Tina Turner defined the role of the female rock star and took it to stratospheric heights. Blessed with a strong, soulful singing voice and phenomenal reserves of energy, she was a performer with a smart, sophisticated sheen underpinned by raw, animal magnetism. Her 1984 album Private Dancer sold more than 12 million copies worldwide – a tally matched by only two other albums released by women up to that point (Like A Virgin by Madonna and She’s So Unusual by Cyndi Lauper).
Turner’s show at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro in January 1988 in front of 180,000 fans earned her a place in the Guinness Book Of World Records for the largest audience ever assembled (at the time) by any performer, male or female, for a ticketed musical event. Turner was then 48 and close to the peak of her powers: a star of MTV, a member of the Live Aid rock aristocracy, a global stadium-rock phenomenon, and a household name. She was simply the biggest, as well as the best.
