe and Hollywood actress Susan Sarandon also turned up and the night ended with a jam in Keith Richards’ hotel room (as you do) – and a recording contract for Tina from major label Capitol Records. The first fruits of her agreement came at Abbey Road, no less, The Beatles’ hallowed stomping ground.

There, Tina did a session with Martyn Ware and Glenn Gregory, of budding synth-pop act Heaven 17.

She recalls: “Martin, who was practically a boy, although a very talented one, happened to think that this middle-aged singer had a bright future.”

Tina’s wistful cover of Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together, recorded with a certain crush in mind, enhanced her reputation as a “one-take wonder” and was a hit in the UK a few weeks before it also the United States did well.

To her delight, she was given the green light for an entire album, which resulted in the multi-platinum Private Dancer LP, all done at various studios across London.

It included one of her signature songs, What’s Love Got To Do With It. Incredibly, it was rejected by Cliff Richard and Donna Summer before being recorded by cheesy Eurovision winners Bucks Fizz.

The sexy, sultry title track, Private Dancer, was written by another Brit, Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, who became a lifelong friend.

With some amusement, Tina said in her autobiography: “Mark wrote it for himself, but decided it was better for a woman to sing.

“I can’t even describe what Private Dancer sounded like from a man, even a very talented man like Mark. Very butch!

“Like something you’d hear in a bar after too many pints.”

That song and another, Steel Claw, featured late guitarist Jeff Beck.

Tina was in her element, prompting her to reflect, “I was doing what I loved, in a city I loved, with people who genuinely cared about me and my future.”

9

9

9

Around this time, she began working with the publicist Bernard Doherty, who became her confidant.

In his heartfelt and loving tribute yesterday, he recalled his first meeting with Tina, in January 1984, at The Venue Victoria in London.

“I went backstage with other music people,” he said. “She was chatty, funny, excited to be back in England with a new band, new look – and that contagious smile.

“A little later we met properly in Birmingham, invited by her manager Roger. She was really quite shy, so unlike her hurricane stage persona.

“I found her quiet, thoughtful and surprisingly serious. She looked you in the eye and spoke with a sense of absolute purpose – she wanted to be better, sell out stadiums, win Grammys.

“I came away from the meeting thinking, ‘If you’re working with Tina, you’ve got to be on top of your game.’

With further hits such as Better Be Good To Me, I Can’t Stand The Rain and Typical Male, as well as a Grammys clutch, the return of cheeky superstar Tina Turner was assured.

She recorded a duet with Bowie, Iggy Pop’s Tonight, and landed a major film role opposite Mel Gibson in the post-apocalyptic Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, for which she sang We Don’t Need Another Hero. Who can forget her performance with Mick Jagger at the Philadelphia Live Aid show in 1985, when he ripped off her skirt during It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It)?

Doherty revealed a hilarious incident from 1987 which he said was ‘a classic example of the woman that Tina was.

“When she flew from Germany to Portugal between shows, her luggage got lost. We arrived at the TV studio for a big show with no outfits and less than an hour before she was due to go on stage.

“Tina looked at me unperturbed, looked up at the white collarless shirt I was wearing and said: ‘Bernard, give me your shirt.’

“Minutes later she’s there, red lippy in place, wearing my shirt with her high heels and black tights with a belt around her waist. She looked fantastic. A superstar like no other. The show must go on.” As the Eighties progressed, Tina’s incredible achievements began to pile up.

In 1988, she performed in front of 180,000 fans at the Maracana Stadium in Rio, Brazil, the largest paid crowd ever for a solo artist.

A year later she released her version of Bonnie Tyler’s The Best – and why not? Tina became “simply the best”.

She followed in the footsteps of Shirley Bassey, Tom Jones, Paul McCartney and the rest by singing a Bond theme – GoldenEye, composed for her by Bono and The Edge of U2.

Not only did Tina have the world at her feet, but she was a kind and caring soul, with Keith Richards once describing her as a “favourite auntie” or “fairy godmother”.

She admitted this by saying: “I always tried to take care of people when we were on the road.

“If anyone had a cold, I would nag them to button up their coat and wear a scarf.

“I would offer VapoRub for a sore throat. In my heart I am equal parts Mother Earth and Rock ‘n’ Roll.”

Her dear friend Doherty said: “This woman knew exactly where she wanted to go in life. From the stage there was no Showbiz about her, no looking back.

“Tina was on a mission and I felt truly privileged to be a part of her journey.

“With her it was who she was and not what she was that mattered.

“She carried herself with absolute grace, humility and humor. Being part of her team was like being part of a family.”

Doherty appreciated his time with Tina and continued: “Over the years we got to know each other so well.

“She became friends with my wife, Anne, a Fashion designer who created some of her stage dresses. She came to our wedding in Scotland in 1989 and sang at the party and laughed and had fun with family and friends.”

Summing up his feelings, Doherty concluded: “She was completely unique – worked tirelessly to achieve so much respect and so many triumphant successes.

“Her strength and spirit on stage was matched only by her personal elegance, dignity and grace away from the spotlight.”

Tina lived out her days with Erwin, a German music executive sent by her record company to meet her at Düsseldorf Airport in 1986.

They finally got married in 2013.

“He was just so different,” she said. “So relaxed, so comfortable, so unpretentious, and I needed love.”

Tina found love, not only with Erwin, but the whole world.

9

9

9