Tina Turner's right-hand-man on rock legend's breakup and fling with David Bowie
27.05.2023 - 04:03
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
Through the rollercoaster years when Tina Turner broke free from her abusive marriage and went solo to conquer the world, she could always rely on her personal assistant Eddy Hampton Armani.
For over 20 years he travelled the world with her as her right-hand man, looking after her wardrobe and ensuring her life ran smoothly. He was there when she left Ike Turner, and he was there when she first met her second husband Erwin Bach, who was with her when she died, aged 83, at home in Switzerland this week after a long illness.
Eddy was there when, as a single woman at the height of her fame, Tina was courted by some of the biggest names in rock’n’roll. And he was in the hotel room next door to hers when she finally fell into bed with David Bowie.
Eddy said yesterday: “I was with her for many years, we were best friends. Our relationship ran deep; I was her personal assistant, I made her wigs, I lived in her house, I cooked for her.”
They first met when Eddy, now 65, started the Ike and Tina fan club while still a teenager living in Los Angeles. He worked in Ike’s Bolic Sound studio in Inglewood, California, before he finally persuaded Tina to take him on, and they travelled across the US, Australia, Asia, Europe and to the UK.
Tina nicknamed him “Armani” because of his love of designer gear. Once rid of Ike’s control, she confided in him about her crush on Mark Knopfler, who wrote her smash hit Private Dancer, her chemistry with Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton, and her passion for Blade Runner actor Rutger Hauer.
Tina never slept around but in Birmingham she finally fell for Bowie, who had courted her for many years. She had invited the singer to perform as a special guest in her Private Dancer tour on March 23, 1985, at the city’s