Petition Demands AFL CEO Use Local Talent, ‘No Meat Loaf Repeat!’

“Meat Loaf was over the hill and over paid”, anyone who managed to catch the theatrical singer’s not-so-theatrical performance at the AFL Grand Final last year would share the same sentiment. But that particular quote is taken from a new petition, spearheading that they don’t want a repeat of the Meat Loaf debacle.

Launched through Change.org, an online social platform that ‘empowers anyone, anywhere to start, join, and win campaigns to change the world’; the petition is calling for AFL organisers to instead look to local talent for this year’s competition final.

Put together by Danae Bosler, a local Collingwood fan who lives near the MCG and “loves live Australian music”, the petition states:

“I love AFL; I’m a season ticket holder, watch the game every weekend and going to last year’s grand final was a highlight of the year…even though my team lost.” Adding that, ”But getting Meat Loaf as the opening act – what was the AFL thinking? I was even more furious when I heard from the media he was paid a whopping $600,000.”

Meat Loaf made headlines around Australia for his shonky performance, which was widely panned by critics, then turned into an ugly mud-slinging match between the burly singer and the AFL’s committee. Meat Loaf blaming his appalling Grand Final performance on his keyboard player, sound techs and labelling the AFL jerks‘. They responded in vicious kind, with Chief Operating officer of the AFL, Gillon McLachlan, calling his appearance “absolutely terrible… the guy turned up and just couldn’t sing.”

Bosler’s online petition is levelled at AFL Chief Executive, Andrew Demetriou, urging him to use one of the many “talented musicians and bands in this country who would make a great warm-up act.”

Adding “I take pride in the fact that AFL is Australia’s game – let’s make everything about it, including the music, Australian too. Then, perhaps the $600,000 could be better spent on keeping the tickets at a more reasonable price!” says Bosler.

The peaks sports body have indicated their interest in supporting local music. Following on from the success last year of the inaugural ‘Live At The G’ series that saw the likes of Little Red, Stonefield, and Airbourne, playing in front thousands of crazed footy fans at the MCG in Melbourne.

With support from Frontier Touring and Production, Southern Cross Austereo, Level Two and Cheery Rock, the sports body also played host to more local gigs in the lead-up to the start of the footy season last March, in a series of pre-match entertainment.

The petition will hopefully not fall on deaf ears, as the peak sports body is no doubt keen to distance themselves from their previous musical indiscretions.

If you want to be sure though, you can head over to Change.org and sign the ‘No imported has-beens for the AFL Grand Final’ for yourself.