Steve Steinman has gone from impersonating Meat Loaf as a party piece to producing, writing and starring in a trilogy of bestselling rock musicals. It’s been a (bat out of) hell of a ride, as he recently explained to What’s On…

Just over 30 years ago, restaurateur Steve Murray got up and sang a Meat Loaf tune with a covers band that was playing at his family’s hotel in Saddleworth, near Oldham. Three decades later, the self-confessed entrepreneur runs his own production company, putting on elaborate - and hugely successful - rock musicals that he also writes and stars in. It’s a career move he never expected, and one which would almost certainly never have happened if a member of the tribute act hadn’t hit ‘record’ on his camera during Steve’s impromptu performance.

“I wasn’t a singer in the band or anything,” recalls Steve in a broad Mancunian accent. “I was running the restaurant, but I’d get up with bands who were playing dinner dances and that kind of thing.”

The band member sent the tape in to TV talent show Stars In Their Eyes, and a phone call from the series’ production company changed Steve’s life forever.

After initially thinking going on the show would be good fun, as well as good publicity for the restaurant, it ultimately provided him with a whole new career. And just at the right time, too, as rising costs and all-time-high interest rates battered the hospitality trade. His restaurant was among the casualties.

“I was left high and dry, thinking ‘What the hell do I do now?’ I’d started singing with a local band, doing a bit of gigging as a bit of a joke, so I took that to the next level, and it’s been that career ever since.”

And it’s been some career, too. He might not have won Stars In Their Eyes, but he’s arguably its most successful contestant. Changing his name to Steve Steinman - after Jim Steinman, the writer of so many of Meat Loaf’s biggest hits - he initially found his niche as a Meat Loaf tribute act, touring the world in shows such as Anything For Love: The Meat Loaf Story.

“I was never a big music fan as such,” Steve admits. “I was just a normal lad who bought Bat Out Of Hell when I was about 17.” He also owned albums by the likes of Bon Jovi and Queen - “just usual stuff” - always preferring rock to pop or soul music.

“I like a storytelling song, and that’s where Meat Loaf came in. Jim Steinman wrote some great stuff, and his songs suited my voice. When I did the Meat Loaf show, it just suited me, and I did the dressing up and all that. But now people come to see Steve Steinman, cos of the way I speak, have a joke and have fun on stage… it’s not about me being Meat Loaf anymore.”

Steve hasn’t given up performing as Meat Loaf, but for the past 25 years he’s also been starring as Baron Von Rockula in Vampires Rock, a trilogy of colourful rock musicals featuring music by the likes of Journey, Guns N’ Roses, Europe and Foreigner. Steve also writes and produces the shows, and while he admits the first “was more of a concert than a musical”, it was nevertheless a massive hit. Playing to arenas all over the world, it even featured guest stars Toyah Willcox (who performed in more than 200 shows) and Twisted Sister guitarist Eddie Ojeda.

Second instalment The Ghost Train continued in the same vein - comedy and horror with more monster rock tunes - but Eternal Love, this year’s third and final part, is a whole new, and potentially risky, beast. Risky because it’s the first show to jettison the safety net of well-known rock standards in favour of entirely original songs.

“Jukebox musicals have become the bread & butter of musical theatre, and my Vampires Rock franchise has benefitted immensely from their popularity. But where’s the creativity in that? Eternal Love is a first for 21st-century musicals - it features an original storyline and an original score, performed by an original cast.”

The opportunity to do something original was partly prompted by the Covid pandemic.

“We were in lockdown, and I’d got a few songwriters sending me demos. I’d never really bothered with original songs, as I never really had the time. Lockdown gave me the time. I started listening to these songs, and I thought, you know what, I’m gonna do me own album, cos there’s some brilliant stuff here.”
The move led to him releasing two successful solo LPs (Heaven’s Gate and Take A Leap Of Faith), as well as putting songs together for Eternal Love. This time, though, they were able to fit to a narrative, rather than the other way round.

“I could put a bit more story in, and have the songs tie in with that story. Not every song was written for the musical - I’d already released an album, but nine or 10 of the songs (out of 20) were written to go in this musical.”

In another unusual move, a cast recording of Eternal Love was released before the show premiered in January. Its success - it went to number one on the rock charts of both Amazon and iTunes, and number 40 in the Official UK Charts - brings other benefits, according to Steve.

“The idea was to get the fans into it, so that they know the songs and are singing them back at me. Also, if they bought the album and like the songs, they’re definitely gonna come and see the show.”

As for those who are unfamiliar with previous Vampire Rock productions, Steve says that although Eternal Love features the same characters, it can be enjoyed as a standalone offering, complete with its own unique storyline, humour and appeal. He also thinks the show is great for people who don’t normally enjoy musicals.

“I would say that if you’re not a fan of musicals, or don’t think you’re a fan, then this is probably the musical that will turn you into a fan.

“It’s a rollercoaster of emotions and amazing songs. It goes from looking like something from a horror film, then like Grease The Musical when it’s all poppy, and then into real rock - like a rock concert happening right in front of you. Then there’s a love story, and a Phantom Of The Opera-type element. It’s really got everything.

“And if you haven’t heard the music before coming, you’ll be buying the CD on the way out, I’m telling you.”

Vampire’s Rock Eternal Love The Musical shows at Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury from Thursday 6 to Saturday 8 March, and The Alexandra, Birmingham on Thursday 27 March

By Steve Adams