Death of Tina Turner: Channel 7 star Larry Emdur opens up about the music icon’s ‘sexy’ comment in an interview and reveals an emotional revelation
Channel 7 star Larry Emdur has shared poignant throwback footage of an interview with Tina Turner 33 years ago.
It was announced on Thursday that the 83-year-old music icon died in Switzerland after a long illness.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Larry Emdur gives a throwback interview with Tina Turner.
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The tributes immediately started flowing, and the Morning Show co-host recalled his memorable conversation with the singer in 1990.
“She was (in Australia) at the launch of the NRL,” said Larry, referring to the rugby league governing body’s use of her hit song ‘The Best’ in its promotional material.
“I was (then) a young reporter.
“I tried, I did my best to do a nice interview with the Queen of Rock and Roll.”
An excerpt from the interview was then shared on the show.
“How long can you stay wild?” Larry asked, making Turner, then 50, laugh.
“Gosh, if you’d asked if I’d be back to who I am when I was 50, I probably would have said no,” she smiled.
“I’ve come this far… Maybe I’m sitting here at 80 and saying that, ha ha ha!”
“The raunchiest great-grandmother in the world!” Larry replied.
Looking back on the interview, Larry said it was “such a pleasure” to speak to her.
“That smile, that warmth and that glow, that was real,” he said.
“She walked into this little interview room and warmed everything up.
“I told her that my father, my late father, was so in love with her – I think every man in the world was in love with her.
“And after that I said, ‘Would you mind if I could take a picture for dad, a signed thing?’
“The publicist gave her a very businesslike NRL photo to sign, and she looked at the publicist and said, ‘Get me a sexy photo for Larry’s dad!’
“She was just beautiful.”
Larry said he’s interviewed a lot of people over the years, but Turner stood out.
“You hope that in interviews everyone is like that,” he told co-host Kylie Gillies.
“What a memory,” Kylie said.
Turner is now considered one of the greatest singers of all time.
Tina Turner came from humble beginnings in the state of Tennessee, USA, and rose to worldwide superstardom.
She was admired for overcoming her abusive 16-year marriage to performing partner Ike Turner to pursue a solo career in her mid-40s.
She had found fame as a duo with Ike in the 1960s and 70s.
Hits like “River Deep Mountain High” and “Nutbush City Limits” stormed the charts in several countries.
As Turner revealed much later, the marriage was torture for her, as Ike beat and bullied her.
She finally fled from him at the age of 37.
She waived all financial claims to the music they created together in order to get through the divorce quickly and start the next chapter in her career.
At the age of 45 she shone with the album Private Dancer, her solo breakthrough in 1984.
From then on she filled stadiums and music stages all over the world.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the “Queen of Rock and Roll” wowed audiences with her powerful voice, daring costumes, sexy dance routines and boundless energy.
She has had numerous hits, from What’s Love Got To Do With It and Proud Mary to We Don’t Need Another Hero and The Best to name a few.
In a career spanning more than 60 years, Turner has won eight Grammy Awards and has a star on both the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the St. Louis Walk of Fame.
After a farewell tour in 2009, she retired and later became a Swiss citizen.
– with Reuters
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