I had the pleasure to see Meatloaf play in a small club in Albany, NY circa 1980, only a couple of years after Bat out of Hell-- when he still looked like a Meatloaf and would routinely get concussions for falling off the stage or bumping into walls. He's slimmed down, calmed down, and cut his hair, but he's still touring, though supposedly for the last time. Until I looked up info on him on the net, I had forgotten he is also still doing movies, most notably Fight Club. I also got a chuckle out of the following, considering Bat Out of Hell is one of the best selling albums of all time:
He was in a few bands before he got the part in Hair. Other roles followed, including one in the LA production of the Rocky Horror Picture Show (he was also in the film). He toured in the National Lampoon Road Show, where he and Jim Steinman put together the songs for Bat Out Of Hell. When it was released in 1978, the industry response was overwhelmingly negative. Meat's own record company hated it. One critic made a point of reviewing the album two months before its release, and gave it half a star. "Melody Maker - when we played Hammersmith Odeon, they called us the worst rock and roll band in the history of rock and roll," says Meat. "But that did more for me than anything else in the world. That sold more records. I went to do Central Park, there's 35,000 people ... and there's all this press from all over the world, from Argentina, from Brazil, from the Middle East, and everybody's wanting to talk to me. Finally I was talkin' to some guy, from Greece I think, and I said, 'Why are you here?' And he says, 'Melody Maker! They called you the worst rock and roll band in the world and everybody wanted to come and see you.' And then he looks at me and says, 'I thought you were pretty good."
surfsupnet.plus.com |
