'It was so hard to believe that this rock legend was in Moate'

Despite having no ticket, Joe Grennan was determined to get a glimpse of rockstar Meat Loaf when he took to the stage in the most unlikely of venues – Moate Community Centre – back on February 6, 1990.

And it paid off, he smiled, recalling that after “badgering” a Moate man he knew working on the door for 15-20 minutes or more amid very tight security, he eventually got through.

In a hall usually used for bingo or indoor soccer, Joe said it was hard to believe someone as big as Meat Loaf was playing in such a small place like Moate on a Tuesday night.

It was all part of an Irish tour, organised by music promoter Tommy Swarbrigg from Mullingar, featuring some very unusual venues.

Recalling the scene on Friday last, the day Meat Loaf's death was announced aged 74, the Tubber man used words like “chaotic” “mad” “tense and “crazy” to describe the atmosphere inside the gig as 'The Bat Out Of Hell' singer strutted his stuff, accompanied by this band Neverland Express.

“I can remember travelling from Athlone passing through Moate and there was chaos. Traffic everywhere. There was nowhere to park. You just knew something big was going on so I parked my car on the outskirts of the town and walked back in just in the hope of getting in (to the concert).”

Having persuaded a door man he knew to let him in, he remembered the hall being “absolutely thronged” so he could get nowhere near the front.

While Joe reckoned that the concert was about three quarters in by the time he managed to get through the doors, he did get to hear some of his most famous songs and the encore, which was naturally enough 'Bat Out Of Hell'.

“It was a bit crazy, he was running, jumping around the stage and stuff like that. There was a lot of noise, very loud stuff. Louder than what they were used to in Moate, I would say. I can remember the thump of the speakers, it was really loud,” Joe, who works for Westmeath County Council, recalled.

“It was a bit mad you know, because I actually probably only got to see Meat Loaf maybe at one stage, from a distance, by trying to jump up and all that kind of thing. It was just so hard to believe that this rock legend was in Moate, in a small, little place like this.

“People were talking about it for weeks and weeks afterwards, anyone who had got into see him, and even people who weren't there said they were there anyway or even in the vicinity of it,” he laughed.

“For anyone into music in Ireland at that time, or going to discos 'Bat Out Of Hell' was the biggest album at that time, 'Two Out of Three Ain't Bad', all those kind of songs, they were kind of etched in your memory.

“I wouldn't have been a major fan but when they were coming to the area, we tried to get tickets which was nearly impossible, but I ended up getting in. After that, I did hang onto the fact that I was there and I always bought any of the other albums that came out. I became a fan,” he told the Westmeath Independent.

While he knew there was some heckling and booing at different stages amid some stoppages, Joe said he only heard more after the gig.

“I knew there was something going on, but I didn't realise someone had thrown up a wheelchair or anything like that until afterwards. You would see things being thrown up like shoes or Doc Martens,” he said.

“He did an encore ('Bat Out of Hell') and the whole place just went crazy for ten minutes or whatever, but it ended quite quickly after that, it came to an abrupt end from what I can remember.

"Everyone just dispersed out quickly onto the grounds of the hall and the streets and I just remember seeing a lot of people and it was like the Point Depot or something.”

“I probably only got a half an hour inside but I was just glad to get in. A few friends got tickets and they were up the front, I didn't even see them until it was over. The crowd were like sardines in a tin I would say.. The memory I really have is out people dispersing out and it being so crowded,” recalled Joe, who said he couldn't even estimate how many were in the hall.

“Then everyone as usual thronged to the pubs. I think it was a midweek concert as far as I can remember, and some of the pubs actually stayed open a bit later,” the Tubber man said.

“It was really something unbelievable to happen in a small town like Moate, there had been bands coming to play there like Aslan, Irish bands, I think Status Quo when they were breaking up, but there was never anything like this.”

Indeed, Meat Loaf would recall years later: “I was the first international artist to extensively tour Ireland. U2 won’t tour Ireland the way I toured Ireland.

"I spent three and a half weeks playing in these barns, in the middle of fields. I’d think ‘Who’s gonna come here?’ And there’d be 3,000 people in the barn by showtime.”