Meat Loaf

NOT A DRY EYE IN THE HOUSE

Gill Sherry

Meat Loaf was a larger than life character who refused to be labelled as a superstar or an icon despite selling more than 100 million albums in a career spanning six decades.

Born Marvin Lee Aday, the American singer is one of the best-selling music artists of all time. His 1977 album Bat Out of Hell remained on the charts for over nine years and still sells around 200,000 copies annually.

His death in January this year (of COVID-19 complications) came as a huge shock to the millions of fans who had followed his extraordinary singing and acting career.

His journey to success began in 1968 when he performed his first gig with the band ‘Meat Loaf Soul’ as the warm-up act for Van Morrison’s better known band, ‘Them’. It was the first of many supporting acts which saw changes to both the band name and its members along the way. They received regional recognition under the name ‘Floating Circus’ before Meat Loaf joined the production of the musical Hair.

Other theatre performances included Rainbow, More Than You Deserve, As You Like It and The Rocky Horror Show, the latter leading to the part of Eddie in the movie, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Meat Loaf always insisted the musical was far superior to the movie.

In the early seventies, he began to work on Bat Out of Hell, making the decision to concentrate exclusively on music. After countless rejections, the album was finally released by Cleveland International Records in 1977. Since then, it has spent over 522 weeks in the Top 200 of the UK chart.

Meat Loaf married Leslie Edmonds in 1979 and adopted her daughter, Pearl. The couple went on to have a further daughter, Amanda, in 1981. They divorced in 2001 but he remarried six years later. His wife, Deborah, and two daughters were all at his bedside when he died. He was quoted previously as saying: “If I die, I die, but I'm not going to be controlled”. An ironic statement made during the pandemic regarding his reluctance and refusal to wear a face mask.

He was also outspoken when it came to climate change, refusing to accept it existed and referring to climate activist, Greta Thunberg, as ‘brainwashed’. In addition, people were surprised to learn that in spite of his name, Meat Loaf was vegetarian, later declaring his intent to switch to veganism.

Whatever your opinion of his views, beliefs and lifestyle, you cannot deny his talent or, indeed, his modesty. He was once quoted as saying: “…I am not a rock star… I don’t pretend to be a legend. I want to be just a normal human being.” Maybe that stemmed from his desire to be a footballer: “…my dream was never to be a rock and roll star. I wanted to play professional football. I never wanted to be a rock and roll star.” I, for one, am glad that he did. The album version of the single Bat Out of Hell at 9.52 minutes long, has to be one of the greatest tracks ever recorded. Second only, perhaps, to Queen’s sixminute Bohemian Rhapsody masterpiece.

His career was not without its troubles. He was forced to file for personal bankruptcy in 1983 as a result of poor money management and numerous lawsuits. He also suffered with various health issues (he was diagnosed with Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome as well as having asthma) and required emergency back surgery necessitating the temporary use of a wheelchair. Weight had plagued the star since childhood (he weighed 240lbs in his early teens) and he blamed his size on his constant social anxiety.

Gill Sherry

Regardless of his off-stage difficulties, his music was as brilliant as ever. He recorded twelve studio albums – the final of which was Braver Than We Are, released in 2016 – and performed a total of 30 tours. But although his music is often referred to as ‘heavy metal’ or ‘hard rock’ he had surprisingly broad appeal. The singles I’d Do Anything For Love, Two Outa Three Ain’t Bad and You Took The Words Right Out of My Mouth were considered ‘soft rock’ by many and are among his best-selling tracks.

His wide appeal is further supported by the success of Bat Out of Hell: The Musical. It premiered in the UK in 2017 and went on to entertain audiences the world over, winning seven major awards including Best Musical at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards. Tickets are still available for the UK, US and Australia tour. But be warned, as Meat Loaf himself once sang, there’ll be not a dry eye in the house.