by Luke SeagraveIn a world full of Meat Loaf tribute acts, there is one tribute that has been doing the rounds since 1993. Steve Steinman has taken the art of being a tribute act to the highest level over the last two decades.
After an appearance on the TV show “Stars in Their Eyes” in 1993 as Meat Loaf, Steve started working all the pubs and clubs with his tribute act.
Fast forward to 2019, and he has taken it from a one man show and developed it into an all out balls to the wall, turn it up to eleven, rock music extravaganza, with a full stage production that would make some West End productions feel inadequate. Employing a full ensemble of talented musicians and dancers as well as having a production team to keep touring year after year, this is no longer a tribute act but a whole new beast in stage production albeit with the magic of Meat Loaf’s music being the Centrepoint. This has turned into more than just a tribute act, it is the musical that Meat Loaf never had.
For 2019, Steve had managed to rope in the vocal talents of female vocalist Lorraine Crosby, (The original female vocalist on Meat Loafs “I’d Do Anything for Love” hit single). However, the show would require more than just Lorraine’s impressive vocals to give the waiting fans value for money, who had parted with £26.50 for their tickets.
As the lights faded to black, the unmistakable sound of the motorbike intro on “I’d do Anything for Love” reverberated around the theatre. Just before the drums kicked in, the curtain parted to reveal the band. Steve strolled on stage to a rapturous round of applause as the vocals kicked in. From the opening notes Steve had got the audience eating out of the palm of his hands. During the instrumental that leads up to the female vocals, Lorraine walked out on stage and demonstrated why Meat Loaf wanted her vocals on that single. Even decades later Lorraine has managed to keep her vocal range intact. Absolute pleasure to hear her voice live.
From that point on, it was a whirlwind tour through some of Meat Loaf’s biggest hits. In between the songs there was tongue in cheek dialogue, with great interaction from the crowd. It is the interaction and dialogue that sets Steve Steinman apart from all the other tribute acts, this is more of a stage show designed to showcase the incredible music of Meat Loaf rather than being a pure tribute to the rock star. Even to the point of the band extending “You Took the Words Right Out of my Mouth” because the audiences clapping went out of time with the drums, so the entire band chipped in to get the audience back on track.
Having a vocalist as talented as Lorraine sharing vocal duties, it was only a matter of time before she took centre stage and was allowed to belt out hits such as “It’s all Coming Back to me Now” and “Holding out for a Hero” without the assistance of any other vocalists.
Throughout the two and half hours, Steve and Lorraine had ploughed through the back catalogue of Jim Steinman’s and Meat Loaf’s creations, songs such as “Paradise by the Dashboard Light”, “Life is a Lemon”, “For Crying Out Loud” and of course the show closer “Bat Out of Hell” were all delivered with the force of a tropical storm amidst a stunning lighting display armed with pyrotechnics throughout the show.
The beauty of this stage production lies within the fundamental aim, which is to celebrate the magic of Meat Loaf’s music rather than to try and be Meat Loaf. There is no doubt that Steve Steinman’s “Anything for Love” production brings the magic of Meat Loaf’s songs to life. With the help of incredibly talented musicians and backing dancers this becomes a tour de force of live music. Much more than just an average tribute act!
Sadly, if you missed this production, then you will be waiting quite sometime before it comes back to Mansfield. Despite performing in Mansfield for 17 years, unfortunately Mansfield Palace Theatre won’t be having “Anything for Love” back in the next few years due to the venue allegedly being that busy. So if you are eager to catch one of these productions, you could catch either Vampires Rock in February at Mansfield Palace Theatre (They play the odd Meat Loaf song) or make the trek to Nottingham Arena on May 29th 2020 for “Anything For Love” with the Bad for Good Rock Orchestra for a night of rock anthems from the mighty Meat Loaf repertoire.
A fabulous night out and great value for money.
Review by Luke Seagrave
