‘The big fella was worried’: Untold story behind THAT Meat Loaf performance before the 2011 AFL Grand Final – dubbed the ‘worst pre-match show in history’
- Former AFL coach Robert Walls said Meat Loaf was terrified of lightening in 2011
- Meat Loaf initially refused to go on stage before Wall told him to ‘harden up’
- In 2015 he said claimed he had a damaged vocal cord and was coughing blood
A commentator during the 2011 AFL Grand Final has revealed a potential explanation for Meat Loaf’s pre-match performance blunder.
Former coach turned commentator Robert Walls claimed the singer, real name Michael Lee Aday, was terrified by a storm brewing around the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
‘It was a wet day and there was a bit of lightning in the air. Evidently, the big Loaf was worried about being struck on stage,’ Walls said, according to the Herald Sun.
The sense of fear was so gripping that Meat Loaf initially refused to perform at all.
‘His manager came up and said “Meat Loaf is not going to go on stage, it’s too dangerous”,’ Walls revealed.
‘I said “That’s as weak as p**s. Tell him to harden up and get out there”,’ he said.
The AFL reportedly paid $600,000 for Meat Loaf to perform for 12 minutes in what is often referred to as the worse Grand Final performance ever.
Former AFL coach and commentator Robert Walls has claimed that Meat Loaf was terrified of being struck by lightening during the 2011 Grand Final performance
Following the performance, then AFL boss Andrew Demetriou may have alluded to the weather’s effect on the singer’s overall performance.
‘I actually think that the pre-match (entertainment) was a bit flat overall and probably, maybe in part due to the weather as well, it just didn’t seem to be as much atmosphere going on before the game regardless of who was playing,’ Demetriou said.
‘But anyway, (Meat Loaf) gave it his best.’
The American singer accused the AFL of putting no effort into the Grand Final Entertainment before labelling them ‘The cheapest people I’ve ever seen in my life’.
His manager apparently approached Walls and explained that Meat Loaf wasn’t going to perform on stage before the commentator said he needed to ‘harden up’
Four years later in 2015, Meat Loaf gave an apology to all Australians for his underwhelming performance.
He also gave another explanation, claiming that he had a series of medical issues while he was singing.
‘I did a tour in Australia with a hemorrhaging vocal cord. I was spitting blood every night on stage. And I’ve got nothing but grief and major hostility,’ he told Billboard.
‘I gave those people everything I had and more. I had flown 44 people to Australia, we’re all sitting there. Insurance wouldn’t cover the band and everybody going back, so I just said, “OK, let’s go.”‘