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Chronicle Live
National
Nicole Goodwin

'RIP Meat Loaf' graffiti removed from Heaton roundabout - but other graffiti remains

Graffiti paying tribute to rock star Meat Loaf has been removed from a Newcastle roundabout - but other graffiti remains.

Newcastle City Council have confirmed that the graffiti reading "RIP MEAT LOAF" has been removed from the roundabout which connects the A1058 Coast Road and Chillingham Road in Heaton.

The tribute to the American singer, which was spray-painted in red block capitals, had been capturing the attention of commuters on the Coast Road from Newcastle city centre since Monday morning.

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It was deemed as one for the hundreds of tributes to the 74-year-old, following the announcement of his death last Friday.

But today the council confirmed that it had removed the graffiti after a complaint had been made.

A spokesperson for Newcastle City Council said: "In line with our policy, our local services teams were quickly dispatched to clean the site after a complaint was made.

"Please report graffiti by calling 0191 278 7878 and ask for 'Envirocall', or visit our website."

RIP graffiti to rock legend Meat Loaf has been removed from a bridge on the A1058 Coast road (Newcastle Chronicle)

The rock legend, who was known for hits such as 'Bat Out of Hell' and 'I'd Do Anything for Love', had a number of connections to the North East.

Lorraine Crosby, from Walker, duetted with Meat Loaf on the hit 'I'd Do Anything For Love' and also performed with him live on stage.

Speaking on BBC5 Live following the news of his death, Lorraine said: "It's a sad day. He gave me a career with that song, God bless him.

"Without him I probably wouldn't have done much more, but I was lucky enough to do that."

When Meat Loaf arrived in the North East on tour, Lorraine joined him on stage at Whitley Bay Ice Rink in December 1993 to perform the song.

The RIP graffiti has been removed but other graffiti remains (Newcastle Chronicle)

Speaking about what it was like to work with Meat Loaf, she said: "He was fantastic. What a great man."

During a tour in October 2007, Meat Loaf showed his dedication to his fans by setting out on a mission to make it up to them after cutting a Newcastle Arena gig short due to throat problems.

He agreed to take part in a charity penalty shoot-out at St James' Park and The Chronicle arranged an auction for the highest bidders to try their luck from the spot with Meat Loaf between the sticks in June 2008.

Initially, he told bidders they would get free tickets to a Meat Loaf concert in Yorkshire if they managed to score past him.

But he gave them all tickets anyway, regardless of if they bagged or not, and he also matched the £5,000 raised by the auction.

The cash went to two cancer charities, Maggie's Cancer Care Centre and the Toma Fund, which was taking donations to fund a teenage cancer unit.

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