Grammy-winning singer Meat Loaf is "responsive and recovering well" after fainting during a show in Edmonton, Canada on Thursday.
In a statement to USA TODAY, publicist Jeremy Westby said that the Paradise by the Dashboard Light singer was suffering from severe dehydration when he collapsed near the end of his show at the Northern Jubilee Auditorium. "He was admitted to a nearby hospital to undergo routine tests. His vital signs are stable and normal. He extends his heartfelt thanks for everyone's support and well-wishes and is expecting to make a speedy and full recovery."
The 68-year-old artist was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat problem known as Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome after another onstage collapse in London in 2003.
Meat Loaf, who is best known for his Bat of Hell trilogy of albums, is touring in Canada. He was scheduled to perform at the Jubilee Monday, but the show was postponed "due to illness," according to the singer's Facebook page.
One witness, Jamie Carriere, told CBC News Meat Loaf was performing his Grammy-winning song I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) from the 1993 album as an encore when he collapsed.
"He fell … he just fell," Carriere said. "You could hear the microphone just hit the ground."
Concertgoer Mikey McBryan told the Associated Press that the audience was asked to vacate the arena following the singer's collapse. He added that the singer seemed to be struggling with that night's performance. “It was him forgetting words, he wasn’t on cue, but it was forgivable,” he said. “We’re all loving it and going crazy, and then it just took a turn for the worst.”
In 2003, Meat Loaf collapsed during a performance in London. He was treated for exhaustion stemming from a virus, hospital officials later said. He also fainted during a concert in July 2011, in Pittsburgh. After several minutes on the ground, Meat Loaf got back up and finished his show, according to The New York Daily News.
Eerily, Meatloaf told USA TODAY last year that he expects he'll die onstage. He has even drawn up a list of instructions for the band should that premonition come true. "If it's too morbid to leave me lying there, then they'll take me off, and the band will play When the Saints Go Marching In. Then the piano player will play Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and the band will get everybody to stand up and sing. Even if I'm dead, the show's going on."
