By Goya Dmytryshchak
US rock legend Meat Loaf says he wants to return to Australia, but not for the AFL, which he called the "cheapest people" he's ever seen.
Meat Loaf told Billboard.com that during his tour of Australia in 2011, which included a performance at the AFL grand final, he had blood running out of his throat after he was diagnosed with a vocal cord haemorrhage.
Meat Loaf performing at the Wollongong Entertainment Centre in October 2011.Credit: Adam McLean AMZ
"I was spitting blood every night on stage. And I've got nothing but grief and major hostility," he said.
"I gave those people everything I had and more. I had flown 44 people to Australia, we're all sitting there. Insurance wouldn't cover the band and everybody going back, so I just said, 'OK, let's go.'
Meat Loaf performs during the 2011 AFL Grand Final.Credit: Mark Dadswell
"In New Zealand at the last show, I was warming up, and it was like you're slicing a vegetable and you cut your finger really bad and it's bleeding everywhere, that's how blood was coming out of my throat. It was just running out of my throat."
Meat Loaf said the AFL half-time performance was low-budget compared to the performances he had done for other codes.
"I thought it was like half-time in the middle of a field, which I've done for NFL and World Football League finals, the other Rugby league final, which was all at halftime, with fireworks," he said.
"These were the cheapest people I've ever seen in my life. They said, 'we're gonna have 100 motorcycles'. They had three."
Meat Loaf's shambolic 12-minute performance at the 2011 AFL grand final reportedly cost the AFL $600,000.
On Friday Meat Loaf posted on his Facebook page that he hopes to bring his 'Last at Bat' tour to Australia.