Meat Loaf gave his seal of approval to Scots tribute act Peat Loaf after meeting with him four times.
And Dallas-born Meat, who died on Thursday night, even wanted the Troon-based look and soundalike, real name Pete Rossi, to play him in a movie about his life.
Devastated Pete, who reached the live semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent in 2014, believes Meat Loaf's love for his fans played a part in his death - because he relentlessly toured over the years.
He said: "Back in the 70s, when he was doing Bat Out of Hell, he was nearly 30 stone and after the gig the rest of his band would walk him over as he was hooked up to an oxygen machine.
"He adored his fans and wouldn’t stop. The thought of him letting fans down would tear his heart out.
"I think he should have stopped after his heart attack on stage."
Pete, who has been inundated with requests to play gigs since news of his idol's death came through, says he's not even in a place to think about a tribute gig at the moment.
He told the Daily Record: "It was the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes at 7:30am and I'm absolutely gutted. I thought it was an online hoax at first. I'm absolutely completely and utterly devastated. It’s not hit me yet.
"I’m just trying to get over the shock because there were no clues to it. We didn't hear he was ill. He was talking about doing five shows later in the year."
Peat met Meat backstage in Edinburgh, twice in Glasgow and once in Liverpool.
He said: "I had triple A passes and went backstage. We had conversations and he gave me a lot of advice and told me to always hold my dignity and integrity and take time.
"He said to be the best you can be and not to listen to the doubters as there are people with extreme jealousy in the world of tribute acts. It's water off a duck's back."
Pete, who first heard Meat when he was 15 and was captivated by the intro to Bat Out Of Hell, didn't become a tribute act until he was 31 and has since travelled everywhere from Spain to Dubai to perform his songs.
He added: "I’ve not even thought about what comes next. I haven’t had time to Think about it. I'm very emotional."
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