Richard Batson Park gig crowds are set to get a second helping of Meat Loaf as the larger-than-life rocker returns to Blickling Hall this summer.

Richard Batson

Park gig crowds are set to get a second helping of Meat Loaf as the larger-than-life rocker returns to Blickling Hall this summer.

Three years ago 9,000 people flocked the National Trust's lakeside stage near Aylsham to watch the booming rocker and balladeer blast out classics such as Bat Out Of Hell, Dead Ringer For Love, and I Would Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That).

Now the 60-year-old Texan legend is set to return on Sunday July 13, completing the line-up of summer gigs at the stately home venue, which is already hosting concerts by Boyzone, Katie Melua and an 11-act 1980s party.

Meat Loaf originally found fame in the 1970s and 80s, starting with You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth and Two Out of Three Ain't Bad in 1978, with Dead Ringer, his best-ever chart success, reaching number five in 1981.

Born Marvin Lee Aday at Dallas, he moved to Los Angeles in 1967 and formed a group called Meat Loaf Soul.

After supporting acts such as the Who, Meat Loaf's combined talents as singer and actor saw him win roles in musicals such as Hair and the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

His LPs are multi-million sellers across the world, and he is listed in the VH1 channels 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.

Meat Loaf has also appeared in more than 50 movies and television shows, including the Spice Girls' Spice World, and a 2007 documentary Meat Loaf: In Search of Paradise - a behind-the-scenes look at rehearsals and life on the road during a world tour.

His stage and personal life have had their ups and downs. In 1978 Meat Loaf fell off a stage in Toronto and broke his leg, resulting in the rest of the being cancelled, resulting in a spell on drugs and a nervous breakdown

After collapsing on stage in 2003 he was treated for a heart condition involving extra electrical signals which can cause it to race.

Last November fans were heartbroken when Meat Loaf cut short a concert in Newcastle and announced it would be his final gig - but his tour promoter said the star was exhausted and would be carrying on after a rest.

He has just announced a series of summer gigs from Cork and Yorkshire, to Bath and Blickling, called the Casa De Carne Tour.

Tickets for the Blickling gig go on sale tomorrow , costing £37.50 plus booking fee.

They can be bought, from 9am tomorrow, through EDP Archant offices at Prospect House (01603 772175), and Millennium Plain (01603 693890), Norwich, as well as in person at Cromer, Yarmouth, Lowestoft and Fakenham, or on-line at www.edp24.co.uk.

There is also a box office at Blickling, 0844 800 4308, www.nationaltrust.org.uk/event, and a 24-hour ticketline at 0871 424 4444, www.ticketline.co.uk