LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: One of Tina Turner's friends broke down on live television after he learned about the iconic singer's death. 'The Best' singer died at the age of 83 after a prolonged illness at her home near Zurich in Switzerland.
While the world paid their respect to the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll," Chris Rhodes, Tina's friend and former crew member, was interviewed just a few minutes after she died. Just as Chris came out of London's Aldwych Theatre at the half-time interval of TINA: The Tina Turner Musical, he was interviewed by the BBC News. The American camera operator disclosed that he came out of the venue to smoke a ciga, but was left completely devastated when he learned about the singer's death.
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Chris has vast experience working with Tina Turner. The technician worked on more than 105 concert dates with Tina on her Private Dancer Tour in 1985. The famous tour solidified Tina's position as a major solo artist following her split from her abusive ex-husband and former performing partner Ike Turner. The tour is often considered as one of the biggest best comebacks in music history and the 3-month tour saw her sell-out shows across Europe, North America, Australia, and Asia.
What did Chris say about Tina Turner?
Chris remembered what it was like to know and work alongside her. “I knew her very well, I toured with her in 1985,” he explained to the BBC. "She was the hardest working person I’ve ever seen in my life. We would do five nights, 500 miles apart on a bus, all around the United States, Europe, wherever", he said when asked what Tina was like to work with. “Roger Davies, her manager, would add shows so we’d do six nights. We’d be like ‘no we can’t do another show’, but if Tina could do it, we did it.”
Chris also recalled the last time he saw her, revealing that he had visited her house in Switzerland in recent years. “She lived in a wonderful place in Switzerland and I got to go to her house maybe seven or eight years ago", he said according to Mirror. “I was travelling Europe, following Eric Clapton. I got to see her then and that was wonderful. A wonderful lady, so spiritual and she just dances in your heart. You just feel that rhythm and that pulse and I’ve never seen anybody like it.”
Chris shares his experience with Tina
“I heard that she taught Mick Jagger to dance. She’ll dance forever in our hearts, every human being that hears that voice, the power of that voice was unbelievable. So raw,” he said. He also detailed what she was like off-stage. “I would say she was one of the most kindest human beings in the world. She was so respectful to everyone who worked for her. We were treated well, we had a great big bonus at the end of the tour,” he laughed. “She paid for everything so respectfully, we gave everything back we could.” “She was kind to the crew, kind to every human being that was around her, just amazing,” he said before bringing his hand to his face and breaking into tears.
Chris also remembered one of the first things he was told when he started working for her and that was never to mention her ex-husband's name. “It’s funny, as a crew, one of the first things that were said to us was ‘Don’t bring up his name’,” he recalled. Chris enthused while saying, "She’s the biggest gift of my life because she opened up the world to me and my dreams and my hopes. I never thought i'd be connected to Tina and I’m connected here right now." As Chris burst into tears again, the journalist wrapped his arms around him and said, "Oh, Chris, I’m sorry, maybe we should stop.”
