It has just been announced that the iconic singer and actor known as Meat Loaf has died at aged 74.
Grammy Award-winning Michael Lee Aday – who was known by his stage name of Meat Loaf, and hailed from Dallas, Texas – burst onto the music scene back in the early 1970s and went on to achieve global fame, becoming one of the best-selling musical artists of all time.
The ‘Bat Out Of Hell’ trilogy was his most-popular musical offering, which eventually sold over 65 million albums worldwide.
As an actor, Aday has also appeared in over 50 movies and television shows throughout his revered career, sometimes as himself, and others as characters resembling his stage persona, with his most notable film roles including Eddie in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), and Bob Paulson in Fight Club (1999).
On stage, his work included dual roles in the original cast of The Rocky Horror Show, and he was also in the musical, Hair, both on- and off-Broadway.
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His passing was confirmed in a statement on Facebook this morning, which read: “Our hearts are broken to announce that the incomparable Meat Loaf passed away tonight with his wife Deborah by his side. Daughters Pearl and Amanda and close friends have been with him throughout the last 24 hours.
“His amazing career spanned six decades that saw him sell over 100 million albums worldwide and star in over 65 movies, including Fight Club, Focus, Rocky Horror Picture Show and Wayne’s World.
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“Bat Out of Hell remains one of the top 10 selling albums of all time.
“We know how much he meant to so many of you and we truly appreciate all of the love and support as we move through this time of grief in losing such an inspiring artist and beautiful man.
“We thank you for your understanding of our need for privacy at this time.
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“From his heart to your souls… don’t ever stop rocking.”
This is a BREAKING NEWS story – More to follow.
Featured Image – Facebook (Meat Loaf)
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NHS rolls out new ‘life-extending’ ovarian cancer drug for first time in 20 years
Emily Sergeant
The NHS has approved a new ovarian cancer treatment for the first time in two decades.
From today, hundreds of women with ‘hard-to-treat’ ovarian cancer could benefit from a new life-extending drug on the NHS called mirvetuximab soravtansine, and it will be offered to patients living with whose disease has unfortunately stopped responding to standard chemotherapy treatments, providing them with new hope of extra time to live.
The rollout of the drug on the NHS follows a major global clinical trial involving eight NHS hospitals, which showed that the treatment delayed cancer progression and prolonged survival – with patients living 16.5 months on average compared to 12.8 months with chemotherapy.
One patient said the treatment enabled her to get on with life ‘rather than spending it in bed recovering from the side effects of chemotherapy’.
So, how does it work then?
The NHS has rolled out a new ‘life-extending’ ovarian cancer drug for the first time in 20 years / Credit: rawpixel
Well, the drug combines a ‘homing’ antibody with a cancer-killing medicine – often described by scientists as a ‘biological missile’ or ‘trojan horse’ therapy – and it works by attaching to ovarian cancer cells that have a protein called folate receptor alpha (FRα) on their surface, before releasing a cancer-killing molecule which destroys the cell from within.
The treatment is given intravenously, via a drip, over two to four hours, once every three weeks.
The drug may also have ‘more tolerable’ side effects than traditional chemotherapy, with the treatment aimed more precisely at cancer cells than chemotherapy.
The NHS estimates up to 400 patients in England each year could benefit.
“This represents the most significant breakthrough in NHS treatment for these hard-to-treat ovarian cancers in over two decades, commented Professor Ruth Plummer, who is the NHS’s national clinical lead for cancer drugs.
“We’re delighted it will now offer hundreds of women much-needed hope of precious extra time with their loved ones.
“It is part of a growing wave of more targeted cancer therapies which, by homing in on specific features of cancer cells, are helping us improve patients’ lives.”
Featured Image – Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
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Count Binface says he’ll put a £2 price cap on Wigan kebabs if he wins the Makerfield by-election
Emily Sergeant
Count Binface is officially running in the Makerfield by-election and has now shared his hilarious manifesto with the public.
Price-capped Wigan kebabs and 99p ice creams, cyclists being forced to ride unicycles if they break the Highway Code, and the renaming of HS2 to ‘FFS1’ are just some of the declarations being made by Makerfield by-election candidate, Count Binface.
In case you’re not up-to-speed on the Makerfield by-election coming up on 18 June – which was called after Labour’s Josh Simons announced he was standing down – there are now a total of 14 hopefuls set to contest the parliamentary seat.
Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, is by far the most well-known candidate in the running, alongside other names like Conservative’s Michael Winstanley, Liberal Democrats’ Jake Austin, the Green Party’s Sarah Wakefield, and Reform UK’s Michael Kenyon.
But Burnham is not the only big name… there’s also Count Binface too, of course.
Count Binface – previously known as Lord Buckethead – is the alias of comedian and perennial candidate, Jonathan David Harvey.
He announced his intentions to run for the Makerfield seat last month, before officially publishing his manifesto today (3 June), which includes 20 pledges – some serious, others less so… we presume.
On a more local level to the Makerfield area, if Count Binface wins the by-election, he has pledged to re-phase the traffic lights on Liverpool Road to ease congestion, increase the free parking limit at the Gerard Centre to three hours, and to make Galloways’ Full Monty Bin Lid breakfast the country’s new national dish.
And then on a more comical level – yes, even more comical than a new national dish – this is where you’ll find pledges like making sure there’s WiFi on trains that works and also ‘trains that work’ too, as well as the bringing back of Ceefax teletext for all Greater Manchester residents, and the increasing of points for tries in Rugby League from four to five ‘in line with inflation’.
Oh yeah, and there’s the promise that Count Binface will be the UK’s entrant to Eurovision in 2027, let’s not forget that.
Anyway, like we said, the Makerfield by-election is coming up on 18 June, and you can find out more information about all the candidates on the Wigan Council website here.
The Manc -
21st January 2022 
