‘BAT Out Of Hell’ singer Meat Loaf has died 74 with his family by his side.
The rock legend’s agent confirmed his death saying that they were left “broken hearted”. But what was his real name? Here’s what we know.
The star sold millions of albums worldwide, with the Bat Out Of Hell trilogy among his most popular musical offerings.
He was honoured with the Hero Award at the annual Q Awards music ceremony in 2016, which he dedicated to everyday heroes and called on people to “bring love back into this world”.
The rock veteran had been plagued with health issues and rumours that he’s dying ever since he collapsed onstage in June 2016 and has appeared in a number of interviews with slurred speech, with even Katie Price telling him she thought he had died.
Meat Loaf died with his spouse, Deborah Gillespie, by his side.
The couple split their time between LA and Texas, where the rock star hailed from.
At the time of publishing, the cause of his death is unknown.
Meat Loaf was actually born Marvin Lee Aday.
He would then go onto legally change his name to Michael Lee Aday.
During the Bat Out Of Hell tour, he actually had ‘Meat Loaf’ on his passport.
At one point, he was kept in immigration for six hours due to the confusing name.
The rocker said that he was humiliated when he was younger by a jeans advert that poked fun at people who couldn’t fit into their jeans and contributed to his serious body-image issues.
Read our Meat Loaf live blog for the latest updates on his death
He told Blender magazine: “My real name is Marvin, and Levi’s had a commercial on the radio that said, ‘Poor fat Marvin can’t wear Levi’s.’
“And I was fat. It nearly destroyed me. I’m still not over it. If we had lawyers growing up, I would own that company…I’ve always been the poor fat Marvin that can’t wear Levi’s.
“The closest I’ve come to being skinny was on South Park. I told them the only way they could use me was if they drew me skinny. So they did!”
He said that after the advert, no one still called him Marvin and he legally changed his name to Michael.
When the singer was born, he slept in a plastic crib, and for the nametag, Aday’s father asked a nurse to write “Meat,” because he looked like “nine-and-a-half pounds of ground chuck.”
The name reading “Meat” became his childhood nickname.
In Los Angeles, Aday formed his first band, Meat Loaf Soul, after a nickname coined by his football coach because of his weight.
The group’s first gig was in Huntington Beach in 1968 at the Cave, opening for Van Morrison’s band Them and Question Mark and the Mysterians.
