Tina Turner’s touring partner says the Private Dancer star was ‘an undeniable force of nature’

SINGER and songwriter Janice Robinson has described the late Tina Turner as “an undeniable force of nature” who “changed the world”.

Janice, who was her support act during her 2009 50th anniversary tour, told GB News: “She was an undeniable force of nature. I mean, when you were in her presence, you felt this energy. I just remember standing there next to her and we were both wearing black men’s shirts and I said, ‘oh my god, we’re even wearing the same shirt.’

“I turned into a five-year-old girl in her presence. Every time we had a show I would, do my opening number, do my my performance and then I would go out and watch her like a student. And I would be in the front row and I studied her, everything about her. It was just like getting a PhD in performing, up close and personal.

“It was just surreal and I told her at the time. There was no social media, so I lived it, I just lived it. I lived something very beautiful.”

In a discussion with Tom Harwood, she continued: “The world is different now because we have witnessed a woman overcoming a mountain of adversity, a mountain of pain, a mountain of struggle.

“She changed the world, especially for women. She made ageing such a fascinating journey. She made ageing and doing what you love so attainable, and I’m still standing because of her, because she laid out a blueprint for life and for career that you can never give up.

“You must always keep going especially when you believe in something so powerful, believing in yourself and I am forever grateful. Like I said, I’m still standing because of her and to talk about her 23 years later.

She added: “It’s very emotional. The world is different because Tina Turner was light and she was fire and she was energy, she was everything beautiful that we all can strive to be.”