Marvin Lee Aday truly is a sinner before the gates of heaven, but I’d back him to get around St Peter with tales of Meat Loaf, Vegas and a life in the fast lane.
Old rocker Marvin was known as Meat from an early age.
And that is the name he answered to Meat Loaf, Vegas and a life in the fast laneof course through his adult life and fame.
And that is how Northern Irishman and editor Martin was invited to address the rock legend, who passed away this week aged 74, when they met in Vegas.
Now obviously I would have loved to have been a bystander.
As Meat invited Mart to party the night away in Sin City.
And not least because as large as Meat was Mart is certainly more of the greyhound variety.
As our party in Las Vegas found out when he dangled mid-air on the Slotzilla zipline across Fremont Street in Downtown Vegas.
And had to be rescued… there was not a dry eye in the house!
Meat you in Vegas
Meat was, of course, no stranger to Vegas… in fact they were made for each other.
In fact the larger-than-life rocker from Dallas, Texas played there right up to near the end of his career.
Meat’s stories were the stuff of legend and he cheated death on three occasions.
Which I dare say was more than JR Ewing.
Meat ran off the road, in a car not a bike like the hero of his famous Bat of Hell song, while he also had heart problems on stage.
And then he was hit by a 12lbs shot putt by the Dallas champion.
No taste
It was though in Reading, England at the popular music festival that our paths almost met.
Meat was playing there in 1988 across the road from where I was working.
When a punter filled his plastic bottle with his urine and hurled it on stage towards the rocker.
And hit him squarely on the nose and broke it.
Brave (and pretty grotty) fella.
Now Meat sang about the Lord’s place (Heaven Can Wait) and the Devil’s gaff (Bat out of Hell).
But it was here on Earth that he made his biggest splash.
And it’s here we toast Meat Loaf, Vegas and a life in the fast lane.