Wings (Bonnie Tyler album)

Wings is the fifteenth studio album by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. It was released in France on 14 April 2005 by Stick Music, and on 22 May 2006 in the UK under the title Celebrate. The album was produced by Jean Lahcène, under the pseudonym John Stage, at Studio Pasteur in Paris. Two of the tracks were written and produced by Stuart Emerson, with Lorraine Crosby providing guest vocals on "I'll Stand by You". "Wings" features two re-recordings of Tyler's hits "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "It's a Heartache", and Tyler is credited as the co-lyricist of several of the album's tracks.
"Louise" was released as the album's only single in 2006. "Wings" spent two weeks in the French Albums Chart, with a peak placing at no. 133.
Background, recording and release.
In January 2004, Tyler was number one in France with her bilingual song "Si demain... (Turn Around)", which boosted sales of her then-current studio album "Simply Believe." Still working in France, Tyler went on to collaborate with French producer Jean Lahcene to put together another album. "Wings" was released on 14 April 2005, and would be her last album for eight years before the release of "Rocks and Honey". Tyler co-wrote nine of the tracks for "Wings"; this was the first time in Tyler's career that she had been directly involved in the composition of her songs. The album was recorded at the Pasteur Studio in Paris, France, and "All I Need Is Love" and "I'll Stand By You" were recorded at Stuart Emerson's studio in the UK. "Wings" features two tracks written by Stuart Emerson, one of which was a duet with his partner and Tyler's friend, Lorraine Crosby. Emerson also contributed to Tyler's 1995 album "Free Spirit" and 2004 album "Simply Believe". Two of the tracks, "Louise" and "Celebrate" are also featured on the album in French.
"Wings" was released in Norway on 3 June 2005. Tyler visited the headquarters of "Verdens Gang" in Oslo to perform two acoustic versions of "Louise" and "Wings" in a live broadcast on their website.
"Wings" was released in the United Kingdom under the title "Celebrate" in 2006. The UK version omitted the French versions of the two singles.
Other releases including live performances of songs from "Wings" include the DVD "Bonnie on Tour" (2006), the live CD "Bonnie Tyler Live" (2006) and "The Complete Bonnie Tyler" (2007); a CD and DVD pack that included Tyler's DVD "Bonnie on Tour" and "Wings".
In November 2019, Tyler re-recorded "Streets of Stone" with producer David Mackay in support of the World’s Big Sleep Out, a charity event supporting the homeless. The lyrics were edited by the organiser, Phil Sprey, and the track was released in December 2019.
On 15 May 2020, Tyler released a remix of "I'll Stand by You", retitled as “Through Thick and Thin (I’ll Stand by You)”, with Lorraine Crosby as a charity single in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust. It reached no. 64 on the UK Downloads Chart.
Critical reception.
The album received a mixed review from Tomas Mureika of AllMusic. He described the album as "safe," and added that it "serves as a herald that Tyler should be re-teaming with a producer of Jim Steinman's caliber to bring out the best in her inimitable voice." After pointing out that the album did have some high points, he concluded that the album was, however, forgettable.
When released in the UK as "Celebrate", Elly Roberts (of Glasswerk Magazine) praised the album. She said: "The voice, as unique as you’ll find by a female singer, is as coarse as ever. Her band is as hot as anything on the scene (the lead guitarist is outstanding), with superb production at every level." Talking about the track "Run Run Run", she described it as a "typical chart friendly affair, full of wailing guitar solos, and a catchy chorus that would grace any party dancefloor", and predicted that the track could possibly become her next anthem.
Promotion.
Singles.
The album's only single "Louise" was released after "Celebrate" on 19 June 2006. Tyler recorded a music video for this single in a shipwreck on the coast of Tunisia, which was released on the CD single.
Television and touring.
The BBC produced an episode of "On Show" about Bonnie Tyler entitled "In One Voice". The episode is a short documentary about Tyler's career, and was published a few months ahead of the release of "Wings". Tyler performed several of the album tracks at La Cigale in Paris on her birthday on 8 June 2005. The concert was filmed and released as part of a DVD entitled "Bonnie on Tour", and also on a live CD called "Bonnie Tyler Live", both released in 2006. She also performed some of the tracks at the 2005 Sopot International Song Festival.
Tyler had two touring bands between 2004 and 2006; her regular band that she first formed in the 1990s, and a French band that toured "Wings" with her.
Personnel.
Credits adapted from AllMusic: