How Tina Turner was looking for a place to stay in Switzerland: A slap in the face and flowers for her manager

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Housing was very important to Tina Turner († 83). The pop icon placed great emphasis on a retreat where she and her husband Erwin Bach, 66, could escape the woes of the music industry. In the 1990s the duo planned to move from Cologne (Germany) to Switzerland.

Realtor Gerda Strasser (75) helped the couple for three months in 1994 find a feel-good place in Switzerland, where Tina Turner had long been fond of. “A manager from EMI music company contacted me. Together we selected suitable objects and reviewed them before showing them to Tina Turner.»

photo with Tina Turner

Strasser still remembers her pop icon villa tours: “Tina Turner was such a fit, normal woman. She was always so warm and inspiring to everyone.” Visits were made to Zug, Schindellegi SZ and Volketswil ZH over three months. “I was also allowed to take pictures with Tina Turner here. This was a big exception because otherwise all photos had to be approved by management,” Strasser says.

Strasser has always been a big fan of Turner, seeing her with her then-husband Ike (1931-2007) at their first concert at the Volkshaus in Zurich: “Tina wore a gorgeous diamond heart and a super short mini dress like the backing singers »

Slap for the agent

Tina Turner paid attention to every detail when it came to the residence, and the ambiance of a villa or chateau was also important to her. One visit ended in a scandal: “The owner of Bellikon Castle in Aargau slapped me in the face for feeling excluded from the visit,” Strasser says. It was a lot of money. The castle was worth millions of francs back then.

The story made headlines in Switzerland and landed on the front page of “Blick”: the cover story “Noise around Tina’s castle, beatings” on December 2, 1994. Tina Turner was a witness and was horrified. After this event, the purchase of the castle was out of question.

The agent received a bouquet of flowers

Even the pop icon broker reassured: “Tina Turner sent me a wonderful bouquet of flowers the next day. She was a rock queen. It’s a pity she had to go,” Strasser said.

Tina Turner’s search for a place where she could feel comfortable came to an end only four years later when she moved to the Château Algonquin in Küsnacht ZH.

Source :Blick