Meatloaf kick-starts hot concert whirl

LIKE a bat outta hell, a typically frenzied Meatloaf kick-started a whirl of gigfests on Saturday that will climax with a dose of Vertigo in Croker next weekend.

Pounding more than bounding onto the stage at Ardgillan Castle on Saturday night, he received a raucous welcome from a crowd warmed up by those other relics of rock, Status Quo.

Centre-stage last night, at their Orange Crush-ing best, were REM, taking their frenetic fans Around the Sun and back, in a performance that was automatic for the people.