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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Charlotte McIntyre

Tina Turner fled abusive husband as support of musician friends 'kept her going'

Tina Turner overcame abuse to become one of music's most famous global superstars and tributes have flooded in since it was announced the Queen of Rock and Roll has died at the age of 83.

Kate Garraway and Martin Lewis were joined by American-British radio and TV presenter Paul Gambaccini, who recently interviewed the What's Love Got to Do With It star.

Paying tribute to the legendary Tina, he said: "She thought there was no reason she could not be as popular as Mick Jagger. She had this optimism because she knew she had a talent and other artists told her she had a talent so she just kept going.

"Even when she had to flee her husband, the community rallied around her."

Paul Gambaccini paid tribute to Tina (ITV)

Paul continued: "You may remember her appearance as the Acid Queen in Tommy, that gave her a real appetite for films and I remember her saying to me, 'I'd like to make more movies.' And she was in Mad Max."

After breaking free from her marriage to Ike, Tina opened up about the trauma she suffered throughout their relationship and in her 2018 memoir, My Love Story, she compared sex with the late musician to a "kind of rape ".

"He used my nose as a punching bag so many times that I could taste blood running down my throat when I sang," she wrote.

After escaping abuse she on to rebuild her career and become one of the biggest stars in the industry.

She starred in The Who's 1975 rock opera Tommy as the Acid Queen and subsequently in the 1985 film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

Tina broke free from her abusive marriage to Ike (WENN)
Tina became of one the most successful stars in music (Eugene Adebari/REX/Shutterstock)

Tina's death was announced on her official Instagram page. The post said: "With her music and her boundless passion for life, she enchanted millions of fans around the world and inspired the stars of tomorrow.

"Today we say goodbye to a dear friend who leaves us all her greatest work: her music."

Turner won eight Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 2021 as a solo artist, after first been inducted alongside Ike Turner in 1991.

What is your favourite Tina Turner song? Vote in our poll HERE to have your say.

Mick Jagger was one of many artists who paid tribute to Tina.

On social media, he wrote: “I’m so saddened by the passing of my wonderful friend Tina Turner. She was truly an enormously talented performer and singer. She was inspiring, warm, funny and generous. She helped me so much when I was young and I will never forget her.”

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