 Michael Lea Day, better known by his stage name Meet Loaf, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is noted for the Bat Out of Hell trilogy of albums, consisting of Bat Out of Hell, Bat Out of Hell 2, Back Into Hell, and Bat Out of Hell 3, The Monster is Loose. Bat Out of Hell has sold more than 43 million copies worldwide. Almost 40 years after its release, it still sells an estimated 200,000 copies annually, and stayed on the charts for over nine years, making it one of the best-selling albums in history. He is also known for his powerful wide-ranging operatic voice and theatrical live performances. After he enjoyed success with Bat Out of Hell and Bat Out of Hell 2, Back Into Hell and earned a Grammy Award for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance for the song I'd Do Anything for Love, Meet Loaf experienced some initial difficulty establishing a steady career within the United States. However, he has retained iconic status and popularity in Europe, especially the United Kingdom where he received the 1994 Brit Award for Best Selling Album and Single, appeared in the 1997 film Spice World, and ranks 23rd for the number of weeks spent on the UK charts as of 2006. He ranked 96th on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with worldwide sales of more than 80 million records. He has also appeared in over 50 movies and television shows, sometimes as himself or as characters resembling his stage persona. His most notable roles include Eddie in The The Rocky Horror Picture Show, 1975, Robert Bob Paulson in David Fincher's Fight Club, 1999, and The Lizard in the 51st State, 2002. He has also appeared in several television shows such as Monk, Glee, South Park, House, M.D. and Tales from the Crypt as a guest actor. Early Life Marvin Lea Day was born in Dallas, Texas. He was the only child of Wilma Artie, a school teacher and a member of the Vododoo Girls Gospel Quartet, and Orvis Wesley Day, a police officer. His father was an alcoholic who would go on drinking binges for days at a time. A day and his mother would drive around to all the bars in Dallas, looking for Orvis to take him home. As a result, a day often stayed with his grandmother, Charles C. Norrid. Meatloaf relates a story in his autobiography, To Hell and Back, about how he, a friend, and his friend's father drove out to Love Field to watch John F. Kennedy land. After watching him leave the airport, they went to Market Hall, which was on Kennedy's parade route. On the way, they heard that Kennedy had been shot, so they headed to Parkland Hospital, where they saw Jackie Kennedy get out of the car and Governor John Connolly get pulled out, although they never saw the president taken out. In 1965, a day graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School, having already started his acting career via school productions such as Where's Charlie, and The Music Man. After attending college at Lubbock Christian College, he transferred to North Texas State University, now the University of North Texas in Denton. After a day received his inheritance from his mother's death, he rented an apartment in Dallas and isolated himself for three and a half months. Eventually, a friend found him. A short time later, a day went to the airport and caught the next flight leaving. The plane took him to Los Angeles. Music career In Los Angeles, a day formed his first band, Meet Loaf Soul, after a nickname coined by his football coach due to his weight. During the recording of their first song, he hit a note so high that he managed to blow a fuse on the recording monitor. He was immediately offered three recording contracts, which he turned down.Meet Loaf Soul's first gig was in Huntington Beach at the Cave, opening for Van Morrison's band, Them. While performing their cover of the Howlin' Wolf song Smoke Stack Lightning, the smoke machine they used made too much smoke and the club had to be cleared out. Later, the band was the opening act at Cal State Northridge for Renaissance, Taj Mahal and Janice Joplin. The band then underwent several changes of lead guitar, changing the name of the band each time. The new names included Popcorn Blizzard and Floating Circus. As Floating Circus, they opened for the Who, the Fugs, the Stooges, MC5, Grateful Dead and the Grease Band. Their regional success led them to release a single, once upon a time, backed with Hello. Then Meet Loaf joined the Los Angeles production of Hair.During an interview with New Zealand radio stations EM, Meet Loaf stated that the biggest life struggle he had to overcome was not being taken seriously in the music industry. He compared his treatment to that of a circus clown. Stoney and Meet Loaf With the publicity generated from Hair, Meet Loaf was invited to record with Motown. They suggested he do a duet with Sean Stoney Murphy, who had performed with him in Hair, to which he agreed. The Motown production team in charge of the album wrote and selected the songs while Meet Loaf and Stoney came in only to lay down their vocals. The album, titled Stoney and Meet Loaf, Sick, Meet Loaf as one word, was completed in the summer of 1971 and released in September of that year. A single released in advance of the album, What You See Is What You Get, reached No. 36 on the best-selling Soul Singles chart, the same chart is now titled Hot R&B Hip Hop Songs, and 71 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. To support their album, Meet Loaf and Stoney toured with Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers, opening up for Richie Havens, The Who, The Stooges, Bob Seeger, Alice Cooper and Rare Earth. Meet Loaf left soon after Motown replaced his and Stoney's vocals from the one song he liked, Who Is the Leader of the People, with new vocals by Edwin Starr. The album has been re-released after Meet Loaf's success, with Stoney's vocals removed. Meet Loaf's version of Who Is the Leader of the People, was released, but the album failed. More Than You Deserve After the tour, Meet Loaf rejoined the cast of Hair, this time on Broadway. After he hired an agent, he auditioned for the public theatre's production of More Than You Deserve. It was during the audition that Meet Loaf first met his future collaborator Jim Steinman. He sang a former Stoney and Meet Loaf favourite of his, I'd Love to Be, As Heavy as Jesus, on VH1 Storytellers. Meet Loaf shares his first introduction with Jim Steinman, Meet would revive Steinman's reaction to his intimate audience, well, I think you're heavy as two Jesuses to be a matter of fact, and with that, got the part of Rabbit, a maniac that blows up his fellow soldiers so they can go home. Ron Silver and Fred Gwynn were also in the show. After it closed, he appeared in As You Like It with Rahul Julia and Mary Beth Hurt. He recorded a single of More Than You Deserve, with a cover of In the Presence of the Lord as the B-side. He was only able to save three copies of it, because the record company did not allow its release. With those three copies he released many rare CDs featuring the two songs. He recorded it again, 1981, in a slightly rougher voice. The original single came out on RSO 407 with some promotional copies bearing both songs, while some were double A-side copies with More Than You Deserve in mono and stereo on them. The Rocky Horror Picture Show During the winter of 1973, after returning from a short production of Rainbow in New York in Washington, D.C., Meet Loaf was asked to be in The Rocky Horror Show, playing the parts of Eddie and Dr. Everett Scott. The success of the musical led to the filming of The Rocky Horror Picture Show in which Meet Loaf played only Eddie, a decision he said made the movie not as good as the musical. About the same time, Meet Loaf and Jim Steinman started work on Bad Out of Hell. Meet Loaf convinced Epic Records to shoot videos for four songs, Bad Out of Hell, Paradise by the Dashboard Light, You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth, and Two Out of Three Ain't Bad. He then convinced Lou Adler, the producer of Rocky Horror, to run the Paradise video as a trailer to the movie. Meet Loaf's final show in New York was Gower Champion's Rockabye Hamlet, a Hamlet musical. It closed two weeks into its initial run. Meet Loaf later returned occasionally to perform Hot Patootie Bless My Soul for a special Rocky Horror reunion or convention, and rarely at his own live shows, one performance of which was released in the 1996 Live Around the World CD set. During his recording of the soundtrack for Rocky Horror, Meet Loaf recorded two more songs, Stand By Me, A Benny King Cover, and Clap Your Hands. They remained unreleased until 1984, when they appeared as B-sides to the nowhere fast single. In 1976, Meet Loaf recorded lead vocals for Ted Nugent's album Free For All when regular Nugent lead vocalist Derek St. Holmes temporarily quit the band. Meet Loaf sang lead on five of the album's nine tracks. As on the Estonian Meet Loaf album, he was credited as Meet Loaf, one word, on the Free For All liner notes. Major success. Bad Out of Hell Meet Loaf and friend-songwriter Jim Steinman started Bad Out of Hell in 1972, but did not get serious about it until the end of 1974. Meet Loaf decided to leave theatre, and concentrate exclusively on music. Then, the National Lampoon show opened on Broadway, and it needed an understudy for John Belushi, a close friend of Meet Loaf since 1972. It was at the Lampoon show that Meet Loaf met Ellen Foley, the CO star who sang Paradise by the dashboard light with him on the album Bad Out of Hell. After the Lampoon show ended, Meet Loaf and Steinman spent time seeking a record deal. Their approaches were rejected by each record company, because their songs did not fit any specific recognized music industry style. Finally, they performed the songs for Todd Rundgren, who decided to produce the album, as well as play lead guitar on it. Other members of Todd's band Utopia also lent their musical talents. They then shopped the record around, but still had no takers until Cleveland International Records decided to take a chance. In October 1977, Bad Out of Hell was finally released. Meet Loaf and Steinman formed the band The Neverland Express to tour in support of Bad Out of Hell. Their first gig was opening for Cheap Trick in Chicago. He gained national exposure as musical guest on Saturday Night Live on March 25, 1978. Guest host Christopher Lee introduced him by saying, and now ladies and gentlemen I would like you to meet Loaf. Pauses, looks dumbfounded, I beg your pardon, what? He listens to the directors aside, oh. Why, why I'm sorry, yes, of course, ah. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Loaf. During a show in Ottawa, meet Loaf lumbered off the stage and broke his leg. He toured with the broken leg, performing from a wheelchair. During this time, meet Loaf began heavy use of cocaine, had a nervous breakdown and threatened to commit suicide by jumping off the ledge of a building in New York. In the middle of recording his second album, Bad for Good, meet Loaf lost the ability to sing, it is unclear as to the exact cause the tour was a punishing one, and the vocals are energy intensive. However, his doctors said that physically he was fine and that his problem was psychological. Nevertheless, Steinman decided to keep recording Bad for Good without meet Loaf. Bad out of Hell has sold an estimated 43 million copies globally, 15 million of those in the United States, making it one of the highest selling albums of all time. In the United Kingdom, alone, its 2.1 million sales put it in 38th place. Despite peaking at number 9 and spending only two weeks in the top 10 in 1981, it has now clocked up 485 weeks on the UK albums chart, May 2015, a figure bettered only by rumours by Fleetwood Mac for 87 weeks. In Australia, it knocked the Bee Gees off the number-one spot and went on to become the biggest selling Australian album of all time for several years. It is now second on the list. Bad out of Hell is also one of only two albums that has never exited the top 200 in the UK charts, this makes it the longest stay in any music chart in the world, although the published chart contains just 75 positions. Dead Ringer In 1976, Meet Loaf appeared in the short-lived Broadway production of the rock-musical Rockabye Hamlet. Songwriter Jim Steinman started to work on Bad for Good, the album that was supposed to be the follow-up to 1977's Bad out of Hell, in 1979. During that time, a combination of touring, drugs and exhaustion had caused Meet Loaf to lose his voice. Without a singer, and pressured by the record company, Steinman decided that he should sing on Bad for Good himself, and write a new album for Meet Loaf, the result was Dead Ringer, which was later released in 1981, after the release of Steinman's Bad for Good. After playing the role of Travis Redfish in the movie Roadie, Meet Loaf's singing voice returned, and he started to work on his new album in 1980. Steinman had written five new songs which, in addition to the track More Than You Deserve, sung by Meet Loaf in the stage musical of the same name, and a reworked monologue, formed the album Dead Ringer, which was produced by Meet Loaf and Stefan Galfas, with backing tracks produced by Todd Rundgren, Jimmy Eovini and Jim Steinman. In 1976, Meet Loaf appeared on the track Keeper Keep Us, from the intergalactic touring band's self-titled album, produced by Galfas. The song Dead Ringer for Love was the pinnacle of the album, and launched Meet Loaf to even greater success after it reached No. 5 in the United Kingdom and stayed in the charts for a surprising 19 weeks. Cher provided the lead female vocals in the song. A comedy-documentary movie was filmed to accompany the release of Dead Ringer, written and produced by Meet Loaf's managers David Zonenberg and Al Delantash. It featured Meet Loaf playing two roles, himself, and a Meet Loaf fan, Marvin. Zonenberg persuaded CBS to advance money for the making of the movie, which was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival and won some favourable reviews. The album reached No. 1 in the United Kingdom, and three singles were released from the album, Dead Ringer for Love, with Cher, I'm Gonna Love Her for Both of Us, and Read M & Weep. The tour was planned to support the album, but it was cancelled after one show once the advance money had been exhausted. Struggle Midnight at the Lost and Found Following a dispute with his former songwriter Jim Steinman, Meet Loaf was contractually obliged to release a new album. Struggling for time, and with it seemed no resolution to his arguments with Steinman on the horizon, eventually, Steinman would sue Meet Loaf, who subsequently sued Steinman as well, he was forced to find songwriters wherever he could. The resulting album was Midnight at the Lost and Found. According to Meet Loaf, Steinman had given the songs total eclipse of the heart and making love out of nothing at all to Meet Loaf for this album. However, Meet Loaf's record company refused to pay for Steinman. This was hard luck for Meet Loaf, as Bonnie Tyler's version of eclipse and Air Supply's version of making love would top the charts together, holding No. 1 and No. 2 for a period during 1983. Meet Loaf is credited with being involved in the writing of numerous tracks on the album, including the title track, Midnight at the Lost and Found. The title track still regularly forms part of Meet Loaf concerts, and was one of very few 1980s songs to feature on the 1998 hit album The Very Best of Meet Loaf. This was the last album that Meet Loaf did with the record label Epic until the best of album. On December 5, 1981, Meet Loaf and the Neverland Express were the musical guests for Saturday Night Live where he was reunited with fellow Rocky Horror Picture show alum Tim Curry. Curry and Meet Loaf teamed up in a skit depicting a one-stop Rocky Horror shop. Later, Tim Curry performed the Zucchini song and Meet Loaf and the Neverland Express performed Bad Out of Hell and Promised Land. In 1983, he released the self-written Midnight at the Lost and Found. Bad Attitude In 1984, Meet Loaf went to England to record the album Bad Attitude, it was released that year. It features two songs by Jim Steinman, both previously recorded. The recording of the album was rushed and it was mainly an attempt to keep Meet Loaf from going bankrupt during this period of lawsuits. It concentrated more on the hard rock side of Meet Loaf, which was a minor success around the globe and released a few hit singles, the most successful being Modern Girl. It also holds Jump in the Gun and Peace of the Action, which are among Meet Loaf's favorite songs. The American release on RCA Records was in April 1985 and features a slightly different track list, as well as alternate mixes for some songs. The title track features a duet with the who's lead singer Roger Daltrey. Modern Girl was taken from this album and was the biggest hit. Peace of the Action, Sailor to a Siren is the B-side and Nowhere Fast were also released singles with extended mixes and exclusive songs, take a number, stand by me, a Benny King cover, and clap your hands. The latter two songs were recorded during the sessions for the Rocky Horror Picture Show soundtrack. On the cover of this album, there is a note that this album was recorded in Munich and it is produced by Mack known as the Queen Producer from the 1980s. During the tour to support the album, Leslie, Meet Loaf's wife, had a nervous breakdown and had to check into the Silver Hill Hospital rehab facility in Connecticut. Things finally looked like they were going to turn around in 1986, when Meet Loaf found a new writer, John Parr, and started recording a new album, blind before I stop. The album resulted in critical failure and Meet Loaf going bankrupt, eventually losing everything. His relationships with longtime friend Jim Steinman and Leslie also deteriorated. In 1985, Meet Loaf did some comedy sketches in England with Hugh Laurie. At some point, Meet Loaf tried stand-up comedy, appearing several times in Connecticut. Blind Before I Stop Blind Before I Stop was released in 1986. It features production, mixing, and general influence by Frank Farion. Meet Loaf gave songwriter another shot with this album and wrote three of the songs on the album. Released as a single, in the United Kingdom, was Rock and Roll Mercenaries, which was a duet with rock singer John Parr. Another single released in the United Kingdom was Special Girl. According to Meet Loaf's 1998 autobiography, the album sold poorly because of its production. Meet Loaf would have preferred to cancel the project and wait to work with more Steinman material. However, the album gained a cult following over the years, citing the song's execution day and standing on the outside as stand-out tracks on the record. Standing on the outside was also featured during the third season of the 1980s television series Miami Vice, it was used several times during the episode titled Forgive Us Our Debtz, first aired December 12, 1986. In the former USSR, this was the first Meet Loaf album officially permitted to be published, in connection with the beginning of the collapse of the Iron Curtain. The song Masculine was the only song off the record that was a live show Mainstay from 1987 to 1992. He then omitted that song in favor of life is a lemon and I want my money back, with the success of bat out of hell too, back into hell. Return to popularity. Meet Loaf performed thrashing for the soundtrack of the 1986 skateboarding cult classic film Thrashen, directed by David Winters and starring Josh Brolin. To try to get his career back off the ground, Meet Loaf started touring small venues, such as pubs and clubs. Slowly, he developed a faithful following which grew to the point where they were unable to fit into the venues that Meet Loaf was playing, and then they too began to grow. This carried on until the late 1980s, where he began to sell out arenas and stadiums again, including over 10,000 tickets at Ohio State University. Leslie studied to be a travel agent, so they could save on travel expenses, and they toured all over the United States, Germany, England, Scandinavia, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Greece, Abu Dhabi, Oman and Bahrain. With the help of his New York collection of musicians John Golden, Richard Raskin and Paul Jacobs his European tours enjoyed immense popularity in the 1980s. Bat out of hell too, back into hell. Because of the success of Meet Loaf's touring in the 1980s, he and Steinman began work during the Christmas of 1990 on the sequel to Bat Out of Hell. After two years, Bat Out of Hell too, back into hell was finished. The artist's then manager, Tommy Manzi, later told Hit Quarters that music industry insiders were wholly unenthusiastic about the idea of a comeback, and considered the project a joke. The immediate success of Bat Out of Hell too quickly proved any doubters wrong, with the album going on to sell over 15 million copies, and the single I'd Do Anything for Love, but I won't do that, reaching number one in 28 countries. Meet Loaf won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, solo in 1994 for I'd Do Anything for Love. This song stayed at number one in the United Kingdom charts for seven consecutive weeks. The single features a female vocalist who was credited only as Mrs. Loud. Mrs. Loud was later identified as Lorraine Crosby, a performer from England. Meet Loaf promoted the song with American vocalist Patty Russo who performed lead female vocals on tour with him. In Germany, Meet Loaf became notably popular following the release of Bat Out of Hell too but has enjoyed most of his success among pop rock fans. Also in 1994, he was honored by singing the star-spangled banner at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, something he says was one of the two biggest highlights of his career. Meet Loaf attempted to follow the success of I'd Do Anything for Love, but I won't do that, by releasing rock and roll dreams come through as a follow-up. This song reached number 13 in the United States. Welcome to the Neighborhood In 1995, Meet Loaf released his seventh studio album, Welcome to the Neighborhood. The album went platinum in the United States and the United Kingdom. It released three singles that hit the top 40, including I'd Lie for You, which reached number 13 in the United States and number 2 in the United Kingdom charts, and Not a Dry Eye in the House, which reached number 7 in the UK charts. I'd Lie for You, and That's the Truth, was a duet with Patty Russo, who had been touring with Meet Loaf and singing on his album since 1993. Of the twelve songs on the album, two are written by Jim Steinman. Both are covers, the original sin from Pandora's Box's original sin album and Left in the Dark first appeared on Steinman's Own Bad for Good as well as the 1984 album Emotion by Barbara Streisand. The video had a bigger budget than any of his previous videos. Other big hits, namely I'd Lie for You and Not a Dry Eye in the House, were written by Diane Warren. The Very Best of Meet Loaf In 1998, Meet Loaf released The Very Best of Meet Loaf. Although not reaching the top 10 in the United Kingdom, it went platinum in December of that year, and was already platinum around the rest of the world just after its release. The album featured all of Meet Loaf's best known songs, a few from his less popular albums from the 1980s, and three new songs. The music on the two Steinman songs was written and composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The single from the album was Is Nothing Sacred, written by Jim Steinman with lyrics by Don Black. The single version of this song is a duet with Patty Russo, whereas the album version is a solo song by Meet Loaf. The album did not feature any songs from his 1986 album Blind Before I Stop. Couldn't He Have Said It Better In 2003, Meet Loaf released his album Couldn't He Have Said It Better. Only for the third time in his career, Meet Loaf released an album without any songs written by Jim Steinman, not counting live bonus tracks on special edition releases. Although Meet Loaf claimed that Couldn't He Have Said It Better was the most perfect album he did since Bet Out of Hell, it was not quite as successful. However, the album was a minor success worldwide and reached No. 4 in the UK charts, accompanied by a sell-out world tour to promote the album and some of Meet Loaf's biggest hits. One such performance on his world tour was at Sydney's 2003 NRL Grand Final. There were many writers for the album including Diane Warren and James Michael, who were both asked to contribute his 2006 album Bet Out of Hell 3, The Monster is Loose. Diane Warren has written for Meet Loaf in the past and had some very big hits. James Michael had never written for Meet Loaf before and it was only his songs that were released as singles from the album. The album featured duets with Patty Russo and Meet Loaf's daughter Pearl Adé. Hair of the Dog and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra From February 20 to 22, 2004, during an Australian tour, Meet Loaf performed his classics with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, titled Bet Out of Hell, Live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. He went as far as to bring in the Australian Boys Choir to do back-up on a Couldn't He Have Said It Better track, Testify. The show went on to spawn a DVD and a CD called Meet Loaf and the Neverland Express featuring Patty Russo live with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The CD had few edited songs from the concert on it. Meet Loaf sold out over 160 concerts during his 2005 tour, Hair of the Dog. On November 17, 2003, during a performance at London's Wembley Arena, on his Couldn't He Have Said It Better tour, he collapsed of what was later diagnosed as Wolf Parkinson White Syndrome. The following week, he underwent a surgical procedure intended to correct the problem. As a result, Meet Loaf's insurance agency did not allow him to perform for any longer than one hour and 45 minutes. As well as singing all the classics, Meet Loaf sang a cover version of the hit single Black Betty. During this tour he also sang Only When I Feel, a song meant to appear on his then-upcoming album Bet Out of Hell 3. The song subsequently turned into If It Ain't Broke, Break It. Bet Out of Hell 3, The Monster Is Loose Meet Loaf and Steinman had begun to work on the third installment of Bet Out of Hell when Steinman suffered some health setbacks, including a heart attack. According to Meet Loaf, Steinman was too ill to work on such an intense project while Steinman's manager said health was not an issue. Steinman had registered the phrase Bet Out of Hell as a trademark in 1995. In May 2006, Meet Loaf sued Steinman and his manager in Federal District Court in Los Angeles seeking $50 million and an injunction against Steinman's use of the phrase. Steinman and his representatives attempted to block the album's release. An agreement was reached in July 2006. According to Virgin, the two came to an amicable agreement that ensured that Jim Steinman's music would be a continuing part of the Bet Out of Hell legacy. The album was released on October 31, 2006, and was produced by Desmond Child. The first single from the album It's All Coming Back to Me Now, featuring Marion Raven, was released on October 16, 2006. It entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 6, giving Meet Loaf his highest UK chart position in nearly 11 years. The album debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 and sold 81,000 copies in its opening week, but after that did not sell well in the United States and yielded no hit singles, although it was certified gold. The album also featured duets with Patti Russo and Jennifer Hudson. In the weeks following the release of Bat3 Meet Loaf and the NLE, The Neverland Express, did a brief tour of America and Europe, known as The Bases Loaded Tour. In 2007, a newer, bigger worldwide tour began, The Seize the Night Tour, with Marion Raven, serving as a supporting act, throughout the European and American tour. Portions of the tour in February 2007 were featured in the documentary Meet Loaf, in Search of Paradise, directed by Bruce David Klein. The film was an official selection of the Montreal World Film Festival in 2007. It opened in theatres in March 2008 and was released on DVD in May 2008. During a performance at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle upon Tyne, England on October 31, 2007, at the opening of Paradise by the Dashboard Light he suggested that the crowd of thousands should enjoy the performance as it was the last of his career. He attempted to sing the first line of the song, but instead said ladies and gentlemen, I love you, thank you for coming, but I can no longer continue. Removing the jacket he was wearing, he thanked the audience for 30 years, said goodbye forever and left the stage. His tour promoter, Andrew Miller, denied that this was the end for Meet Loaf and said he would continue touring after suitable rest. The next two gigs in the tour, at the NEC and Manchester Evening News Arena were cancelled because of acute laryngitis and were rescheduled for late November. The concert scheduled for November 6, 2007 at London's Wembley Arena was also cancelled. Meet Loaf cancelled his entire European tour for 2007 after being diagnosed with assist on his vocal cords. After releasing a statement he said it really breaks my heart not to be able to perform these shows, adding I will be back. On June 27, 2008, Meet Loaf returned to the stage in Plymouth, England for the first show of the Casa da Carn tour alongside his longtime duet partner Patti Russo, who debuted one of her own original songs during his show. The tour continued through July and August with 20 dates throughout England, Ireland, Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. Six US show dates were also added for October and December 2008. Recent Years Hang Cool Teddy Bear In May 2009, Meet Loaf began work on the album Hang Cool Teddy Bear in the studio with Green Day's American idiot album producer Rob Cavallo, working with such writers as Justin Hawkins, Rick Brantley, Tommy Henrickson and John Bon Jovi. Though not much was revealed officially to begin with, Meet Loaf gave away some information through videos he posted on Twitter and YouTube. The album is based on the story of a fictional soldier, whose story furnishes the theme. During his March 19, 2011 concert held outside of Vancouver, BC, Canada, Meet explained that he had wanted an insert put with the album to explain what the premise of the album was, but he said there were too many bleeping record label politics and it did not get done. He went on to tell the audience that the story was of a soldier who being wounded, had his life flash forward before his eyes, and the songs were telling the story of his life. The album is based on a short story by 50.a based screenwriter and director Kilian Kerwin, a longtime friend of the singer. Hugh Laurie and his son, Jack Black, both perform on the album, Laurie plays piano on the song If I Can't Have You, while Black sings a duet with Meet Loaf on Like A Rose. Patty Russo and Cara Dioguardi also duet on the album. Meet Loaf himself describes the album as the most important of his career, not as good as bat out of hell but in the same ballpark. The guests, he says were not planned but he says the idea of using his friends came only when he saw them fit in a song and not as a commercial gimmick. Queens' Brian May features on guitar along with Steve Vai. It received positive reviews from critics and fans alike. The first single from the album, Los Angeloser, was released for download on April 5 with the album charting at number 4 in the official UK album chart on April 25, 2010. The Hang Cool Tour followed in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada with rave reviews from fans and critics. Patty Russo accompanied him on the tour, continuing through the summer of 2011. Hell in a Hand Basket In May 2011, Meet Loaf confirmed in a video on his YouTube account, that he was in the process of recording a new album called Hell in a Hand Basket. According to Meet Loaf, the album was recorded and produced by Paul Krug, Joe McKean did the mix with input from Rob Cavallo. The album features songs called All of Me, Blue Sky, The Giving Tree, Mad, Mad World, and a duet with Patty Russo called Our Love and Our Souls. On July 6, the album had to be finished for the record company. They released it in October 2011 for Australia and New Zealand, and February 2012 for the rest of the world. Meet said, It's really the first record I've ever put out about how I feel about life and how I feel about what's going on at the moment. The Mad, Mad World tour in connection with the album Hell in a Hand Basket was launched in late June 2012. For the tour Meet Loaf has said, People who come to Meet Loaf shows know what to expect. They know they're going to get full on energy with the best rock and roll band in the world. That's not an opinion. That's the truth. 2011 AFL Grand Final Performance At the 2011 Australian Football League Grand Final, the pre-match entertainment was headlined by a 12 minute medley performed by Meet Loaf. The performance was panned as the worst in the 34-year history of AFL Grand Final pre-game entertainment in a multitude of online reviews by football fans and Australian sport commentators. Meet Loaf responded by calling online critics butt-smellers, and the AFL jerks, saying I will go out of my way to tell any artist, do not play for them. Braver than we are and other album plans. Meet Loaf is planning to release a Christmas album called Hot Holidays. In media interviews to promote his 2013 last-at-bat tour, Meet Loaf claimed he would work with Jim Steinman again on an upcoming album called Brave and Crazy. The title of the album since changed to Braver than we are. The album was finished in February 2016 and was released on September 9, Europe, and September 16, North America. It features 10 tracks Meet claimed in several interviews that he will be recording reworked versions of Steinman's songs Braver than we are, speaking in tongues, who needs the young, and more, previously recorded by the Sisters of Mercy, for the album. Additionally, the song Prize Fight Lover, originally issued as a download-only bonus track for Hang Cool Teddy Bear, has been re-recorded for the album. Personal Life In 2001, Meet Loaf changed his first name from Marvin to Michael. Meet Loaf is a baseball fan and supporter of the New York Yankees. He is an avid fantasy baseball player and participates in multiple leagues every season. Meet Loaf is a supporter of the Northern English football team Hartlepool United and, in 2003, the BBC reported he was seeking a residence in the nearby area. He. Currently resides just outside Calabasas, California, near Saddle Peak and Calabasas Peak. He also does a considerable amount of charity work, and in June 2008, he took part in a football penalty shootout competition on behalf of two cancer charities in Newcastle upon Tyne in the United Kingdom. He auctioned shots to the 100 highest bidders and then took his place between the goal posts. He also participates in celebrity golf tournaments. Meet Loaf has expressed that he has social anxiety, being quoted saying I never meet anybody much in a social situation because when I go into a social situation, I have no idea what to do. He revealed that he does not even go anywhere, and also feels he leads a boring life, saying that he completely freaked when having to attend a party, and that he was so nervous, so scared. He also said he met with fellow musicians chiefly in work-related situations as he was working a lot. Family. In December 1978, he went to Woodstock to work with Steinman. It was at the Bearsville studio that Meet Loaf met his future wife, Leslie G. Edmonds, they were married within a month. Leslie had a daughter, Pearl, from a previous marriage, Pearl later married Scott Ian, the rhythm guitarist for the Thrash metal band Anthrax. A day in his family moved to Stamford, Connecticut, in 1979. In 1981, Leslie gave birth to Amanda a day, now a television actress. For a brief time after Amanda's birth, they lived in nearby Westport. According to Meet Loaf, Pearl, then in the fifth grade, came home crying because she had the wrong type of jeans and I said, That's it. We're gone. The family then moved to Reading, Connecticut, which is much more of a blue collar, working class kind of town, and it really didn't make any difference what kind of jeans you were wearing. I really liked it there. Meet Loaf coached children's baseball or softball in each of the Connecticut towns where he lived.In 1998, Meet Loaf relocated to California. Meet and Leslie divorced in 2001. He married Deborah Gillespie in 2007. At the start of his 2012 tour in Austin on June 22, Meet Loaf announced that he was a new resident, one month, of Austin, Texas. Meet Loaf was a vegetarian for ten years. Accidents and other incidents Meet Loaf is said to have cheated death on numerous occasions, crashing in a car that rolled over, being struck on the head with a shot during a shot-put event jumping off a stage during a concert and breaking both of his legs, and being afflicted with Wolf Parkinson White Syndrome, a heart condition.In October 2006, his private jet had to make an emergency landing at London's Stansted Airport after his plane's four-hour flight to the United States. The airport after his plane's forward landing gear failed. In 2011, Meet Loaf fainted on stage while performing in Pittsburgh. He collapsed again while on stage in Edmonton on June 16, 2016, due to severe dehydration after having cancelled two other shows due to illness. The playback containing his pre-recorded vocal track in Edmonton continued while he lay unconscious on the stage. Politics On October 25, 2012, Meet Loaf endorsed Mitt Romney for president of the United States, citing poor relations with Russia as a major reason he had been arguing for Mitt Romney for a year. Meet Loaf explained that �I have never been in any political agenda in my life, but I think that in 2012 this is the most important election in the history of the United States.� He cited storm clouds over the United States, and thunderstorms over Europe. There are hail storms and I mean major hail storms. In the Middle East. There are storms brewing through China, through Asia, through everywhere. The same day, he performed America the Beautiful standing next to Romney. Meet Loaf has criticized the court-ordered removal of a school prayer banner in Cranston, Rhode Island to Providence Journal on March 23, 2012. �I just said the world is going to hell in a handbasket because there are a lot more things to worry about than whether there is a prayer on the wall that�s been on the wall for 50 years that you think needs to come down.�