Wings (Bonnie Tyler album)

In January 2004, Tyler was number one in France with her bilingual song "Si demain... (Turn Around)",[4] which boosted sales of her then-current studio album Simply Believe. Still working in France, Tyler went on to collaborate with French producer Jean Lahcene to put together another album.[5] Wings was released on 14 May 2005, and would be her last album for eight years before the release of Rocks and Honey.[1][6] Tyler co-wrote nine of the tracks for Wings; this was the first time in Tyler's career that she had been directly involved in the composition of her songs.[5] The album was recorded at the Pasteur Studio in Paris, France, and "All I Need Is Love" and "I'll Stand By You" were recorded at Stuart Emerson's studio in the UK.[5] Wings features two tracks written by Stuart Emerson, one of which was a duet with his partner and Tyler's friend, Lorraine Crosby. Emerson also contributed to Tyler's 1995 album Free Spirit and 2004 album Simply Believe.[7][8] Two of the tracks, "Louise" and "Celebrate" are also featured on the album in French.[1]

Wings was released in the United Kingdom under the title Celebrate in 2006. The UK version omitted the French versions of the two singles.[2]

Other releases including live performances of songs from Wings include the DVD Bonnie on Tour (2006), the live CD Bonnie Tyler Live (2006) and The Complete Bonnie Tyler (2007); a CD and DVD pack that included Tyler's DVD Bonnie on Tour and Wings.[9]

On 15 May 2020, Tyler released a remix of "I'll Stand by You", retitled as “Through Thick and Thin (I’ll Stand by You)”, with Lorraine Crosby as a charity single in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.[10] It reached no. 64 on the UK Downloads Chart.[11]

The album received a mixed review from Tomas Mureika of Allmusic. He described the album as "safe," and added that it "serves as a herald that Tyler should be re-teaming with a producer of Jim Steinman's caliber to bring out the best in her inimitable voice." After pointing out that the album did have some high points, he concluded that the album was, however, forgettable.[12]

When released in the UK as Celebrate, Elly Roberts (of Glasswerk Magazine) praised the album. She said: "The voice, as unique as you’ll find by a female singer, is as coarse as ever. Her band is as hot as anything on the scene (the lead guitarist is outstanding), with superb production at every level." Talking about the track "Run Run Run", she described it as a "typical chart friendly affair, full of wailing guitar solos, and a catchy chorus that would grace any party dancefloor", and predicted that the track could possibly become her next anthem.[13]

Credits adapted from Allmusic:[19]

• Producer, executive producer - John Stage
• Management - Lionel Ducos
• Engineers - Stuart Emerson, Saint James II, John Stage
• Programming - Fred Andrews, Stuart Emerson, Fab, Saint James II, John Stage
• Photography - Ducs, Bertrand Levet, John Stage, Robert Sullivan
• Artwork - Pop at Work
• International coordination - Karen Drotar
• Keyboards - Fred Andrews, Didier Collet, Stuart Emerson, Saint James II, Laurent Meliz, John Stage
• Drums - Tom Box, Stuart Emerson
• Bass guitar - Stuart Emerson, Jannick Top
• Guitar - Stuart Emerson, Sebastien Heurtault, Eric "Zycki" Stezycki
• Bagpipes - Loïc Taillebrest
• Soloist - Lorraine Crosby
• Backing vocals - Lorraine Crosby, Karen Drotar, Stuart Emerson, F. Godebout, D. Goury, Serge Haouzi, Laura Lahcene, Fanny Llado, J.J. Sombrun, John Stage