"The vaults of heaven will be ringing with rock" now that legendary singer Meat Loaf, has died aged 74.
That's what his friend Andrew Lloyd Webber has said since the sad news broke on Friday that the star had died with his loving wife Deborah by his side.
No cause of death has yet been given, but Meat Loaf, real name Marvin Lee Aday, battled many health issues that plagued him his whole life and caused multiple on-stage collapses.
He seemingly flirted with death so frequently he once described himself as "a cat with 48 lives".
In 2016, he told the Telegraph: "I've fallen three storeys, been in car wrecks, near misses, emergency landings so many times I should have died."
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On one occasion he was hit with a 12lb shot put during a sporting event at school.
"I was standing 62 feet away with my back turned, warming up and there was no way anyone thought it would be tossed that far," he told Contact Music.
"But the guy who hit me was the champion of Dallas. Everyone else was throwing them about 30 feet."
In October 2006, his private jet had to make an emergency landing at London's Stansted Airport after his plane's forward landing gear failed.
And the star was also once in a horror car crash that saw his vehicle roll after hurtling too fast around a bend.
Meat Loaf had been in the back seat - and the trauma left him unable to ever sit in that spot during a car journey again.
In 2013, he told Ultimate Classic Rock he suffered 18 concussions, survived eight car crashes, and had close calls on planes.
When he was a child, his alcoholic father tried to kill him with a butcher's knife, he claimed.
"My father was an alcoholic, and coping with him, that's really how I learned to act. But I love my father, I've forgiven my father," he said.
"He tried to kill me with a butcher knife but all of that is just life. Alcoholism is a disease. You deal with it, you go on, you don’t hold grudges."
But these weren't even the scariest incidents for the rocker.
He admitted the "worst" one was when he was on stage in London in 2003 and collapsed, convinced he was having a heart attack.
Meat later attributed the scare to Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which causes a rapid heart rate, and vowed it would "never happen again" because he'd undergone successful heart surgery.
Back in 1978, he had jumped off a stage in Ottawa, breaking his leg and leaving him needing to use a wheelchair for the rest of the tour.
And in 2016, the same horror would occur again during a gig in Alberta.
He had already cancelled three shows in the same tour due to illness, and severe dehydration would lead to his terrifying collapse.
Harrowing footage showed him falling to the floor while singing I'd Do Anything For Love - and it sparked controversy at the time as the playback of his pre-recorded vocals continued, revealing he was lip-synching.
One woman told the Edmonton Journal: "We weren’t sure at first whether it was part of the act or it was something for real".
Another fan wrote on Twitter : "Meat Loaf did not look good 2nite. Was worried he wouldn’t last. Left moments b4 he went down. Had a bad feeling".
Meat Loaf issued a health update shortly afterwards at the Q Awards, revealing he had been recovering from emergency back surgery.
After picking up the Hero Award, he said he was "still in pain" over the operation.
"I’m just ready to sit down because four weeks ago I had spinal fusion," he explained.
"There was a cyst which was pinching nerves so I had emergency back surgery."
But this wouldn't even be his last public fall - at the 2019 Texas Frightmare horror convention, Meat Loaf fell off an interview stage and broke his collarbone.
After his many collapses, Meat underwent a new diet and fitness regime, tweeting to complain that he was in "constant pain" that he wouldn't wish on anybody.
He was later spotted walking with a cane as he sported a much slimmer frame.
A statement by Meat Loaf's family posted on his Facebook page on Friday morning said: "Our hearts are broken to announce that the incomparable Meat Loaf passed away tonight with his wife Deborah by his side.
"Daughters Pearl and Amanda and close friends have been with him throughout the last 24 hours.
"His amazing career spanned six decades that saw him sell over 100 million albums worldwide and star in over 65 movies, including Fight Club, Focus, Rocky Horror Picture Show and Wayne's World. Bat Out of Hell remains one of the top ten selling albums of all time.'
"We know how much he meant to so many of you and we truly appreciate all of the love and support as we move through this time of grief in losing such an inspiring artist and beautiful man."
They added: "We thank you for your understanding of our need for privacy at this time. From his heart to your souls... don't ever stop rocking!"
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