- Culture
- 06 Jul 22
The 1960s soul singer details shocking allegations in her forthcoming memoir, which will be released on Thursday.
Musician PP Arnold (Patricia Anne Cole) claims that she was raped by Ike Turner while she was a member of the Ike and Tina Turner Revue.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Arnold says that she "didn't know how to express herself" after Turner trapped her in a hotel room and abused her in the mid-1960s.
"If I had run to Tina or called my parents, it would have meant I would have [had] to come home.”
The singer says she was afraid to go home out of fear of further abuse at the hands of her then-husband, David, who she described as having a “deep anger.” She says she was forced to get married to David when she was 15, after a DIY coat hanger abortion went wrong and she gave birth to her son, Kevin.
“Sadly it was the way it was back then. I think it’s a lot to do with slavery and how that affected the black man’s psyche,” the singer says.
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Ike Turner died of a cocaine overdose in late 2007, aged 76. His former wife, Tina Turner, accused him of sexual and physical abuse during their marriage. The Turners’ turbulent marriage has been highly documented, especially in the 1993 biopic, What’s Love Got To Do With It.
In his 2001 autobiography Takin’ Back My Name, Ike wrote that he “never beat” his ex-wife, despite reports and recollections from Tina that say otherwise.
“Sure, I’ve slapped Tina,” he documented. “There have been times when I punched her to the ground without thinking. But I never beat her.”
The former couple’s divorce was finalised in 1978.
Arnold's memoir Soul Survivor will be released on Thursday. It details a dark period in her career when she describes herself as being a "plaything" for some of the world's biggest rockstars.
Ahead of the release, she told The Telegraph, "When I decided to write my memoir my inspiration was Maya Angelou. It's like, if I'm going to write my book I'm going to tell the truth."
After leaving the band in 1966, the singer went on to establish a successful solo career, recording her debut album, The First Lady of Immediate in 1967. She went on to accumulate hits such as her cover of Cat Stevens’ 'The First Cut in the Deepest,' followed-up with a cover of 'Angel of the Morning,' produced by Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones.
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She has collaborated with artists such as Ron Wood, Keith Richards, and the Bee Gees’ Barry Gibb, and played Glastonbury festival for the first time this year.
In the memoir, she discusses some of her past relationships with music legends such as Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, and Rod Stewart - but Rolling Stones' frontman Mick Jagger is one of few men to come out of the book reasonably unscathed.
"I never had a problem with him, though I might have a problem now."
P.P. revealed that Mick doesn’t like his ex-lovers writing about him.
"Well, I’m sorry, I had to. This is my life."