Meat Loaf : Bat Out of Hell singer dead at 74 : Today
Meat Loaf: Bat Out of Hell singer dead at 74 : Rock’n’roll superstar died at home with his family by his side, his agent confirmed
The US singer and actor Meat Loaf has died aged 74, his agent has confirmed. Born Marvin Lee Aday and later legally known as Michael, the musician died on Thursday with his wife, Deborah Gillespie, by his side. No cause of death was shared but unconfirmed reports suggested he had died of Covid-19.
“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,” his family said in a statement. “From his heart to your souls … don’t ever stop rocking!”
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Written and composed by Jim Steinman, Meat Loaf’s 1977 debut album Bat Out of Hell remains one of the biggest-selling albums in history. Steinman and Meat Loaf’s 1993 album Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell produced the global hit single I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That). It was his only UK No 1 single, spending seven weeks at the top. He completed the Bat Out of Hell trilogy with The Monster Is Loose in 2006. The three albums have sold more than 65m copies worldwide.
Meat Loaf also had a breakout role in the 1975 film version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show playing Eddie, an ill-fated delivery boy who sings the song Hot Patootie. He appeared in more than 50 films and TV shows, among them Fight Club, Wayne’s World and Spiceworld the Movie. In 2021, he signed a deal to develop a relationship competition series titled I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That).
The news of the rock star’s death prompted numerous fond tributes. Alice Cooper called him “one of the greatest voices in rock’n’roll” and one of his closest friends in showbusiness, and recalled their work together on the 1980 comedy Roadie.
“He plays the ultimate roadie on this quest to be the best in the world,” said Cooper. “But that’s what he did in life too – he always wanted to be the best at what he was doing and I think he succeeded. There was nobody, and I mean nobody, like Meat Loaf.”
Stephen Fry recalled performing a sketch with him on the UK sketch comedy show Saturday Live in the 1980s. “I hope paradise is as you remember it from the dashboard light, Meat Loaf,” he tweeted. Of their appearance together, he wrote: “He had the quality of being simultaneously frightening and cuddly, which is rare and rather wonderful.”
Adam Lambert recalled his kindness: “A gentle hearted powerhouse rockstar forever and ever.”
“The vaults of heaven will be ringing with rock,” wrote Andrew Lloyd Webber. “Give my best to Jim.”
Music industry executive Pete Waterman called him a “larger-than-life character with a unique voice”, a take echoed by Bonnie Tyler who said he had the “stage presence to match … One of those rare people who truly was a one-off talent and personality.”
Aday was born in Dallas, Texas, on 27 September 1947. He was an only child, his mother a school teacher and gospel singer and his father a former police officer who developed alcoholism after being medically discharged from the US army during the second world war.
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