Not going to get involved in the old debate as to who brought most, who benefited from whom. But whilst he may have had to play bars in the US, here in Europe in the 80s he had 5 successful tours in theatres and arenas, and released 4 albums .. two golds, one silver and of course Dead Ringer which went platinum and made No 1.
I never could figure out why he wasn't as popular in North America as he was in Europe, but for me it worked out as I saw him up close and personal more times than I can count in smaller venues.
I don't believe it is a quid pro quo. I think Meat genuinely cares that Jim's dream of bringing his musical to the stage is finally being realised, and simply wants to do what he can to support that. I heard nothing trashing Whistle at my ST shows, but that had already been reworked and had had a resounding success for well over a year in London's West End by the time ST started. Meat would not say anything unsupportive of this new musical imo.
You should maybe check out the dvd. Meat was definitely not supportive of WDTW and to be fair who can blame him considering the boyzone fiasco.
I am only offering an opinion but it wouldn't surprise me if there wasn't some sort of a deal worked out regarding the support of each others work. Kind of like trading songs in the early 80's.
And I do agree totally that Meat would definitely be supportive of the musical. Just wish it went both ways to the same extent.
Meat has made it clear he wants to give any support wanted. I doubt it has been his decision to have his photo featured so much in the promotion so far, nor the frequency with which his name is attached to it. I agree there is a danger that this can encourage casual fans to think it is about him, might even include him, even though the published storyline and now the cast makes it clear that neither is the case. I have even seen some fans expressing hopes that Meat will be on stage on opening night performing with Jim ..
However, I was pleased to see that the latest article I read makes no mention of Meat. I'm quite sure he is aware of the issue, and whatever he does to support Jim will be done in a way that will make it clear he is supporting his long-time friend and not directly involved in any way. In fact it's an opportunity to counter any false expectations raised by the earlier promotion so people do not buy tickets believing it is some kind of Meat Loaf Story, or that he will be appearing in it.