Between the Earth and the Stars is the seventeenth studio album by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler, released on 15 March 2019 by earMUSIC. The album was produced by David Mackay.
Background
The album first came into existence when her former bass player from the 1970s Kevin Dunne, brought a set of songs he had written and wanted Tyler to sample, following discussions and work at the cash cabin studios in Nashville, the process of producing the album came to life
In October 2014, Tyler was misquoted in an interview with the Daily Sabah stating that she had begun working on her seventeenth studio album with Jim Steinman, saying, "We are choosing love songs and Jim’s melodies are amazing, we have already chosen some great rock pieces." The quotes were later removed from the original article.
Following the release of Rocks and Honey in 2013, Tyler remarked to Portugal's Kiss FM that she expected it to be her last. In 2017, she announced that she had been inspired to record another album after hearing "fantastic new songs" written for her by Kevin Dunne, who played bass guitar in her first band in the early 1970s. In December 2016, she visited the Cash Cabin Studio in Nashville to commence recording with John Carter Cash. In 2018, Tyler announced that she would instead be working with David Mackay, who co-produced her first two albums, The World Starts Tonight (1977) and Natural Force (1978). Tyler and Mackay also collaborated on Frankie Miller's album Double Take (2016).
In August 2018, The Sun falsely reported that Tyler had recorded an album of duets with Rod Stewart. Tyler clarified in another interview with Kiss FM that they had only recorded one song, later revealing the title to be "Battle of the Sexes".
The title track "Between the Earth and the Stars" was originally recorded by American singer Jeff Wood on his 1997 album of the same name. "Don't Push Your Luck" originally appeared on Lorraine Crosby's album Mrs Loud (2008). "Slow Walk" first appeared on Brian Cadd and The Bootleg Family Band album Bulletproof (2016). "Someone's Rockin' Your Heart", the album's duet with Francis Rossi of Status Quo, was originally written by Rossi and Bob Young for Status Quo's 2016 album Aquostic II: That's a Fact!, under the alternate title "Is Someone Rocking Your Heart?".
Amy Wadge gave Bonnie Tyler three tracks ("Older" from Amy Wadge 2016, "Bad for Loving You" from Walking Disaster 2018 and "To the Moon and Back" from Recovery 2014) for the album and sang background vocals.
Artwork and packaging The cover art for Between the Earth and the Stars is cropped from a photograph by Tina Korhonen. The album's title is visually represented by a circle and two stars, which appear between the text of Tyler's name and the album title.
Promotion Tyler announced that she had reunited with David Mackay on Jane McDonald and Friends in March 2018. In October, Tyler appeared on Good Morning America. She performed at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on 31 December 2018 to promote her new album and upcoming tour. On 22 January, Tyler's website closed, leaving a notice that read: "Check back for an exciting announcement on 31 January 2019!" Her website reopened the following day with a new design, featuring a short video documentary with previews of selected tracks and interviews with Tyler and Mackay.
Singles On 1 February 2019, "Hold On" was released as the first single from Between the Earth and the Stars.
Tour On 28 October 2018, Tyler announced her Between the Earth and the Stars Live Tour in support of the album. The tour began on 28 April 2019 at the Circus Krone in Munich, Germany, and concluded on 1 June 2019 at the W-Festival in Frankfurt, Germany, with a total of 23 dates in venues throughout Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxembourg, France and Austria.
Track listing
Charts Chart (2019) Peakposition French Albums (SNEP) 181 French Albums Physiques (SNEP) 87 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) 96
Personnel Credits adapted from liner notes.
Musicians
Bonnie Tyler – lead vocals Rod Stewart – featured vocals Cliff Richard – featured vocals Francis Rossi – featured vocals , guitars David Mackay – production , percussion , backing vocals , strings , drum programming , keyboards , acoustic bass , bass , piano , synths , backing vocals Richard Cottle – percussion , keyboards , saxophone , tenor saxophone , bass , synths Laurence Cottle – bass , trombone , electric bass , synths Kevin Dunne – bass , guitars Miriam Stockley – backing vocals Bob Jenkins – drums Ray Russell – guitars Bob Huff – guitars Francis Rossi – guitars Geoff Whitehorn – guitars Leon Cave – drums Miriam Grey – backing vocals Claire McInerney – baritone saxophone Nichol Thomson – trombone Tom Walsh – trumpet Adam Linsley – trumpet Daz Shields – drums , backing vocals , extra percussion Brian Cadd – backing vocals Paul Hirsch – keyboards Amy Newhouse-Smith – backing vocals Amy Wadge – backing vocals Alex Toff – drums Matt Prior – guitars Ian Stuart Lynn – piano , strings , bass , synths Stuart Emerson – percussion , backing vocals Lorraine Crosby – backing vocals Tom E Morrison – guitars , keyboards , bass , drum programming Claudio Corona – organ
Technical David Mackay – recording, mixing Jerry Stevenson – mastering
Design Patchwork Associates; Jackie Campbell, Katie Etherington and Phil Rossiter – artwork design Tina Korhonen – photography
Release history Region Date Format(s) Label France 15 March 2019 earMUSIC Germany Italy Australia 22 March 2019 Spain United Kingdom United States 12 April 2019 Digital download Fourth Chord Records Canada Various 9 October 2020 Vinyl earMUSIC United States 20 October 2020 Digital download Canada United States 16 September 2022 CD Canada
References