Al Hodge

Al Hodge (21 December 1950 – 6 July 2006) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter, who had success with "Rock 'n' Roll Mercenaries", a song that was recorded by Meat Loaf with John Parr in 1986. Hodge co-wrote the song with the American, Michael Dan Ehmig.

Hodge was one of the most successful singer-songwriters to come out of Cornwall in recent years. For 40 years Hodge, who was born in Bodmin, performed mostly in pubs and clubs. During the 1960s, he was being the guitarist for the Cornish rock band the Onyx. In the mid to late 1970s, he was a member of the soft rock band Rogue.

Hodge was a guitarist for Leo Sayer from 1981 to 1985, and for Elkie Brooks in 1999 and 2000. He wrote music for numerous television programmes and appeared on many TV shows throughout Europe.

In the years before he died, he taught many young guitarists in Cornwall. He died after a two-year battle with cancer, at the age of 55, on 6 July 2006.