Meat Loaf fans remember his fall off Ottawa stage

A legendary rock star and actor, one of Meat Loaf's most memorable concerts happened right here in Ottawa.  

"It was the first real rock concert I'd ever gone to," said Bram Moerman, who went to the show at the Ottawa Civic Centre in 1978. 

"All of a sudden he just disappeared," he said. "You know like boom he was gone and then the announcement came on and said 'Meat Loaf has fallen off the stage' and that was the end of the show and I found out a little later on he had broken his leg." 

Music publicist and radio host Eric Alper said Meat Loaf got caught up in cables and fell, adding he performed his next few shows on the road in a wheelchair.  

Born Marvin Lee Aday, Meat Loaf died Thursday at the age of 74. He sold 100 million albums worldwide and appeared in movies like Fight Club and Wayne's World.

"I think in the 1970s if you bought a car it came with an ashtray and a copy of Meat Loaf's 'Bat Out of Hell.'” Alper said. “It sold 43 million copies, still sells about one million copies a year simply because there was no other album that came before it or since that sounds like it.”

Meat Loaf played a number of shows in Ottawa, including at Barrymore's in 1987. 

"Every single person in that Ottawa venue was a Meat Loaf fan who sang every single word of every single song that night," said concert promoter and producer Ken Craig. "Nothing compared to how entertaining this show was at Barrymore's in 1987.

"A once-in-a-lifetime intimate show right here in Ottawa with 500 people listening to an icon with one of the top selling albums of all time."