Tina Turner. Picture: Facebook
Tina Turner wanted to be cremated and is set to have a small, private funeral.
The ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It’ singer, whose death aged 83 from “natural causes” after years of health woes, was announced on 24 May, was not keen on having a big final farewell, according to Eddy Hampton Armani, Tina’s former personal assistant for more than 20 years.
He told the Daily Mirror: “She did not want a big public funeral. She wanted to be cremated and I expect it to be a small, very private affair. I am sure there will be some kind of memorial concert and tribute later.
“It will be for her very close friends in Switzerland, and her manager. It will not be a big family occasion.”
Armani, 65, kept in touch with Turner after she settled in Switzerland, where she died at her $76 million compound with her second husband Erwin Bach, 67, at her side.
Armani supported her through her abusive marriage to Ike Turner until she found happiness with Bach.
Along with years of abuse from Ike, the “Private Dancer” singer was devastated when her two sons died.
Raymond took his own life, aged 59, in 2018, while Ronnie died in 2022, aged 62, from cancer.
She adopted Ike's two sons, Ike Jr and Michael, but had they little contact after her move to Switzerland.
Bach added that Tina had “left the past behind” after the loss of her two sons.
A spokesperson for Turner, born Anna Mae Bullock, and dubbed the ‘Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll, has confirmed to The Sun: “There will be a private funeral ceremony attended by close friends and family.”
Her decades of health issues included a stroke, PTSD from her abusive marriage to her former music partner Ike, as well as long-standing kidney issues that led to Bach donating one of his kidneys to her to save her life in 2017.
One of her representatives said she had suffered a “long illness”.
Turner’s private funeral will mean the flood of fans who have been gathering outside her 10-building estate on the northern shores of Lake Zurich won’t be attending.
Tennessee-born Turner gave up her US citizenship 10 years ago to become Swiss, moving there in 2013 three months after marrying Bach.