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"After she escaped Ike Turner, Tina Turner was written off by the whole music business. She was a Black woman in her 40s. It was time for the oldies circuit.

"The night that changed her life was in NYC, January 1983. David Bowie was having dinner with his new record label, right before Let's Dance came out, getting wined and dined, but he informed them he had plans for the night: He was going to see Tina Turner live. He wouldn't dream of missing her. He dragged everyone along with him. Her manager Roger Davies got a last-minute call, asking for 63 spots on the guest list. 'My Cinderella moment,' she called it in her book. 'That night at the Ritz was the equivalent of going to the ball (minus the part about Prince Charming) because it changed my life dramatically.'

"After the show, she raised hell all night with Bowie, Keith Richards and Ron Wood, sitting around the hotel piano, singing Motown classics, guzzling Dom Perignon. They posed for one of the coolest rock photos of all time: Tina, Keith and Bowie all drinking from the same bottle of Jack Daniels. She was a rock star now, forever. Her story was just beginning."

Photo: Bob Gruen

Source: John Dark