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Ailing Meat Loaf Axes Tour

Tue., Nov. 6, 2007 12:27 PM PST by Josh Grossberg

Like a bat out of hell, he'll be gone when the morning comes. And maybe even longer.

Meat Loaf, the burly Bat Out of Hell belter, has scrapped his European tour due to a cyst on his vocal cords that may require surgery. However, after fueling speculation that the malady may cut short his three-decade career, the Loaf insists he'll beback.

"While most cysts of this type require surgery, voice therapy is usually conducted first to determine if it is necessary. It will be known in approximately four to six weeks what further course of action may be required," reads a statement from the 60-year-old rocker, whose real name is Marvin Lee Aday.

"It really breaks my heart not to be able to perform these shows. I was really looking forward to capping off a great year and celebrating the start of the holidays with the fans. But I have to do what the doctors tell me, so I can look forward to healing and coming back strong in 2008.

"Let me dispel any rumors before they start—I will be back."

It was the Loaf himself who actually started the rumors.

According to British media reports, he was struggling to hit the high notes during last Wednesday's show in Newcastle, England. About an hour through the gig, after performing "Not a Dry Eye in the House," he pulled the plug.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I love you but I can no longer continue. This is the last show I may ever do in my life. I take my coat off and thank you for 30 years," he declared.

He then bid the audience goodbye, bowed and walked off the stage.

According to the London Times, fans who attended the shortened show said the singer's voice sounded strained, and he would take long breaks between songs recounting stories of his life.

"His backing singers had to carry him through most of the songs. He couldn't finish some of his hits," 23-year-old fan Phil Cammish told the newspaper.

A PA announcement then informed the crowd the concert was being cut short due to an "illness."

Afterward, his U.K. promoter, Andrew Miller, insisted to the BBC that the Three Bats Tour would continue, chalking the curtailed concert up to "exhaustion and stress."

Then his Sunday stop in Manchester Sunday was called off, with Meat Loaf's reps saying he was suffering "acute laryngitis."

Meatheads had hoped he would recover for Tuesday night's show at London's Wembley Arena, but then came his cyst disclosure.

Several performers have recovered from vocal cord cysts and nodules, including Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant, Justin Timberlake and Luciano Pavarotti. Julie Andrews, however, lost her singing voice after what she claimed was a botched surgery.

This isn't the first time the Loaf has been sidelined by an ailment. He once broke his leg during a gig in Toronto and collapsed onstage at Wembley after being stricken by Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a condition that induces a rapid heart rate, for which he was successfully treated.

Meat Loaf—who released the third and final album in his Bat Out of Hell trilogy last year, Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose—is also a veteran actor, having scored roles in both TV and film. His credits include The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Fight Club and playing Jack Black's father in Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny.