Meatloaf's chaotic tour of Ireland to air on RTE

Mullingar showband legend, Tommy Swarbrigg, will be front and centre of an RTE One documentary which airs on New Year's Eve and recounts the almost unbelievable story of the chaotic Irish tour undertaken in 1990 by one of the world's biggest music stars.

'Meatloaf: From Hell and to Connaught' tells the story of how Tommy Swarbrigg, in his role as a promoter, managed to persuade Meatloaf to come to Ireland to play in a series of venues across the country.

Included among the venues was Dublin's National Stadium (when he literally walked right off the stage to grab the attention of the seated audience and had to be taken to hospital after the gig!).

There was also a famous gig in Belfast, where he stayed overnight in what was then the most bombed hotel in Europe, the Europa Hotel.

Indeed, many people in the Midlands will have colourful memories of the Meat Loaf concert at Moate Community Centre in February, 1990, when was accompanied by his band, The Neverland Express.

The documentary will be a nostalgic trip down memory lane for anyone who grew up in the Ireland of the 1970s and 1980s when Meatloaf were at the height of their fame. By the time Tommy Swarbrigg managed to get the legendary rockers to Ireland their star had begun to wane, only to make a resurgence after their Irish tour when they went on to sell 15 milllion copies of their 1993 album 'Bat Out of Hell 11.”

Meat Loaf (whose real name wad Marvin Lee Aday, though he was also known as Michael Lee Aday) died in January, 2022.

'Meatloaf: From Hell and to Connaught” airs at 6.30pm tomorrow evening (New Year's Eve, December 31) on RTE One TV and also on the RTE Player and is well worth a watch.