Infotainment Factory: Why rugby league fell in love with Tina Turner

It was the advert that brought glamour to a game on the rise and epitomised what rugby league was truly about.

People like to put names to faces but if ever there was a song that made rugby league familiar to the masses, then Tina Turner's "What You Get Is What You See" was it. It gave the game a mainstream identity in 1989, laying the platform for the game's golden years in the early 90s before the Super League storm split the game.

The song was perfect for the campaign because it spoke to the athletes playing the game, working class men playing a brutal sport with no regard for their bodies, giving the code a ballad it could pin its virtues on. And it worked.

You could be anywhere in the world but when you hear that song, for league fans who grew up in the 1980s, it instantly takes you back to a montage of ripped old school players training in the offseason while Turner does her thing. The ad campaign was in stark contrast from most modern advertisements which focus on the brutality of the contest, giving it a unique selling point that was attractive to a wider audience.

But the story behind Turner's involvement in rugby league's coming of age was all about chance.

Turner left her husband, Ike, an abusive man who performed with Turner and controlled her career while ruthlessly beating her, even owning the copyright to her own name. Part of the settlement in the divorce stated that she could own the rights to her name but would be saddled with $500,000 debt, which in the late 1970s was hefty.

The story goes, she left, face bloodied, one eye closed with just 34 cents in her pocket. To pay off the money owed, she played in cocktail bars to keep the wheel turning, when she met Australian promoter Roger Davies, who became her manager. From there, she basically went from cabaret singer to rivalling musical greats Michael Jackson and Madonna.

However, her association with NSWRL was traced back to Davies' friendship with then-NSWRL boss John Quayle's assistant, Nicky Braithwaite. There were some at league headquarters that doubted Turner's presence would boost the game, but Quayle ignored the naysayers.

"She was so natural – as a person you could not fault her," Quayle told rugbyleaguehub.com.

"People forget the first ad was 'What You Get Is What You See'. That went so well and her manager Roger Davies – who is Australian – said 'She's got a new album coming out and there might be an opportunity'."

Due to budget and time constraints the original "What You Get Is What You See" campaign was filmed in London where Turner was touring at the time. Logistically, the NSWRL could only get UK-based Australian players to appear in the ad. Turner only appears briefly in a couple of indoor shots while the rest was filmed in Australia, with players training in the offseason.

"The first time, I went over to London and I took the goalposts, the jerseys, everything," Quayle said.

"We had one day to do the commercial. It was at Fulham Stadium. We filmed it in the dressingroom. Just her and Roger and the production crew. I remember how cold it was.

Tributes pour in for music icon Tina Turner

"I wanted to have the best looking player in our game, Andrew Ettingshausen, there. He was at Leeds. I was good friends with Gavin Miller (the Aussie player at Hull KR).

"He tells me 'Andrew's last game was snowed off and they're not going to release him. But don't worry, I've got someone else – Cliffy Lyons'.

"Christ. I've gone from the best looking guy to .. oh, never mind."

One year later her new hit "The Best" was even more popular, and there was a duet with Jimmy Barnes, with Turner flying to Australia to record the promo.

"That song was 'The Best'. We went over to America and secured the rights for the Southern Hemisphere for five years," Quayle recalled.

"She was becoming a world star. I remember in 1995 when we brought in the new teams and she was shooting the commercial, she's on top of the harbour bridge … in high heels.

"Can you imagine that today?

"It was forever associated with rugby league, that song. We were offered a lot of money by companies to on-sell the rights to it but we never did.

"They were great times."

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