Inside Meat Loaf's life – Heartbreaking loss, onstage collapses and 'murderous' father

Rock ‘n’ Roll legend Meat Loaf has died at the age of 74.

The death of the singer, whose biggest hits included Bat Out of Hell, I Would Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That), Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad and I’d Lie For You (And That’s The Truth), has led to an outpouring of tributes from fans and stars around the world.

Since bursting onto the music scene with the chart-topping Bat Out of Hell album in 1977, he became one of the world’s most famous performers, appearing in hit Hollywood films and a memorable Celebrity Apprentice stint.

However, before finding fame, the star endured a tragic loss and a tough upbringing, as well as a number of health battles and a reported feud when performing worldwide.

Tough upbringing and tragic loss

Meat Loaf was born Michael Lee Aday on September 27 1947 in Dallas, Texas, to Wilma Artie who was a school teacher and gospel singer, and Orvis Aday, who was a former police officer.

The singer also revealed to Rolling Stone magazine that it was his father who gave him his famous stage name, saying that his father said “he looks like meat”.

However in the same interview, Meat Loaf also revealed shocking insights into his upbringing, which saw his alcoholic father physically attack the singer as a young child, before disappearing for days at a time.

Meat Loaf and his mother would then drive from bar to bar to try and find his father.

However in 1966, tragedy struck when Meat Loaf’s mother Wilma Artie died from cancer while the singer was just 19 years old.

It was reported by Classic Rock Magazine that he was so gripped by grief at the loss of his mother, that during the funeral, he held his mother’s body and told the undertakers “you can’t have her”.

Shortly after the funeral, the singer recalled that his drunk father then came into his bedroom brandishing a knife and lunged at the singer, with Meat Loaf telling Rolling Stone magazine: “I rolled off the bed just as he put that knife right in the mattress.

“I fought for my life. Apparently I broke three ribs and his nose, and left the house barefoot in a pair of gym shorts and a T-shirt.”

After the incident, the singer did not return home and in 1967, moved to Los Angeles to start a career in acting – and soon after, a star was born.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show and ‘sweary’ Celebrity Apprentice stint

One of Meat Loaf’s earliest acting performances was in the National Lampoon Show opposite John Belushi on Broadway, but it is The Rocky Horror Show that first brought the singer to world wide attention.

Meat Loaf played delivery boy Eddie in the film version of the 1975 rock ‘n’ roll music by Crystal Maze host Richard O’ Brien, who sadly meets his end at the hands of Tim Curry’s Dr Frank ‘n’ Furter.

Before his character’s death though, the singer gave the world a glimpse of his trademark vocals in the upbeat number Hot Patooti (Bless My Soul) – three years before rising to global fame with the first Bat Out of Hell album.

Despite becoming one of the world’s biggest rock stars, Meat Loaf continued to act throughout his career, making memorable appearances in TV programmes and films including Fight Club, Waynes World, The 51st State, Glee and as Dennis the bus driver in Spice World: The Movie.

He even jokingly referred to one of his biggest hits during Spice World: The Movie, saying on screen: “I love these girls, and I’d do anything for them… but I won’t do that.”

The star even made memorable appearances on Popstar to Opera Star, and the Celebrity Apprentice in 2011, where he got into a swear-laden rant at a fellow celebrity, over paints that were being used to create artwork that would be sold to a gallery as part of their task.

Jim Steinman bond, ‘feud’ and lawsuit reports

Five years after Meat Loaf moved to Los Angeles, a meeting with the songwriter Jim Steinman would change Meat Loaf’s life forever.

Jim Steinman was the songwriter behind some of Meat Loaf’s biggest hits including Bat of Hell, as well as global chart toppers Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler and All Coming Back to Me Now by Celine Dion.

Of his memories meeting the singer, Jim Steinman said in an interview on his website: “Meat was the most mesmerizing thing I’d ever seen.”

Together they worked on the global chart topping album Bat Out of Hell, which was released in 1977, and is still one of the biggest selling albums of all time, as well as Meat Loaf’s duet with singer Cher – Dead Ringer For Love.

However media reports during the eighties suggested that the two argued and sued one another, becoming embroiled in a ‘feud’ with Meat Loaf working with other song writers for his albums including Midnight at the Lost and Found.

In the years before his death though, Meat Loaf addressed the stories of arguments, a feud and the reported lawsuits with Jim Steinman in an interview with The Guardian, saying that the two had never actually had an argument and that they still had a close bond.

He said: “The lawsuits have our names on them because they can’t happen without them.

“They tell us that we can’t talk to each other. Then 15 minutes later I’m on the phone to Jim. So it’s a joke. Jim and I have never had an argument.

“The closest we ever came to an argument was when he had a million doughnuts, and he didn’t want to give me one.”

The two later reunited for Bat Out of Hell II, which features the iconic I Would Do Anything For Love, and the final album in the trilogy, 2006’s The Monster is Loose.

Together, the Bat Out Of Hell trilogy has sold over 65 million world wide, and a musical, Jim Steinman’s Bat Out Of Hell has been a world-wide hit.

Meat Loaf helped to produce the show with Jim Steinman and even got onstage to perform with the cast in New York back in 2019.

Following the singer’s death, the cast of the UK production paid tribute to Meat Loaf on social media following Meat Loaf’s death.

They said: “The Company of Jim Steinman’s Bat Out of Hell musical here in the UK is deeply saddenned to hear of the passing of their great friend and producer, Meat Loaf.

“The beat is yours forever.”

Concussions, car crashes and near misses

Meat Loaf spoke openly about the near misses with death that he had in his life, including having 18 concussions, being hit in the head with a shot put while playing the sport at school and being involved in eight car crashes.

He also revealed to Ultimate Classic Rock that he had a couple of near misses while travelling on planes too, saying: “I’ve been in a plane that didn’t have front landing gear when we came down. I’ve been in a plane that lost its hydraulics on landing.

“We were tipping from one side to another, rolling across the grass. [I’ve been on] two other planes, one private and one normal that the wind hit us so hard [while landing] the wing hit the runway.”

Despite having experiences some pretty close calls throughout his life, the singer told Rolling Stone Magazine: “Nothing, nothing has ever put me down. Yeah, man. I never go down.”

Health battles and onstage collapse

Meat Loaf had always been open in the past about his health battles and his onstage collapses in both 2003 and 2016.

One of his first injuries came while he was performing the song Paradise by the Dashboard Light, in which he fractured his leg while on tour in the seventies.

Talking about his performances, singer Karla DeVito who performed alongside Meat Loaf on the tour and would memorably kiss the singer during Paradise by the Dashboard Light, told Louder Sound: “Meat pushed himself so hard physically every night that he required oxygen to revive him.”

Years later in 2003, Meat Loaf underwent heart surgery after collapsing onstage while performing in London.

After the surgery, the singer later revealed that he had been diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, meaning there was an extra electrical pathway in his heart.

However he soon recovered and continued to perform onstage, but over a decade later, the star collapsed again onstage from dehydration in 2016.

Despite reports that the singer had died, which proved to be false, Meat Loaf recovered and later addressed his onstage collapse in the media, telling The Guardian: “I had the flu for two days before. I’d been on stage for nearly two hours.

“The show isn’t a normal one when people stop their song, sip some water and speak to the audience.

“We do it like a symphony. It doesn’t stop, so I had dehydration. That’s all it was.”

Three years later, he also broke his collarbone after tripping an falling during a Q&A session in 2019.

Family life

Away from the limelight, Meat Loaf was married twice – first to Leslie Aday from 1979-2001 and then to Deborah Gillespie from 2007.

During an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, Deborah referred to Meat Loaf as “a sex god”, to which Meat Loaf was reported to have smiled and said: “Look. I am a sex god. But I am not a rock star.

“When people call me a legend, I say, ‘Don’t call me that, I’m not a legend.’ I don’t pretend to be one. I want to be just a normal human being.”

The couple were married for over 15 years and Meat Loaf also had two children called Amanda and Pearl from his first marriage.

Meat Loaf died on January 21 2022 aged 74, surrounded by his family, but a cause of death has not been confirmed.

Following his death, his family paid an emotional tribute to both him and his fans in a statement, saying: “We know how much he meant to so many of you and we truly appreciate all of the love and support as we move through this time of grief in losing such an inspiring artist and beautiful man.”

“From his heart to your souls … don’t ever stop rocking!”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk