I’m sure like many of my generation, this album defined your youth. It's one of THE biker albums. I loved it so much that I even ventured to see Meatloaf in concert many years ago. He arrived on stage on a Harley Davidson and did not disappoint. So when I saw that there was a musical – and that it was appearing at The ENO’s Coliseum I paid my money and booked tickets. Six months ago.
To say I was excited was an understatement. As we took our seats – where there was a newspaper explaining the plot - we noticed that just about everyone else was around our age (a mature audience) and that there were a fair few former bikers amongst them. Albeit now calmed-down middle-aged dads and grandads.
The set looked promising. There was an excellent cave-like scene with a motorbike centre stage. I have to say that the staging and production was excellent – clever graphics, roaring pyrotechnics, live video footage, imaginative use of film and lighting, cars going into the orchestra and exploding motorbike effects. But I’m afraid to say that it pains me that this is about all that I can say that is positive.
The plot revolves around Raven, the daughter of tyrant Falco (probably the best singer) who is more middle-aged dad than bad. Borrowing heavily from Peter Pan, there is a gang of motorbike-loving “Lost” folk living beneath the city who have been frozen at the age of 18. The Tyrant battles against Strat (leader of the Lost who looks and acts like a young Roger Daltry) who inevitably falls in love with Raven.
I find it hard to understand – when the demographic for this show was so obviously going to be older – why on earth they choose to make it about 18 year olds. I think I could have done a better job with the plot and the characters. There was also an inappropriate scene with a younger guy called “Tink”. And the choreography was highly dubious – including a lone breakdancer. What were Meatloaf and Jim Steinman thinking when they approved the production?
For sure, the audience enjoyed those much-loved songs from the album when they were performed. “All revved up with no place to go” was sang enthusiastically at the outset. The tyrant and his wife did a reasonable job with “Paradise by the dashboard light” and a female singer did an interesting version of “Two out of three ain’t bad”. Just before the interval there was a crashing version of “Bat out of Hell”. And I wondered what they would do as a finale. But the “filler” songs were so inane I can’t recall one of them. My companion considered it to be “a bad episode of Happy Days – without The Fonz”.
They massacred the music. I was shocked and disappointed. I lost patience and we left at half time. And we weren’t the only ones to do so. My companion and I were of the same mind that it was shockingly bad. There was plenty of swearing on the way home.
