To those for whom Meat Loaf is Friday’s dinner rather than entertainment, here’s the lowdown. First off, no, he was not born with that name. Marvin Lee Aday was born in Texas into a family of gospel singers. In the late ‘60s, he moved to LA and formed a group that went by two names – Meat Loaf and Popcorn Blizzard.

The band soon began opening gigs for The Who, the Stooges and Ted Nugent. After a few stints with various musicals and off-Broadway productions, Meat Loaf (the singer, not the band) landed a spot in the musical “More Than You Deserve,” which was written by pianist Jim Steinman. It was the start of a lifetime of music collaborations between the two artists.

In 1977, Meat Loaf released Bat Out Of Hell – an album mostly written by Steinman. The disc spawned a series of epic hits including “Paradise By The Dashboard Lights” and “Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad,” and made Meat Loaf a star.

But as quickly as his star rose, fame faded. Throughout the first half of the ‘80s, Meat Loaf continued to release albums that flopped, his relationship with Steinman went bad, and finally towards the end, he was forced to declare bankruptcy. The singer also went into physical and psychological rehabilitation.

After a few years in the “whatever ever happened to” file, Meat Loaf united with Steinman once more for 1993’s Bat Out Of Hell II: Back Into Hell. The album had a hit single, “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That),” and relaunched Meat Loaf’s singing career.

Since then, Meat Loaf has gone on to record more albums – the most recent of which, Testify, is set for release sometime this year – star in movies, including “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “Fight Club,” and has been touring fairly steadily.

After a two year break from the road, he returned this summer and has been making the theatre rounds in the States and the U.K.