Star drops Bat Out of Hell battle

Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell III is out on Halloween, 31 October

Rock star Meat Loaf has resolved a legal battle with the man who wrote his most famous song, Bat Out of Hell.

The singer recently took legal action against Jim Steinman - who wrote many songs on the first two Bat out of Hell albums - over who "owned" the title.

But Meat Loaf has now said he has had "too much history" with Mr Steinman to pursue the court case.

The dispute "resolved itself very quickly because neither one of us wanted to argue", he told Reuters.

"If it was not for Jim Steinman and his brilliance and his ability to turn a phrase and his concepts, we wouldn't be here tonight," Meat Loaf said at the New York launch of the third album in the trilogy.

"He really liked the record - that's really important to me," he said.

"We tried to show him as much respect and loyalty as we could because we're doing Bat Out of Hell III. It's his concept."

Meat Loaf had claimed Mr Steinman wrongfully registered the title as his trademark in 1995.

The first Bat Out of Hell was released in 1977, with a follow-up 16 years later entitled Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell.

The two albums sold a combined total of 48 million copies, according to the withdrawn $50 million (£26.8 million) lawsuit.