Tina Turner, a rock icon, was also Jaguar cars lover

Rock and Roll icon Tina Turner who died on Wednesday May 24 at her home in Switzerland at age 83, left many legacies behind beyond just her epic music career.

She was an automobile enthusiast too, owning and loving premium cars throughout her life.

“One of my favourite escapes was driving my Jaguar,” she wrote in her autobiography.

She became one of those celebrities who had one of the biggest influences in the car world.

Turner always found solace in automobiles, notably her white Jaguar XJ6, which she received as a gift from Sammy Davis Jr.

The late icon’s Jaguar XJ6 and a Jaguar E-Type gave her a much-needed taste of freedom, car.com.au notes in a report.

According to the Nation World, Tina Turner’s love for high-performance luxury cars began way back in 1971, when Sammy Davis Jr. got a Jaguar XJ6 as a special gift in the name of sport. The car had a 4.2-litre inline six-cylinder engine, delivered a power of nearly 250 horsepower and offered 384 Newton-meters of torque.

Another Jaguar car, XK-E, was gifted to her by her ex-husband and musical collaborator, Ike Turner.

The XK-E bore a “1 Tina” licence plate and became a point of contention during the couple’s divorce in 1978, according to a report by Car & Driver, an online auto reviewer.

“To my relief, the judge ruled in my favour,” Turner wrote in her 2018 autobiography, My Love Story.

“So I walked out of that courtroom with just my name. Oh, and two Jaguars—cars that had been given to me personally.”

Following the divorce, Turner reinvented herself and her career out of necessity. In 1984, her album Private Dancer was released and became a huge commercial success, selling 10 million copies globally.

Turner became a regular name on the pop music charts with songs like “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” “Better Be Good to Me,” and “Private Dancer.”

With her star on the rise and three new Grammy awards in her trophy case, Turner starred alongside Mel Gibson in the third instalment of the post-apocalyptic Mad Max film series, Mad Max beyond Thunderdome.

She recorded two new songs for the film, one of which netted her a fourth solo Grammy award.

She would ultimately win eight over the course of her career, with one early in her career shared with Ike for their hit song “Proud Mary.”

As her musical and film success pushed her star ever higher, Plymouth tapped Turner for a series of television commercials for its lineup of cars, including the Acclaim sedan and the Laser sports coupe, a car that won a 10Best award from Car and Driver in 1989.

While not exactly Jaguars, Turner’s love for the cars and her on-camera joie de vivre made for some compelling marketing for Plymouth.

In her trademark purr, she was pictured in the rear seat of an Acclaim saying: “Now this car is built for comfort. I wonder what else we have in common.”

Turner lived her life out loud and used music to share her personal struggles, making her a relatable rock star unlike any other.

Her automotive enthusiasm is something she cherished and shared too, even though she will be remembered mostly for her contributions to the entertainment industry.

Why I abandoned my father’s $60m mansion – Davido

Nigerian music star, David Adeleke, fondly known as Davido, has narrated why he once ran away from his family’s $60million house to sleep in a friend’s studio.

In an interview with REAL 92.3 FM, Davido said this happened because of his passion to do music.

During the interview, the 30-year-old singer highlighted how much he was willing to do music —so much so that he got on bad terms with his billionaire father, who was ready to give him the best life so long as he stayed in school.

The Afrobeat musician said: “ “People don’t really know about my past like the early part of my career. What was difficult for me was coming from a very wealthy background. Everybody just felt like, ‘Nah, his dad…This is money’. I dropped several records before they had to agree like, ‘Okay, he is actually good.’

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“You know people love the grass to grace story. Everybody love the story of ‘I was down bad, now I’m up.’ I had never been really down bad. But I was passionate [about music]. We had a $60million-house in Nigeria that I ran away from; I was sleeping in my friend’s studio, hot. They were look at me crazy like ‘Bro, you better go home.’ I said, ‘I’m not going home.”

Meanwhile, Davido’s team has revealed that $5 million is the cost of getting the artiste for endorsement over a calendar year.

According to a post by Billpoint CEO, Linus Williams, on Instagram, Davido’s team disclosed the cost of bringing the musician on board as an ambassador to his company.

The post titled “Re: Endorsement Deal Inquiry” reads “Hello Mr Williams, thank you for your email. Davido’s endorsement fee is $5m for a full calendar year and is subject to review at the end of the endorsement period. kindly let me know how you would like to proceed.”

Why I abandoned my father’s $60m mansion – Davido

Daily Trust

Another veteran Yoruba actor is dead

Nigeria’s entertainment industry has lost another veteran Yoruba actor, Prince Adewale Adeyemo.

Adeyemo died on Monday morning after a brief illness, it was learnt.

This was announced by a fellow actor, Kunle Afod, on his Instagram page.

Sharing a picture of the deceased, Afod wrote, “Hmmmm God you know best RIP Prince Adewale Adeyemo.

“He passed on early hours of today after a brief illness. God will comfort all his family, friends and colleagues.”

The news of his death came hours after the Yoruba movie industry held a night of tribute for late Murphy Afolabi, who passed on May 14, 2023.

Death of popular Nigerian actor, Saint Obi, was also announced on May 13.

Obi (Obinna Nwafor) reportedly died at 57 in the first week of this month after battling an undisclosed illness for several months.