earMUSICIf you’ve ever heard Bonnie Tyler‘s hits “It’s a Heartache,” “Total Eclipse of the Heart” or “Holding Out for a Hero,” you know that Bonnie’s raspy voice is reminiscent of Rod Stewart‘s. Well, it’s taken them 50 years, but now, the two legendary vocalists have finally recorded a duet, which North American fans will get to hear later this year.
The song, “Battle of the Sexes,” appears on Bonnie’s new album Between the Earth and the Stars, which comes out this Friday in the U.K. and most of the world, but won’t be released officially in the U.S. and Canada until the fall.
Appearing on the British TV show Loose Women, Bonnie noted that fans have been waiting for years for her and Rod to record together, and explained that she landed him for the project after a mutual friend promised to pass along her request.
“I waited until I found the right song, which took a couple of months…and I had this song called ‘Battle of the Sexes,'” Bonnie recalled. “And so I thought, ‘This is it.’ So I sent it to [Rod’s friend] Ricky…he passed it on, [and] within a day or two days, Rod got back to me personally…to say that yes, he wouldn’t normally — but yes, he’d do it!”
Rod isn’t the only British knight involved in the album: The Bee Gees‘ Sir Barry Gibb wrote a song specifically for her to record, and she also sings a duet with iconic U.K. pop star Sir Cliff Richard.
And on the more modern side of things, the disc features three songs written just for Bonnie by Amy Wadge, one of Ed Sheeran‘s favorite collaborators — she and Ed co-wrote “Thinking Out Loud,” among other tracks.
No word yet on an exact U.S. release date.
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