All language subtitles for Tina.2021.720p.WEBRip.800MB.x264-GalaxyRG

Tina! Tina! Tina! Tina!

Well, hey, everybody!

Come on, give it to me.
I said hi, everybody!

Let me hear you say, ""

I wondered sometimes

if anyone has approached you
to do the story of your life,

which is indeed fantastic.

Yes.

But I don't want to play
the part.

I've done it.

Who else could
play the part of Tina Turner?

We'll find someone.

I just really don't want to play
the part, you know what I mean?

No, you don't know what I mean

'cause you'd have to know me
to know.

It was just so unlike me,
my life,

that I don't want anyone
to know about it, I mean...

You mean
it'd be too painful or too--

It wasn't a--
It wasn't--

It wasn't a good life.

It was in some areas,

but the goodness did not balance
the bad.

So it's like not-- not wanting
to be reminded.

You don't like to pull out
old clothes, you know?

It's like old memories,

you wanna just leave that
in the past and done with,

and a lot of things
you don't really wanna say,

but there comes a time
when you do have to say it.

This is interview one, take one.

In 1981,
you did this interview

with People magazine where,
for the first time, really,

you spoke openly
about your past with Ike.

Yeah.

And I'm curious
if you can remember at all

any of the thoughts
you had around the decision

-to be public about that?
-About my past?

About your past,
but also, I guess,

-about the abuse specifically.
-Yeah. Yeah, that was quite...

nerve-racking.
Actually, I called my psychic

and I said,
"What's gonna happen?"

'Cause I was really apprehensive
about giving the story away,

because it was telling,
it was really telling.

And she said, "No, Tina,

it's going to do
just the opposite.

It's gonna break everything
wide open."

In the early eighties,

being in People magazine was
the equivalent of going viral.

We had 30 million readers,

and if somebody wanted to reach
a lot of people,

there was really no bigger place
to go than People magazine.

I was the music editor of
People magazine for many years,

and this is
the December 7th, 1981 issue,

when Tina decided
to tell her story.

And it was the first time
she'd told the story

in public to a journalist.

So, um, this is the story.

I reported it and wrote it
for People magazine.

This is,
the picture of Tina.

"Tina Turner remains
rock's original Jagger,

a primitive force who,
glittering in sequins

and a gold chain miniskirt,

typically assaults the stage
in mid-scream

with both legs pumping,
hips grinding,

long mane whirling,
and her mouth wrapped around

some of the sexiest sounds
ever set to music.

More than five years have passed
since Tina's bitter break

with Ike Turner,
her long-time husband, sideman,

and music collaborator
on such classics

as 'Proud Mary'
and 'Come Together.'

Only now is Tina able to discuss

what she claims
were the harrowing events

leading up to their split."

I lived 16 years with a man

that I knew there was no way
I could ever be happy with,

but I felt that
I had to stay there.

You have to believe me,
now, when I tell you something.

My ex-husband
was a physically violent man.

I went through basic torture.

Torture? You would
say-- you would call it torture?

I-- To me it was.

A lot of people don't know,
and your magazine

will probably be the first
to make it publicly known.

I was living a life of death.

I didn't exist.

But I survived it.

And when I walked out,
I walked.

And I didn't look back.

People choose
to tell their story

for lots of different reasons.

I think she told me so much

because she wanted
to just tell it

and then forget it.

It didn't quite
work out that way

because now that story
is a great mark of her life.

Ladies and gentlemen,

you've seen them live
from coast to coast.

Now you're about to see them
all together

for the very first time
on national television.

Hollywood A Go-Go presents
the fantastic

Ike and Tina Turner Revue!

When I was
a teenager back in the sixties,

I knew of their record
that they had out,

but I had never seen them.
And then they came on TV,

and I saw her dancing.

And that's all I could look at.

I was just so amazed
at this woman!

I remember
standing there watching her

and saying,

"Whatever that is,

I want some of that."

I got the spirit.

It's no different
than being in a church

where you are moved
and stirred to the point

where you could feel it
inside yourself.

Back then,
you had the whole Motown Revue,

you had Diana Ross,
Mary Wells,

the Temptations
in these Italian suits,

and were putting forth
an image of sophistication.

And they were all...

...that kind of stuff,
and Tina was more, "yeah!"

That kind of stuff,
it's wild, it's your sensuality,

your sexuality,
and it's in your face.

Did you ever study dancing?

- No.
- No?

And what about-- what about
music, singing?

No, no music at all.

Everything is just natural
for me.

I'm a performer.

And I sing and Ike does the,
the managing and producing.

It was Ike's band,
but he knew

that in order to--
to be a number one,

he needed Tina, 'cause Tina
was the shining star.

He was like her hero,

like a big brother.

And he seen her
like a little sister.

That relationship
was very beautiful,

it really was.

I wasn't thinking of...

"I'll go to St. Louis,
and I'll start singing,

and I'll be a star."

I was young, naive,

just a country girl,

and everything
just opened up to me.

Tina,
you started your musical career

in a church choir
in your hometown.

Do you consider your musical
roots to be Black gospel?

Yes, certainly.
Black gospel, blues,

BB King's music
was our radio during that time.

What kind of songs

were you singing as a member
of the church choir?

Well, we called them--
Well, it was a Baptist church,

and they were just
spiritual songs, um...

songs about, you know,
love, and, um, giving,

and, and...

doing all of the right things
that make life good.

Those were good times, you know,

to remember all of the church
singing and the choir and all.

When you're in the South,
there's nothing... happened

except the church, the piano,
the preacher.

During that time, I didn't know
about anywhere else,

so seeing Lucille Ball
and Loretta Young,

all the beautiful ladies
of Hollywood,

they were a role model
for a performer.

But I didn't think that
I would actually achieve that,

because, first, I wasn't pretty,

and I didn't have the clothes,
I didn't have the means.

I remember the first
Vogue magazine that I saw,

and I remember my first
French poster of Champs-Élysées,

the Eiffel Tower, and the--
the very-- very French woman.

I was like, "
that's what I want!

The world.
That's where I wanna go."

I got the impression
from her, she always felt

a little bit of out of time
or a little bit out of place.

I didn't think she ever felt
like people understood her

or really liked her
for who she was.

And the talent she had,

she finally learned
that she had,

can win you a lot of people
who will recognize who you are

and will become
like your-- your real family,

or try to.

Ike,
first of all, if we can--

if we can kinda go back
a long way

to when you were a young man,

a lot of people credit you
with doing

the first ever rock and roll
record, "Rocket 88."

- Yeah, that was in 1951.
- Yeah.

How did-- how did
that thing happen?

Well...
I lived in Clarksdale,
Mississippi,

which is actually 61 miles
from Memphis,

and BB King, my mother,
she practically raised him,
you know?

And, um, one night,
we was coming from
Chambers, Mississippi, playing,

and, BB,
I asked him, I said,

"Man, can we play a song?"
And he said-- he said, "Yeah."

So he let my band
play one number, so anyway,

he said, "Man, you guys
should be recording."

And, man, we didn't have
any material, so on the way up,

we decided to write this song,
and that's when I wrote
the song "Rocket 88."

Ike Turner
is a very important part

of R&B history.
Everybody relied on him

'cause he really knew music,
and he scored a real hit record

with a song in 1951
called "Rocket 88."

People say it's
the first rock and roll record.

And when it comes out,
Chess has credited it

to Jackie Brenston
and his Delta Cats.

Ike Turner did that song,
you know.

He made everything
about it happen,

and it's credited
to one of his saxophone players.

Imagine how he feels about this?

And I think that's the story
of his career.

I think he became paranoid
about that,

he said, "People are always
trying to rip me off."

He was always obsessed on it.

"Everybody leaves me.
I make 'em, you know, popular

and get a hit record
and everything for them,

and they all leave me."

Ike had a problem

of writing songs for people

and they would leave,

and I promised him
that I wouldn't leave him.

In those days,
a promise is a promise.

Bullock.

I finished school,

and I went to a recording studio
and I did a demo,

and that's when
the hit record came.

Ike came in
and he said, you know,

"The people in New York
are very excited.

We got a hit record."
He was very excited, you know.

And then there was a contract
started coming in.

I was very ignorant
to show business.

I didn't have any idea
what it was about.

She really was young.

She never had no ambition
to be some kind of superstar,

but she-- when she sang,
she just-- she just had it.

And Ike exploited it.

He had to make sure
he was gonna get his this time,

so he makes sure
that his name is on it.

And that's when he put
the whole show together,

the Ike and Tina Turner Revue,

and gave her
the name Tina Turner.

Sheena, Queen of
the Jungle, it was a TV series.

"Tina" and "Sheena," I guess
it just sounded close to him,

and it sounded good,
"Ike and Tina Revue,"

as a whole entity.

So he changed it,
didn't even ask her,

she didn't know anything
about it.

Tina was the gold mine,
he knew that.

He created
this Frankenstein thing,

and he had to control her.

So he had to change that thing
from, "being my little sister,

no, no,
you've gotta be my wife now."

Boom.

You'd never know
from one minute to the next,

Ike could be having a good time,

and everybody was having
a good time,

and it could just flip
in a second.

And I think, with-- with women,
I think, you know,

he figured
he had the upper hand.

And especially like with Tina,
you know, that was like...

I think him instilling in her,

"You'd better be good,
or, you know,

I'm gonna beat the shit
out of you."

And did on many occasions,
you know, I mean,

and for no reason,
a lot of times, it was just...

I really don't know.

I don't think he knows
a lot of the time.

I felt obligated to stay there,

and I was afraid.

And I stayed.
That was just how it was.

I felt very loyal to Ike,
and I didn't wanna hurt him.

I mean, sometimes, like,
after he'd beat me up,

I'd end up feeling sorry
for him,

and why am I feeling sorry?

I'm sitting here
all bruised and torn,

and then all of a sudden
I'm feeling sorry for him,

you know?
Little things like that.

I was 23 years old or something,
you know,

I mean, early twenties.
I was just all--

How do you call it when someone
brainwashes you like this?

- Brainwashed.
- Maybe I was brainwashed.

Yeah, I was--
I was afraid of him...

and, um, I cared
what happened to him,

and I knew that if I left,
there was no one to sing.

So I was caught up in guilt
and fear.

Yeah, those are the two worst
qualities, I think,

for a young girl
to be caught up into.

And now let's go
with Ike and Tina Turner!

In those early days,
we'd play three shows a night.

Two shows this place,
two shows that place

and two shows
at the after-hours place.

It was hard work.

I can remember working
as many as four shows a night,

and every night
and every show...

Was packed.

Right now,
I'm gonna tell you
a little something about my man.

He rehearsed constantly.

Even sometimes we'd be driving
to the next show,

and he'd be playing the guitar
in the back

and having Tina sing.
I mean, it was 24/7.

The show
has to be perfect.

Every single part of it
has to be perfect.

He was one of those guys
who would, you know,

turn around on stage
and point at somebody,

they know they're getting
a ten-dollar fine

'cause they just blew a note.

She didn't have
the glam team,

someone doing the hair
and the makeup

and the stylist
getting the wardrobe.

They did it all themselves.

The only freedom
I had was when the Ikettes and I

got the dancing ready
and I got the dresses ready,

and we'd get everything,

except we didn't even know
what song was coming up.

He would, "duh-dum,"
do it with the guitar, you know?

It was awful in a way,

but it was a lesson.

Now that I look back,
I see it as a training.

You-- you adjust to
what is given,

and that is what was given
at the time.

He controlled the music,
and she had to--

It was always his music,
and it was--

which is very samey, if you
listen to it all the time.

A lot of it's just brilliant.
I love those records.

But it's-- it's of a type.

It's one thing.
It's Ike Turner's stuff.

And she-- I think she had
broader tastes than that.

She must have felt
there was more you could do
with music than this.

I think she probably had
a bigger dream than--

without knowing it, than he did.

People started to see
that there was more to Tina

than what Ike had to offer her.

Especially after the River Deep
Mountain High album,

you know, with Phil Spector.

Phil Spector was
the greatest pop record producer

of that period.

He played the studio
like an instrument, you know,

and he found all these singers,

and he made
these wonderful records.

And when Phil Spector wanted to
make River Deep Mountain High,

Ike's presence
was not necessary.

Just bring Tina in,
'cause she's the star.

Spector didn't want Ike
nowhere near the studio,

so he paid Ike
X amount of dollars

to get him taken care of,
so to speak,

so that he wasn't--
wouldn't interfere with Tina.

And that was the first time
they gave Tina...

her chance to sing differently.

I remember
starting to sing with Phil,

that style of singing
which I had been singing.

One more time.

And he said, "No, no, no, no.
Just sing the melody."

And I liked that.

That was a freedom
that I didn't have.

You know, like a bird
that gets out of a cage.

I was excited about singing
a different type of song.

I was excited about getting
out of the studio on my own.

It was a freedom
to do something different.

It was so big,

and my voice sounded
so different

standing on top
of all that music.

People started to see

Tina was capable
of so much more.

She-- she had wings, man.

This is such
an overpowering orchestration,

it's so complex,

it's this record
that just blows out walls.

It just died
in the United States.

It died.
Nobody wanted to hear it.

And you listen to this record
and you think,

"What's the matter
with this country?"

You know? I'm so ashamed
to be an American.

You know, it's like,
"What's wrong?"

Um, so-- And that was a big blow
to Spector's career,

and, you know,
maybe Ike, probably,

was thinking, you know,
"Well, see?

He's not so great.
You should stick with me."

Like any Black artist in
America that do, any tune,

it has to go, like, top ten
on the R&B charts

before the top 40 stations
will touch it.

And "River Deep,"
was not a Black record,

you know, and so it wouldn't
make the top ten on R&B charts,

and so, therefore, the top 40
radio stations wouldn't play it.

But where in England, they,
they listen to the record,

and if the record
is an R&B record,
it's an R&B rhythm, you know,

if it's rhythm and blues,
it's rhythm and blues,

and if it's pop,
it's pop, you know,

and so it got played over here.
It never got played in America.

The Black jockeys
say it's too white,

the white jockeys say
it's too Black.

You live in LA?
Yes.

What sort of life
do you have?

Well, my life is sort
of based around my four sons.

I have a housekeeper that takes
care of them when I travel.

Being a wife and being Tina
at the same time

is almost like a split person.

But I'm able to separate
the two, so everything is fine,

and the whole thing is sane.

Ike Junior and Michael
were Ike's kids

by Lorraine,
his previous wife.

Tina had Craig when she was
with the saxophone player,

Raymond Hill,

and then she had Ronnie,
you know, with Ike.

They were, like, all together
by the time I met Tina.

Michael,
don't stand on that-- that door,

don't lean
on that door like that.

I made myself a family.

I totally psyched myself out,
and I made a home,

and I found some pleasure
in that home every now and then.

Birthdays with children,
and dinners,

Thanksgiving dinners,
periodically,

but at least I had
some sense of a life

of what I had always wanted.

Where my trophy at?

Give me my trophy.

That's a water boy trophy,
it's not--

- Where's Mother's new trophy?
- Hey, Craig?

What?

She was gone
most of the time.

Over a period of eight years,

everything was basically
the same,

eight months on the road,
four months back,

eight months on the road,
four months back.

She was very, very strict,
um,

particularly when she was home.

We couldn't have company
unless we finished our homework,

we had to do our chores,
we had to eat breakfast,

lunch, and dinner
at the same time.

She really took
to raising us personally

because, basically,
that was her happiness

to a certain extent.

Everybody was happy
around my mother,

and she was always sad.

She never had friends,

she never had anybody
she could really confide in.

So, basically, her happiness
was with us

and her time alone in her room.

And there was nothing she can do
about her circumstances.

He had to know
where she was at all the time.

She was on allowance,
she didn't have her own money.

My mother really had
a nonexistent life

other than the studio
and the house.

When I first interviewed her,

one of the questions
she kept on asking was,

"Why did I stay? Why did I stay?
People wanna know why I stayed."

And for me, it was interesting

to think about the violence
that happened before Ike,

'cause I think a lot of people
don't know that

she grew up watching
violence in her own home.

And right now...

I think you might like to hear
something from us...

...and easy.

I'd like to do that for you.

But there's just one thing.
You see...

we never, ever do nothing...

We always do it nice...

and rough.

And we're gonna take
the beginning of this song,

and we're gonna do it... easy.

Listen.

I was truly a friend to Ike.

I had promised
that I would help him...

so I was still trying
to help him to get a hit record.

Two, three, four, come on!

Whoo!

"Proud Mary" became a hit.

We were all over America.

That's fabulous.

Who settles
an argument if you--

Things are not always
the way they look, you know.

No, Ike's kinda quiet.

Yeah, he's-- he's--

Ike is very bashful
when the lights are on, and--

But on the other hand,

when he's in
the recording studio,

Ike's the one that does
all of the ruling around,

the talking,
he's the whole thing.

But in public, he's like this.

Yeah, 'cause he can't get it
together. It takes him--

I swear you're behind me.
Y'all behind me, right?

These are-- I'm on--
I'm on a speed above

where y'all feel that.

You don't hear me.

I'm just sayin', like,
you're telling her--

you're tellin' her that,
and she's not getting there.

I'm just trying to give her
an example...

of how to sing.

Okay.

In the later part
of their career when, you know,

the hits weren't coming in,

a lot of money
wasn't coming in,

he started placing
the blame elsewhere.

You know, he took a lot
of his anger out on her.

Most of the time, um,
when Ike would come home,

he would take her
back in the room

and then close the door.

And there'd be the screams.

And we were so petrified,
we were in bed

with the, you know,
covers over our heads.

And then I remember
one time he was...

...he was,
um, striking my mother,

and I was young,

and, he had thrown
some scalding hot coffee on her.

And I went,
banged on the door...

and I said, "Mother!"
And then it stopped,

and then she said,
"Craig, I'm okay."

He came to apologize,

and he apologized
for the third-degree burn

but didn't apologize
for throwing the coffee on her.

At that point in time,
I hated that man

for the rest of my life.

And I will never forget that,
never.

I had begun to not really care.

And I was there alone.

How can I tell you
what alone meant?

We got to the hospital,
and they pumped her stomach

and Ike was out talking
to the doctor or something,

and I was in there,
just her and I,

and I was scared shitless,
and I said,

"Tina, you can't die on me.
Come on, now."

It just really scared me,
'cause I didn't know what had--

you know-- if she was gonna
pull through or not.

- These are some
difficult questions, now, and...
- Okay.

...there was
a time when she was unhappy,

and there was
a suicide attempt.

Can you talk
about her unhappiness

and how that made you feel?

Well, I can't really say
how I felt

because I never knew
how she felt.

I didn't know why
she attempted suicide,

because I thought maybe
that it was a...

well...

Let me start this again.

All right,
at first, Tina, um,

attempting suicide
two or three times,

um, I think that
this was some form of attention.

Um, she was unhappy about
the things that I was doing.

Um, me being a womanizer,

being with all these women
and stuff like this.

And I think that,
the real truth

is that she was trying
to be something that she wasn't.

She was-- Wait a minute,
I wanna clarify this.

She was trying to be
what she thought I wanted.

Not what she-- what really was.

She was trying to please me,
and so therefore,

she was going through
a lot of hurt

and I think she had a very
unhappy life because of that.

I think we were living a lie,

and, if I'd have
used my head any at all,

I would've known better.

And so this is what led
to our, um, downfall.

Buddhism was a way out.

And it changed your attitude
towards

the situation that you're in.

The more you chant,
the more, you know,

you become liberated mentally.

Nam myoho renge kyo,
nam myoho renge kyo,

nam myoho renge kyo,
nam myoho renge kyo,

nam myoho renge kyo,
nam myoho renge kyo,

nam myoho renge kyo,
nam myoho renge kyo,

nam myoho renge kyo,
nam myoho renge kyo,

nam myoho renge kyo,
nam myoho renge kyo...

Ike had recognized it too,

that he couldn't control
her anymore

because she just wasn't
putting up with any of that.

Right now,

I'm gonna talk about respect,

because you see...

respect is what I want.

I think it's what most
of us want.

But, you know, we don't always
get what we want.

Especially us women.

Tonight, I'm gonna speak
for us women, you see,

because somehow, the men

always manage to get
what they want.

That's right.

They do what they wanna do

whenever they want to do it.

And you know what?

They do it with whoever
they want to do it with.

But that's just started us women
to thinking.

Yeah, we can think too.

We think that whatever's
out there in the streets

must be good.

'Cause your man's been
out there a long time.

Now us women wants to go out
there and get us some too.

I want you to...

Okay, okay.

The memory of that
was horrendous, of course,

because I was practically
run over by a truck.

I didn't-- I didn't--

Well, I wasn't thinking clearly,
of course.

And so I thought at that point
was a time when I could cross.

But, you know, I felt like
I was moving slow.

And there was that big truck,

really one of the big ones
coming,

and the horn blew and...

And what I mostly remember
is flashing lights.

The next day,
it was the Fourth of July,

and I said,
"Well, the Fourth of July,"

but I'll remember every time,

"Fourth of July,
that's when I got my freedom."

The divorce
was... clean-cut.

I got nothing.
No money, no house, no car.

That is when I realized
that I could use Tina

to become a business.

And so I said,
"I'll just take my name."

Ike fought a little bit

because he knew
what I would do with it,

and it was through court
that I got it, Tina.

To keep it... is to reclaim it.

Reshape it, refine it.

Also a kind of like,
"fuck you" to Ike.

"Yeah, you gave me this name,

but watch what I build with it."

I realized I had to go to work.

I mean,
I couldn't just stay there

and wait for what?
I had to work.

After Tina left Ike,

somebody had to pay
for all the dates they blew,

and Tina wound up
with all the bills,

none of the money.

She would go do Vegas.

She'd go do, like,
McDonald's conventions.

She'd play anywhere just
to make the money to get by.

Ike wasn't paying
anything at that point.

So she's gotta support herself
and the kids.

So that's when I started
booking television shows.

I mean, we were doing everything
from The Brady Bunch...

- ...to Hollywood Squares.
- ...in The Hollywood Squares!

Whatever TV shows
we could get her on,

because that was the only
source of income at that point.

Ike and Tina, where's Ike?

I don't know.

So nice to have
you on this show, Tina.

Thank you.

What I remember
is there was always the shadow

of Ike Turner.

It was really hard for her,
you know.

Is it all right for me
to ask you if you and Ike

are together, or separated,
or divorced, or...?

Separated and divorced.

Separated and divorced?

Yeah. We are divorced.

- Yeah, it took
a while for you to decide.
- Yes.

Well, yes. It was--
I mean, we're family,

- we've been together
for, like, 16 years.
- Yeah.

-Ike and Tina Turner, that--
that was a unit.
-Yeah.

They still-- People still
call me "Ike and Tina."

- Ike and Tina.
- Yeah, they do.

He triggered
a lot of trauma.

Just the thought of him.

You know,
'cause there was a lot.

But she's a professional.
She'd get on stage,

you'd never know
anything was up. Ever.

Five, six, seven, eight.

I was-- I was becoming stagnant.

I knew
that there was something else,

and I realized
I wasn't going anywhere.

I'd be in Las Vegas
all my life.

Five, six, seven, eight,

change position,
two, three four...

I was ready to get out there.

This is fine,
what you've got so far,

but it's not good enough.

Well then, the next question is,
but you'll have to get

someone to organize that.

That is when
Roger came into the picture.

Well, I was
working with Olivia Newton-John,

and we were doing
a television special

called Hollywood Nights.

And Olivia had this desire

to have really strong
female singers

back her in one or two songs.

We had a list
of people we asked,

Toni Tennille,
Captain &Tennille.

I think Peaches was in it,

Tina Turner, and that's
when I first met Tina.

I remember when I walked
into Roger's office,

he looked at me.

I will never forget that look.

It was in wonder, like,

"How old is she?
What can I do with her?"

All of that. And then I said,

"I simply want a manager.
I don't know what to do.

I need to work,
I want to work."

And then he said, "I need
to see what you do."

And so I said, "Well,
I'm opening in San Francisco."

They were doing
a two-week residency

at the Fairmont Hotel
in San Francisco,

two shows a night.

The first show was supper,
you know,

everyone eating dinner,
and I'm like going,

"Christ," you know, this is...

It was very cabaret,

and they did a lot
of cover versions.

I didn't react that excited.

'Cause I didn't think I could
do anything with her.

Anyway, we stayed
for the second show,

and the second show,
being like a nine o'clock show,

it was people had some drinks,
they were standing on tables

and Tina was just working
the audience.

And I went, "Wow. What a great
live performance."

You know
when you meet an artist

if they have got something
that grabs you,

and, obviously, it did to me,

and she was also
incredibly determined.

Roger said
to me, "What do you want?"

I had a dream.

My dream is to be the first
Black rock and roll singer

to pack places,
like the Stones

or those people that are packing
those kinds of places, you know?

"I want to fill
the rock stadiums,
like Mick and Keith."

And I said, "Yep, that's what
we're gonna do."

I had no idea
if we were gonna do it,

'cause there weren't any female
rock artists

in the world selling out
football stadiums.

Tina's problem
after leaving the Ike orbit

was now she's on her own,
she's just Tina Turner,

but who is that?

She is, by this point,

older than your average
pop stars,

she's a middle-aged woman.

Is she R&B, is it--
was it disco?

Wasn't she doing that recently?

It was very unclear,
her image was unclear.

When Tina said,
"I'd like you to manage me,"

I immediately thought, "Well,

we've got to get her
a record deal,

we've got to change the image

so people
at record companies know

that you're not just
a Vegas cabaret act.

We're gonna make it current."

I said, "We're gonna have
to make a rock show."

I was ready for change.

I was ready for that.

Well, first of all,
the long hair was a--

a look that I used
for Ike and Tina.

So cut the hair.

That was a change immediately.

Then the Bob Mackie
clothes went.

Pulled out some
of my rock and roll dresses,

the shorter ones.

And I went to work.

Five, six, seven, eight!

Ladies and gentlemen...

Tina Turner!

We hired a young band.

We didn't really have any money,

so Tina, who had always knew

what she wanted them
to look like,

said, "We'll put them
in black karate suits."

The band hated them.

The musicians were like,
"Why do we have to wear these?"

I said, "Well you know, you each
get a different color belt."

We looked a little bit shabby,

but that's what
rock and roll is. It's shabby.

She wanted two girls,

to get away, I think,
from that Ikette thing.

She was reinventing herself

as Tina Turner.

That was the beginning
of me taking control

of my performance.

I was my own boss.

So, the minute
we changed the show,

reviews were great,
everything was going well.

And then we started working
to try to get a record deal.

Nobody would touch Tina Turner.

When I first started
trying to look for a deal

with Tina,

the general feeling was,

"Is she still
with that guy, Ike?"

No one had any idea.

Tina needed to be exposed
as, "She's a solo artist,

she's not associated with Ike."

Roger came to me, asking me

if I would be willing
to give the story to the press,

and I was afraid to...

put it out because of
what I might receive from Ike.

I didn't really know too much

about the backstory,

and nobody knew
about the traumas

that she went through.

You know, I just was looking
for a simple comeback story.

Little did I know, you know,

there was this whole legend,
that came about.

I didn't know what to expect.

I wanted to stop people
from thinking

that Ike and Tina
was so positive.

I mean, he was-- it was--

that we were such a love team,
or a great team,

and it wasn't like that.

So I thought, if nothing else,
at least people would know.

Tina Turner is a legend,

a major influence on rock stars

like Rod Stewart
and Mick Jagger.

Once, she was teamed
with her husband, Ike.

Now she's on her own,

trying to establish herself
as a star once again.

My life with Ike, it was,

one that a lot of, maybe,
people are familiar with,

of husbands that is,

that practice brutality.

- Yeah?
- Yeah.

Nobody talked
about sexual abuse,

physical abuse, domestic abuse.

Abuse, period.

Our generation
is the generation

that started
to break the silence.

Tina, she couldn't
voice her own opinions.

Everything that she did
was with Ike.

The idea of Tina
as a presence on her own

and having escaped,
people loved that story.

They wanted-- You know,
here was somebody to root for.

Once the word was out,
we met a guy called Carter,

John Carter at Capital
who believed in her.

I had always been
interested in artists

that no one else
was interested in.

Once a star, always a threat,

and that's the way I felt
about Tina.

So you play that thing,
you're playing that,

and you're playing
the strum under me,

and we move down stage
with that.

Let's just get that right.
That's exactly...

Carter basically gave us
a development deal.

We tried probably eight
or ten tracks,

still trying to find our way.
We never got quite there.

Stay under me there,
but just come down.

Keep the pulse under me.
Don't lose the--

We record a few things,

and as much as Roger
and I would get enthusiastic

about a song here
and a song there,

it was never really
the body of work that we needed.

And then one day,

Carter rang me up,
beside himself,

because there'd been
a change of management

at Capital Records.

And they'd been in a meeting,

and they'd been going through
the roster of artists, I guess,

and the new management
didn't want Tina on the label.

The new regime comes in...

...and like any new regime,

they've got their own idea
about what they wanna do.

- Right.
- So I flip out,

I go downstairs, and I said,
"Hey, this is my act."

And the classic quote is,

"Carter, you signed
this old nigger douchebag?"

Whoa. Whoa.

"Yeah, yeah, I did,
and I'm really happy about it.

Now pick up the phone
and call Roger Davies."

- Wow.
- He said,
"No fucking way."

And I get on my knees,
and I said,

"I'm now gonna beg you,
and I'm not gonna get up

until you pick up the phone."

And there was a long stare down,

- and he picks up the phone.
- Wow.

Well, he says, "Okay,
she's back on the roster."

"You finish your record,

but you understand

that we're gonna do nothing.
That's all there is."

I was held back...

for a very long time.

But I didn't suffer
from those things,

and it's not necessary
to suffer about that

because what can you do
about it? You know?

So I didn't think
about those things.

She always had a belief
it was gonna be okay.

And I think you had to have
that belief to get-- keep going.

Radio, as you know in America,
was very categorized.

And there's pop,
and there's R&B, there's urban,

then there's hot AC,
and she wanted to sing rock.

And that wasn't really what
they thought would work.

And that's when we knew
that it had to be England,

'cause England
and Europe got her.

It was London,
it was another whole experience

from America.

You know, it felt like home.

It felt so comfortable

that I could've been there
all my life.

Well I didn't have
that many friends in America

because, of course, Ike,

and then when I left Ike,

immediately, I went to work.

My sons were at home,
they were fine.

My oldest was 28, um...

my youngest is moving
well into his middle twenties,

so not really kids anymore.

I left everything
and everybody behind.

I needed every minute
of my brain

to map my life together.

It's almost like
she had a coming of age

at 40 years old.

The fact that
she has this voice,

this incredible,
incredible voice,

I would say the industry
didn't even really know
what to do with.

Roger could see
what could be done

when other people
couldn't imagine

what it could become.

Said, "There's this new kind of
production technique in England,

and there are these new people,

they're getting new sounds,

and you should be part of that."

I was collecting songs.
I used to carry around

this leather bag
full of cassettes

and asking a bunch of people
and, you know,

Terry Britten,
he was a bit of a hero of mine,

and he had songs
I think might work for Tina.

Roger's tea.

"What's Love" is probably
the worst demo ever done

to this date. I mean,
there's no-- there's no--

Just none of that stuff.
Very white, very pop.

And nothing remotely

would say Tina Turner.

Originally,
it did go to an English band

called, um, Bucks Fizz.

They were really popular
at the time

and, I think they actually
recorded it.

I thought "What's Love" was...

it could be a big song.

Tina never really liked it.

It was terrible.
It was awful. It was...

I was rock and roll,
I was not--

That was a--
that was a pop song.

So Roger says, "All right,
all right, all right.

Just one thing,
you've gotta meet Terry Britten,

you've gotta meet him
'cause he's a great writer,

and maybe he can make some
adjustments or whatever."

And I went, "All right."

We walked in, and I didn't know
what to expect at first,

and Terry was like
a little leprechaun.

I mean, he's very short.

He was sitting there, and his
legs were hanging.

There's just something about his
legs hanging that I remember.

She came in,
and immediately, she said,

"Well, you know
I don't like that song,

and I don't wanna do that song,

and it's Roger-- Roger
that wants me to do it."

Well, I said, "Well, you know,
if it doesn't work out,

you won't use it,
so let's give it a go."

I had to find a way
to sing the song,

so he would say,
"Tina, sing this

how you would sing it."

So, okay. Then I applied
my heavy voice to it and--

She was trying
to get her head round it.

"How's this little...

...work?" Sort of thing,
and, I said to her,

"Tina, this is a jog."

And we both stood and jogged.

I said-- and--

she was singing loud,
and I went, "Quieter, quieter."

She said, "If I go any quieter,
I'll be whispering."

I said, "Yeah, that's it." And
we start to jog on this thing,

and suddenly she went,
"I got it, I got it, I got it."

I was stunned
afterwards, after the session.

They weren't used to
a strong voice

standing on top of music.

But I converted it
and made it my own.

She said,
"You know what?

People are gonna say
this is a Tina Turner song.

It's not Tina doing a cover.

This is Tina Turner's song."

I knocked that album out
in two weeks in the studio.

Done. Finished.

We just went
from studio to studio,

and, literally,
two or three weeks,

the album was done.

We turned up with an album
that sold 20 million copies.

When the album was out
and we were in New York

at Tower Records
doing a record signing,

and I got the call
from our record company

that it had gone--
"What's Love" had gone
to number one on Billboard.

In Tower Records?

This was in Tower Records.

And I just jumped up
and I said to everybody,
"It's number one!"

And they all started cheering.
It was wonderful.

You know,
when you said that,
I honestly have to tell you,

I know it's gonna sound
real corny, but I mean it,

when I saw you
say that last night,

that this went number one today,
I just, like, burst into tears

because, to me, it was like
there is some justice after all.

I don't know if you feel
that way about it,

but it was very moving.
Number one.

And the record
of the year is

"What's Love Got to Do with It,"
Tina Turner.

My goodness. This has been
a wonderful evening.

I'd like to take this award

and give it to someone
that's been wonderful to me

as a friend, and in business,

and in many ways, my manager,
Roger Davies.

It's been a wonderful year.

My Private Dancer album,

no, I don't consider it
a comeback album.

Tina had never arrived.

It was Tina's debut
for the first time,

and this was my first album.

Tina Turner!

Tina Turner!

It reached a stage where,

after Private Dancer,
it was unbelievably big.

It was a runaway train.

When you're hot, you're hot,

and this lady is the hottest.

-Here's...
-Tina Turner!

I had my boyfriend
standing in line

since 3:00 in the morning
to get these tickets.

I said, "That's it,
the relationship's over

unless you get me
these tickets."

And if she isn't sexy,
I don't know who is.

Give our honors to Tina Turner.

Stupenda, stupenda.

...Tina Turner.

Um, Private Dancer,
I think we ended up doing

a hundred and fifty concerts.

And then we went on
to break every rule.

On that album,
we did the biggest tour
we've ever done.

We played 230 shows
in 18 months,

everywhere in the world.

This 50-year-old woman playing
at stadiums throughout Europe

and having an audience
ranging from about 15 to 60

was pretty amazing.

- She makes you feel young.
She's alive, she's bouncing.
I know, I feel like

- I'm 20 years younger.
- I can't wait
for them to come back.

When I'm on stage,
and it's like 20,000 people,

then you know that
it's all worthwhile, you know.

But it's really a lot
that goes on behind the scenes

when you-- I've never been
this big before,

you know what I mean? And you--
It's just incredible.

We didn't stop.

We played the small halls,
we played the clubs,

we did all the TVs,
we got to arenas.

We eventually fulfilled
her dream

and filled the stadiums.

That concert in Rio
was 186,000 people there.

Tina! Tina!

Hello, Rio!

Give it to me. Hello, Rio!

You can't imagine
what it was like for me

to finally to stand there
and draw all those people.

It's a feeling of, like,
"I did it,"

and it's really genuine.

It's-- it is almost like magic,
because you're standing there,

and they're really
giving you love.

Are you ready?

Are you ready for me?

I'm ready for you.
Hello.

Thank you.

In 1985, she signed on
to do the third Mad Max movie,

Beyond Thunderdome.

Rolling Stones sent me
to cover this.

Great, I would love
to cover this.

She was the biggest pop star
in the world.

I mean, it was already clear
that there were gonna be people

doing these quickie bios
of Tina Turner,

which I thought was really
tacky, so I get over there

and I talk to Roger,
and I said, "You know,

maybe you should have someone
do a book.

You know,
do an actual biography.

And... could be me.

I mean,
could be anybody, you know.

- I don't want to be pushy."
- You pitched to them?

Yeah. Well,
I brought up the possibility

of doing something
to forestall

all these bad books
that would be coming out.

When she became successful,

the past came up,
and it got a lot of press

'cause she was also
hugely popular.

People continued
to ask about Ike,

even after she had had
huge solo success.

They'd bring up
the same old stuff,

over and over,
in every interview.

We couldn't stop it.

Ike was, arrested on some
cocaine charges in Pasadena.

Yeah, for possession

and-- and conspiracy,
possibly for dealing.

Any reaction to that?

I, you know, I'd like to hear
all positive things.

I'd love to hear
that Ike had a record deal,

- and he was producing
an album on himself.
- Yeah.

Right.

Yeah.

I think that she said
at the time that, "I can do this

and not talk about it again.

Everybody's talking about it.

Everybody has this idea
about it, thinks this or that.

So, I know what happened.
I'll say what happened.

Then I won't have
to address it again."

A long line of fans
waited outside

a Barnes and Noble bookstore
for Tina.

The soulful singer is now
also an author,

and she was in town,
anxious and willing

to autograph
a few hundred copies.

It was worth getting sweaty,

going up there, pushing people,

getting them out the way,
seeing Tina Turner. I love her.

"What's Love Got to Do with It"?

Tina's book, by the way,

tracing her rise and fall
and rise again,

is titled I, Tina.

It was a top ten
New York Times best seller,

strict because of Tina Turner.

I mean,
they could put an empty book out

with her picture on the cover,
that book would have sold.

She just felt
maybe it will put it to bed

once and for all.

Which, of course, it didn't.
It just made it bigger.

Albuquerque, New Mexico, hello.

I read your book,

and it's totally
changed my life.

I love you. I thank you.

That story
reached so many people

who felt like they had to kinda
keep their secrets

locked away deep down.

But then I wonder
that thing of, like,

it's like a Pandora's box
situation, right?

Like, "Damn, I gotta tell
this story again?"

And then
the film came out,

and just kinda brought
more attention to her name,

for people to see
what happened and everything.

- What'd you say?
- Don't start with me.

I ain't in the mood today,
all right?

It's tangible in the sense
you're watching it.

I'll give up
all that other stuff,

but only
if I get to keep my name.

I worked too hard for it,
Your Honor.

That just changed
everything for her.

That role changed my life.

I mean, I'm not Tina,
and I've got so much,

love from others.

Men, women who have come up
and said,

"You playing her in that story
changed my life."

The story
goes out into people's houses,

and then it becomes a part
of their life as well.

It's Tina Day!

That's hard
to wrap your mind around,

that your life has been
an inspiration,

maybe the worst parts
of your life

has been an inspiration.

We have 50,000
letters downstairs

from women who have also
been through it and survived.

Tina did it, so can you,
let's celebrate.

She's no longer
in control of that story.

That's what happens to icons.

Anna Mae Bullock
has her own life.

Tina Turner
belongs to the world.

Miss Turner, welcome to Venice.

Can you give me your views
on the film?

Well, I haven't as yet
seen the film.

Well, I'm not so thrilled
about thinking about the past

and how I lived my life,
it was-- made a story--

the story was actually written

so that I would no longer
have to discuss the issue.

I don't love that it's always
talked about, you see.

I made a point of--
of just putting the news out

to stop the thing,

so that I could go on
with my life.

And this constant reminder
is not so good.

You know,
I'm not so happy about it.

So, do I want to sit in a screen

and watch the violence
and all the brutality?

No. That's why
I haven't seen it.

You know,
when you talk to journalists

over and over
for 20 or 30 or 40 years,

memories come back.

She has partly dreams about it,

they're not pleasant.

So I think these are
these things

that come back to her
when she opens that book.

It's like when soldiers
come back from the war.

It's not an easy time to--
to have this in your memory,

and then try to forget.
I see it a little bit like that.

Tina today
is a world superstar, um,

but there was a point where you
had to become the Comeback Kid.

How did you get the strength

to get out
of that situation with Ike?

We are going to talk
about him, aren't we?

Okay.

I need my fan now,
I just had a flush.

How did I get out
of that situation?

Let me figure out how I can
talk about that, two seconds.

No, no, I know how
to get out of it.

I'm just going to say,
um, something.

Give me two seconds here.

You don't want to think
about those times, you know.

You just want to--
it to just to go away.

But if you're gonna keep
bringing it up,

the brain is saying,
"You want to remember that."

That scene comes back.

You-- you're dreaming. It's--
The real picture is there.

It's-- it's like a curse.

You raised a son by him,

a son by another man,

and two of Ike's kids
by other women.

There were always other women
on the scene.

What was that like for you?

When you were married to Ike,

what was the absolutely
worse moment?

What do you think
attracts women to bad men?

Is there a real lowlight?

Something you'd love to forget?

And of course,
the book and the movie features

your allegations
about his bashings.

Tell me about that?

I'm-- I'm past it.

It's been 16 years
since I haven't been with Ike,

and the movie and the book
is bringing me back to the past,

of something
that was really awful.

My life is wonderful
at the moment.

I'm a happy person now,

and I don't dwell
on unhappiness.

The trauma is still so deep
that to go back there

makes you feel like
you're actually going back.

If you don't address the wounds
of your past,

you continue to bleed.

You know, she just--
she always had the feeling

that she wasn't loved.

She wasn't, you know,
she wasn't a wanted child.

I think with her mom,
I think that's still the--

the dramatization
of being left as a child,

that never left.

Ma was, not kind.

When I became a star,
of course, back then,

she was happy because
I bought her a house.

I did all kinds of things
for her. She was my mother.

You know, I was trying
to make her comfortable,

because she didn't have
a husband, she was alone.

But she still didn't like me.

Even after I became Tina,

Ma still was a little bit,

"Who did that?"
or "Who did this?"

And I said, "I did it, Ma."

You know, I was happy
to show my mother what I did.

I had a house,
I had gotten a car,

and she said,
"I don't believe it.

You're my daughter,
I know you didn't--"

Something to this affect.

Yeah, she...

She didn't want.
She didn't want me,

she didn't want to be around me,

even though she wanted
my success.

But I did for her
as if she loved me.

She's had
a few kind of ups and downs

in her life as well.

It hasn't--
it hasn't been all happy.

- Right.
- Um...

When-- when she's unhappy,
how-- how does she deal with it?

I would say she...

She did a great job
of dealing with it, because...

she would figure out the problem

and how to handle it.

Would she
kind of come running home
to you crying?

No, no, no, no,
she figured that out on her own.

Have you
had any particularly...

any particular moments
that you were really proud of?

Well, I've been proud of her
ever since she started singing.

But it's like...

a person-- some people's
afraid to climb a ladder

unless someone's holding it.

But she's not.

Once she make that first step
on that ladder,

she keep climbing up,
up, up, up.

She's not afraid.

She'll try it.

She's not afraid
to try anything.

Do you think
that now, after all the--

I mean, you've risen to the top
of the entertainment field,

where you've maybe
sacrificed love for--

- Rising.
- This is what--

This is what
readers will say, now.

"She has no--
she has no love in her life."

Kurt, we're gonna
get really heavy now

because I'm drinking.

- You're gonna find out.
- Good.

I have not received love
almost ever in my life.

I did not have it
with my mother,

and my father
from the beginning of birth.

And I survived.

Why did I get so far
without love, Kurt?

I've never had it.
And it-- and if I cry here,

it doesn't mean
that I pity myself,

it means that tears come
with certain memories.

No. Tears are not bad.

I have had
not one love affair

that was genuine
and sustained itself.

Not one.

Kurt, I've been through...

...fucking tons of heartbreak.

I have analyzed it.
I said, "What's wrong with me?"

I've looked in the mirror
with myself stripped of makeup

and without hair.

Why can't someone see the beauty

in the woman it is that I am?

Not a goddamn person
that found it.

The man
that I'm looking for, actually,

has to be a very strong man,

to wear, actually, the trousers,

but yet not to dominate me.

And that's fair.

Tina, over here!

We met at a Cologne airport.

No, actually it was,
Düsseldorf Airport.

And, her manager, Roger,

asked me to--
to pick up Tina.

He was younger.
He was 30 years old at the time.

The prettiest face.
I mean, you cannot.

I said, it was like saying,
"Where did he come from?"

He was really so good looking.

My heart went,
"ba-boomp, bop, bop."

And it means that
a soul has met.

And my hands were shaking.

So Roger said to me,
"Tina, you ride with Erwin."

And I-- I wanted to go, "Yay."

We enjoyed the ride.
I enjoyed driving the artist.

Actually a superstar for us,

where you're normally
a little nervous, you know.

But,
I wasn't nervous either.

I was just doing the job.

When he
found out that I liked him,

he came to America.

We were in Nashville,
I think it was,

and I said to him,

"When you come to LA,
I want you to make love to me."

But I thought that I could say
that 'cause I was a free woman,

I didn't have a boyfriend.
I liked him.

There was nothing wrong with it,
it was just sex.

And he looked at me
as if he doesn't--

didn't believe
what he was hearing.

I laugh now at the moment,

because I sometimes
get that look

when I do certain things.

He was just so, so different.

So laid back, so comfortable,
so unpretentious.

And that was the beginning
of our relationship.

I really needed love.
I just needed to love a person.

How many years later, darling,
we got married?

Twenty-seven.

It's love. It's something
we both have for each other.

I always refer to it
as an electrical charge.

I still have it.

I still have it and even though
when I left her

two hours ago,
three hours ago this morning,

I still have that feeling.

That feeling is still with me,
and, it's in my heart.

I feel very warm about this.

First, a minute to remember

one of the fathers
of rock and roll.

Ike Turner died today at age 76.

Back in 1951,
Turner helped record

what is one of the first
rock and roll records,

"Rocket 88," with his band,
The Kings of Rhythm.

He may be best known
as the abusive ex-husband

of Tina Turner, with whom
he performed for many years.

After their separation,

Ike Turner continued
to make music.

In 1991, he was inducted into
the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,

and earlier this year,

his record Risin' with the Blues

won a Grammy
for Traditional Blues Album.

For a long time,
I did hate Ike,

I have to say that.

But then after he died,

I really realized
that he was a sick person.

He was an ill person
at the soul.

He did get me started,

and, he was good to me
in the beginning.

So I have some good thoughts.

Maybe it was a good thing
that I met him.

That, I don't know.

It hurts to have to
remember those times.

But at a certain stage,
forgiveness takes over.

Forgiving means
not to hold on.

You let it go,

because it only hurts you.

Not forgiving, you suffer,

'cause you think about it
over and over again.

And for what?

I had an abusive life.

There's no other way
to tell the story.

It's a reality, it's a truth.

That's what you've got.

So you have to accept it.

Working it.
Working it as always.

Why thank you, honey.

Can you tell us
what Tina means to you?

The money shot is coming.

Some people say
the life that I lived

and the performances
that I gave,

the appreciation
is blasting with the people.

And yeah, I should be proud
of that-- I am--

but when do you stop
being proud?

I mean, when do you--

How do you bow out slowly,

just go away?

She said,
"I'm going to America

and I'm going to say goodbye
to my American fans,

and, I'll wrap it up."

And I think this
documentary here and the play,

this is it.

It's a closure, a closure.

Tina, Tina, Tina!

What I gleaned
from her life was love.

Love of self,
love of her family,

love of her-- of her talent.

Love of audiences,

of music, of freedom.

But there's a part of her,
I guess,

that we've all laid claim to,

we've all embraced
across the world,

and I hope she knows that.

You know, how beloved,
how loved she is.

She is absolutely adored.

Sing it, everybody!

Thank you.