Michael Lee Eday, better known as Meath Lawf, became famous for his powerful wide-range voice and theatrical performances. The famous trilogy of Bat out of hell albums has been distributed worldwide in the amount of more than fifty million copies.
Meath Lawf is on the list of the most commercially successful artists of all time. He also played in several films, including Rocky Horror Horror Show, Fight Club, Formula 51, and others.
Childhood
The publication hero was born in Texas in 1947. He was the only child in the family. His father served as a police officer, and then organized his own business for the manufacture and sale of cough medicine. The mother of the future artist was a school teacher who, in her free time, sang in a quartet that performed compositions in the style of a gospel.
The boy fell in love with music thanks to his mother. As a child, he listened mainly only to arias from musicals. In an interview, he said that he didn’t have a clue about rock and roll. “I didn't even know who Chuck Berry was,” he admitted.
One of the most striking episodes of his childhood, Meath Lowe described in his autobiographical book To hell and back.
One day he went with his friend and his father to Love Field Airport to see President John F. Kennedy. Looking at their idol, they went to the store, which was nearby. On the way, they learned that President Kennedy had been assassinated. Friends rushed to the hospital, where they sent the president. Near the hospital, they saw Jackie Kennedy, the politician's wife, getting out of the car.
While studying at school, the boy took part in amateur theater. Most of all he was successful in the role in musical performances.
Stage name
After school, Meath Lawf went to college. When the boy was 17 years old, his mother died. Having received the inheritance, he closed for three and a half months in a hotel room. Having survived this tragedy, the young man took a plane ticket to Los Angeles.
In Los Angeles, Eday formed his first band called Meat Loaf soul. He began to call himself Meath Loof (meatloaf). Such a nickname was given to the singer by his coach when he played in the school football team, because of the impressive complexion of the young man.
On the same stage with idols
During his first studio recording, Meat Lawf picked up such a high note that the speakers failed. The company management soon offered him a contract for the release of three records, which the young man refused.
The first concert of the beginning group took place on the same stage with the team of Van Morrison. However, Mit Lowe failed to sing all the intended songs. During the execution of the cover version of Houlin Wolfe’s composition, the generator generated so much smoke that the club had to be evacuated.
Later, the musicians performed at the opening act for Renaissance, Taj Mahal and Janice Joplin. The team often had a change in composition. After each of them, the group changed its name. Speaking under the name Floating circus, they opened the concerts of The Who, The Stooges and Grateful Dead. Numerous concerts in Los Angeles contributed to the great popularity of the single Once upon a time.
The promising young singer was noticed by major producers, as a result of which he was invited to participate in the local production of the musical "Hair". In an interview of that time, Meat Lawf said that he has to constantly struggle with himself: he wants to learn not to take his show business business seriously.
Duet
Due to the great success of the musical "Hair", Meath Lawf was spotted by the staff of Motown Studio. They advised him to create a duet with the American blues singer Stoney Murphy, who also participated in this production with him. The young performer accepted this offer. The duet began to be called "Stony and Mitlouf" (the name of the latter was written in one word). This group recorded two albums and broke up after a conflict with the producers.
Actor career
After recording the album, Meat Lawf again became a member of the musical "Hair" this time on Broadway. One fine day, the singer came to an audition where actors were selected to participate in the play “More than You Can Earn”.
During this casting, Meat Lawf met with producer and composer Jim Steinman, with whom he subsequently collaborated for many years.
He sang a song from his last album. As a result, the artist was taken on the role of the Rabbit.
Cooperation
Also, Meath Lawf played two roles in the musical Rocky Horror Horror Show: Eddie and Dr. Everett Scott. The success of this production led to the creation of the film of the same name. In the film, the hero of this article played only one role. According to him, because of this decision of the director, the film was not as good as the theatrical production of the musical. Around the same time, Meat Lawf and Steinman began work on Bat out of hell.
All songs for the project were written by Jim Steinman. Clips were shot on four tracks from this disc. Meath Lowe took the recording of the album very seriously. While working on the disc, he left the theater and completely concentrated on music. In these songs, one can clearly hear the influence of the German composer Richard Wagner, whose big fan has always been Jim Steinman. Also, the creator of the music admitted that during his writing he often listened to the English band The Who and Bruce Springsteen.
This album became multi-platinum, putting Meath Lowe on a par with the greatest stars.
Thanks to this disc, a new direction of music has appeared - Wagnerian Rock. With an interval of several years, the second and third parts of Bat out of hell were recorded. In total, Meath Lowe has released more than ten albums.
For most of them, songs were written by Jim Steinman. Over the years, Mit Lough’s accompanying group included Steve Wye, Brian May and other famous musicians.