DIO

DIO
Biography

Dio was the heavy metal band that the American singer Ronnie James Dio formed in 1982 and led until his death in 2010. Having made his name with Elf, Rainbow and Black Sabbath, he started the band after leaving Black Sabbath, with his Sabbath bandmate Vinny Appice on drums, his old Rainbow colleague Jimmy Bain on bass and a young guitarist from Northern Ireland, Vivian Campbell. The 1983 debut, Holy Diver, was certified double platinum by the RIAA, The Last in Line (1984) platinum and Sacred Heart (1985) gold, and in Britain both The Last in Line and Sacred Heart reached No. 4 on the albums chart. Through many changes of line-up the band went on to make ten studio albums, the last of them Master of the Moon in 2004. In 1985 Ronnie James Dio also led Hear 'n Aid, a charity project that brought heavy metal musicians together for famine relief. He died of stomach cancer on 16 May 2010, at the age of 67.

The road to the band: Elf, Rainbow and Black Sabbath (1957-1982)

Ronnie James Dio was born Ronald James Padavona in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on 10 July 1942 (The Guardian, 2010; Los Angeles Times, 2010). His parents came from Cortland, New York, and were living in Portsmouth only because his father was serving in the U.S. Army during the Second World War; the family soon went back to Cortland (official site). His musical career began in 1957 with a local band, the Vegas Kings (official site; Los Angeles Times, 2010). Late in the 1960s he formed the Electric Elves, who became Elf, and Elf became a regular opening act for Deep Purple (official site; The Guardian, 2010; Los Angeles Times, 2010).

In 1975, when the guitarist Ritchie Blackmore left Deep Purple and started Rainbow, Ronnie James Dio became its singer, and he made three studio albums with the band (official site; AP, 2010). It began with a single recording: Quatermass's "Black Sheep of the Family", which Blackmore cut with Dio and other members of Elf at a studio in Tampa Bay in December 1974 (uDiscover Music, 2025). In 1979 Dio replaced Ozzy Osbourne as the singer of Black Sabbath (official site; The Guardian, 2010; Rhino announcement, via Blabbermouth, 2007), and he sang on Heaven and Hell in 1980 and Mob Rules in 1981 (The Guardian, 2010; Ultimate Classic Rock, 2015).

In 1982, as tensions inside Black Sabbath rose during the final mixing of the live album Live Evil, Ronnie James Dio left the band, taking with him the drummer Vinny Appice, who had joined Black Sabbath as Bill Ward's replacement (Ultimate Classic Rock, 2015; Rhino announcement, via Blabbermouth, 2016; Rolling Stone, 2022). One story has it that the guitarist Tony Iommi and the bassist Geezer Butler suspected Dio of slipping into the studio after hours to turn up his own vocals; Ultimate Classic Rock thinks the tale was probably invented and points instead to Dio's long-standing wish to strike out on his own (Ultimate Classic Rock, 2015). The Guardian wrote that the others accused him of wanting his voice too loud, and that he refused to let anyone interfere with how his voice was mixed (The Guardian, 2010).

Ronnie James Dio is also known for spreading the horned hand sign that metal fans raise. He said he had it from his Italian grandmother, who used the gesture to ward off the evil eye (official site; The Guardian, 2010; Permuted Press announcement, via Blabbermouth, 2021).

The formation (1982)

Warner Bros. had asked Ronnie James Dio, while he was still in Black Sabbath, whether he would like to make a record of his own when the band was not working, and once he was out of Sabbath he took the chance to start his own group (Loudwire, 2023). He had begun writing some of the songs that ended up on Holy Diver while he was still in Black Sabbath, and he had hoped Sabbath would record "Holy Diver" and "Don't Talk to Strangers" (Rolling Stone, 2022). The new band was managed by his wife, Wendy Dio, who had been his manager since he left Rainbow and went on managing him until his death (Permuted Press announcement, via Blabbermouth, 2021; Blabbermouth, 2022).

In 1982 Ronnie James Dio first wrote a number of songs with Jake E. Lee, then the guitarist of Rough Cutt, a band Wendy Dio managed, but Lee was let go after about six weeks. Lee said later that Dio wanted a more European sound and that his own playing was too American for it, and Wendy Dio has said that Dio liked the way British musicians thought. Lee went on to join Ozzy Osbourne's band (Blabbermouth, 2018; Guitar World, 2026).

The guitarist in the band's first line-up was Vivian Campbell, a 20-year-old from Northern Ireland. In September 1982 Jimmy Bain, who had played bass with Ronnie James Dio in Rainbow, telephoned Campbell's home in the middle of the night from a London hotel: Dio and Vinny Appice had quit Black Sabbath and were looking for a guitarist, and could he come to London to audition the next evening? Bain had never heard Campbell play, but on the strength of his reputation he had put him on a shortlist alongside John Sykes; Campbell had formed the new wave of British heavy metal band Sweet Savage. At a rehearsal room in north London, Dio picked up a bass and played the riff of "Holy Diver", and after four hours of playing Campbell was offered the job (Louder, 2026).

According to Campbell, Ronnie James Dio explained that he had been offered a solo deal but wanted a band rather than a solo record, and that he would call it Dio only so that people would know the name. He also promised, with a handshake, that while he could pay them very little at first, the arrangement would be made equitable when the contract was renegotiated after the third album, if the band succeeded (Louder, 2026). The Guardian later remarked that the name left nobody in any doubt about who was in charge (The Guardian, 2010).

In the autumn of 1982 Ronnie James Dio, Appice, Bain and Campbell went into Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California, spent about six weeks trading ideas and riffs, and then began recording what became Holy Diver (Blabbermouth, 2015; Loudwire, 2023).

Holy Diver (1983)

The debut album, Holy Diver, was produced by Ronnie James Dio himself (Loudwire, 2023) and released on 25 May 1983 (RIAA; Loudwire, 2023; Guitar World, 2026). Warner Bros. Records issued it in the United States and Vertigo in Britain (MusicBrainz), and when the first three albums were expanded in 2012 the rights were still split the same way, with Warner Bros. in North America and Universal Music everywhere else (Blabbermouth, 2012).

The singles "Holy Diver" and "Rainbow in the Dark" reached No. 72 and No. 46 on the British singles chart (Loudwire, 2023; Official Charts Company). According to Appice, the keyboard part of "Rainbow in the Dark" was played by Bain: the band had no keyboard player at the time, and beyond that Ronnie James Dio added a few backing chords to a couple of songs (Blabbermouth, 2023). The album peaked at No. 56 on the Billboard 200, where it spent 39 weeks (Billboard), and reached No. 13 in Britain (Official Charts Company). The RIAA certified it gold on 12 September 1984, platinum on 21 March 1989 and double platinum on 6 May 2022 (RIAA).

The cover shows the band's devil mascot, Murray, standing behind a mountain and holding a chain wrapped around a man who looks like a priest, in the water below. The sinister picture fed rumours that Ronnie James Dio was a Satanist (Loudwire, 2023).

Once the album was written and recorded, the band brought in Claude Schnell, formerly the keyboard player of Rough Cutt, to add colours to some of the songs that the guitar could not, and from then on he was an essential part of the live shows (Blabbermouth, 2015; Ultimate Classic Rock, 2019).

In 1983 the band played the Monsters of Rock festival at Donington, which Wendy Dio described as the band's first appearance in Britain (Rolling Stone, 2010; Blabbermouth, 2010). Twisted Sister toured with the band from 1983 on (AP, 2010). The show of 28 December 1983 at the Selland Arena in Fresno, California, was recorded, and it was included in the four-disc expanded edition of Holy Diver in 2022 (Rolling Stone, 2022).

The Last in Line (1984)

The second album, The Last in Line, was recorded in the first half of 1984 at Caribou Ranch, high in the Rocky Mountains. The record company wanted Ted Templeman, the producer of Van Halen, to make it, but Ronnie James Dio produced it himself, as he had the debut (Ultimate Classic Rock, 2019; Louder, 2024). It was the first album by the five-piece band, with Schnell joining Campbell, Bain and Appice, and it was released in the United States on 2 July 1984 (Ultimate Classic Rock, 2019; RIAA).

The album reached No. 23 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 35 weeks (Billboard), and it went to No. 4 in Britain (Official Charts Company). On 12 September 1984 the RIAA certified it gold, on the same day as Holy Diver, and on 3 February 1987 it became the first Dio album to be certified platinum (RIAA). The singles "We Rock" and "Mystery" reached No. 42 and No. 34 in Britain (Official Charts Company).

The tour covered the United States, Britain and Europe from June to the end of 1984 and passed 100 shows by the time its last American leg ended on 27 January 1985 (Ultimate Classic Rock, 2019). Geoff Tate of Queensrÿche has recalled that it was Ronnie James Dio who gave his band its first tour of Europe, by inviting it along as special guests (Blabbermouth, 2021), and Don Dokken has said that he and Dio became good friends when Dokken toured with the band (Blabbermouth, 2020).

Hear 'n Aid and Sacred Heart (1985)

On 20 and 21 May 1985, at Ronnie James Dio's call, forty musicians from the heavy metal world gathered at A&M Records' studios in Hollywood to record "Stars" for famine relief in Africa. They included members of Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Mötley Crüe, Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister, Blue Öyster Cult and even Spinal Tap (Blabbermouth, 2020), and Don Dokken, Geoff Tate and Blackie Lawless of W.A.S.P. all took part in the session (Blabbermouth, 2020, 2021 and 2022). The project was led by Dio, Campbell and Bain, and "Stars" started out as their song; guitarists including Campbell and Yngwie Malmsteen took turns on it (Ultimate Classic Rock, 2015 and 2021).

Sorting out the contracts between the labels took months, so the single and the album Hear 'n Aid did not come out until New Year's Day 1986, and then only on vinyl and cassette (Blabbermouth, 2020; Ultimate Classic Rock, 2021). According to the official site, the project raised more than two million dollars for famine relief in Africa within a year (official site).

The third album, Sacred Heart, came out in August 1985 (Ultimate Classic Rock, 2015; Billboard). The single "Rock 'n' Roll Children" reached No. 26 in Britain (Official Charts Company), and the album reached No. 29 on the Billboard 200 and, like its predecessor, No. 4 in Britain (Billboard; Official Charts Company). The RIAA certified it gold on 15 October 1985 (RIAA).

The tour that followed ran for thirteen months and more than 100 shows, with Rough Cutt, Yngwie Malmsteen, Keel and Accept among the opening acts. Its stage held a big fire-breathing dragon, and Ronnie James Dio's nightly battle with it became the stuff of legend (Ultimate Classic Rock, 2015; Blabbermouth, 2017). Wendy Dio was closely involved in building that stage set (Blabbermouth, 2017).

A new guitarist: Intermission and Dream Evil (1986-1988)

In 1986, partway through the tour, Campbell was fired and replaced by Craig Goldy, who had played in Rough Cutt and Giuffria (Ultimate Classic Rock, 2015; Blabbermouth, 2017). The people involved tell the story differently. Campbell has said that it came down to his asking for the equitable share Ronnie James Dio had promised from the third album on, and Appice too remembers it as a dispute over money (Blabbermouth, 2021, 2022 and 2023). Wendy Dio has said that it was not only about money, that Campbell was trying to push the band in a more commercial direction, and that it was she, not Dio, who fired him (Blabbermouth, 2021 and 2022). Dio himself said that Campbell was no longer as committed to the band as he had been (Ultimate Classic Rock, 2015; Blabbermouth, 2023). Campbell joined Whitesnake in 1987 (Blabbermouth, 2022 and 2023) and later became a member of Def Leppard (Blabbermouth, 2015).

In 1986 the band released Intermission: live recordings from the time Campbell was still in the band, with one studio song, "Time to Burn", recorded with Goldy (Rhino announcement, via Blabbermouth, 2016; MusicBrainz). It reached No. 70 on the Billboard 200 and No. 22 in Britain (Billboard; Official Charts Company).

In the spring of 1987 Ronnie James Dio, Bain, Appice, Schnell and Goldy began work on the next album at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles, with Dio once again producing (Louder, 2014). The fourth album, Dream Evil, came out in 1987 and reached No. 43 on the Billboard 200 and No. 8 in Britain (Billboard; Official Charts Company). Its singles were "I Could Have Been a Dreamer", which reached No. 69 in Britain, and "All the Fools Sailed Away" (Rhino announcement, via Blabbermouth, 2016; Official Charts Company).

On the Dream Evil tour a giant metal spider came down from above the stage, and lasers fired from Goldy's guitar shot at it (Blabbermouth, 2017 and 2016). The band played Monsters of Rock again that year, and the performance was released in 2010, together with the 1983 one, as the double live album Dio at Donington UK: Live 1983 & 1987 (Blabbermouth, 2010; Rolling Stone, 2010). Goldy's first spell in the band ended in 1988 (Blabbermouth, 2003).

A new line-up and Lock Up the Wolves (1989-1990)

The next guitarist, Rowan Robertson, was a 17-year-old who had sent a demo tape through the band's fan club. Early in 1989 he was flown to Los Angeles and auditioned twice before being asked to join, and his arrival was announced on 18 July 1989 (Blabbermouth, 2010). Writing and recording for the next album began with Bain, Appice and the keyboard player Jens Johansson, but Bain and Appice left during the sessions and were replaced by the bassist Teddy Cook and the drummer Simon Wright, formerly of AC/DC (Blabbermouth, 2010).

The fifth album, Lock Up the Wolves, came out in May 1990 (MusicBrainz; Official Charts Company) and reached No. 61 on the Billboard 200 and No. 28 in Britain (Billboard; Official Charts Company). Reprise Records released it in the United States and Vertigo in Europe (MusicBrainz).

Back to Black Sabbath (1990-1992)

During the Lock Up the Wolves tour, Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler joined the band on stage in Minneapolis to play the Sabbath song "Neon Knights", and that led Ronnie James Dio and Butler to make another album with Tony Iommi (Loudwire, 2023). Dio and Robertson had been writing songs for a Dio album due in May 1991, but it was shelved (Blabbermouth, 2010).

Cozy Powell was meant to play drums, but around the time of the rehearsals a dead horse fell on him and broke his hip, and Appice was brought in rather than Wright, whom Ronnie James Dio had wanted. Black Sabbath recorded Dehumanizer at Rockfield Studios in Wales and released it in 1992 (Loudwire, 2023). During the tour Black Sabbath agreed to open for Ozzy Osbourne at his farewell show in Los Angeles; Dio left the band before that show, and Rob Halford of Judas Priest sang in his place (Loudwire, 2023).

Starting again: Strange Highways and Angry Machines (1993-1998)

After leaving Black Sabbath, Ronnie James Dio rebuilt Dio around Appice, adding the bassist Jeff Pilson, formerly of Dokken, and the guitarist Tracy G (Ultimate Classic Rock, 2015; Eagle Rock announcement, via Blabbermouth, 2014). The sixth album, Strange Highways, came out in Europe in October 1993 and in the United States in January 1994 (MusicBrainz), and it got no higher than No. 142 on the Billboard 200 (Billboard). The last night of the European tour, at the Hammersmith Apollo in London on 12 December 1993, was filmed and released in 2014 as Live in London: Hammersmith Apollo 1993 (Eagle Rock announcement, via Blabbermouth, 2014).

Ultimate Classic Rock describes this as an experimental period, in which Ronnie James Dio struggled to find his place in a music scene that grunge had turned upside down (Ultimate Classic Rock, 2016).

The seventh album, Angry Machines (1996), was made by Ronnie James Dio, Tracy G, Pilson and Appice with the keyboard player Scott Warren (BMG announcement, via Blabbermouth, 2019). Mayhem released it in the United States and SPV's Steamhammer label in Europe (MusicBrainz); it did not reach the Billboard 200 (Billboard). A double live album, Dio's Inferno: The Last in Live, followed in 1998 (MusicBrainz).

Magica and Killing the Dragon (1999-2003)

In 1999 Goldy returned, and Bain and Wright came back too (Blabbermouth, 2003; Ultimate Classic Rock, 2015). Released in March 2000 after the band signed with the independent Spitfire Records, the eighth album, Magica, was a concept album telling the story of an imaginary world, planned as the first part of a trilogy (Ultimate Classic Rock, 2015). Fans welcomed it warmly, and the tour that followed ran into 2001 (Ultimate Classic Rock, 2015). In Britain it reached No. 15 on the rock and metal albums chart (Official Charts Company).

At the end of 2001 Goldy left again, finding the band hard to combine with his full-time job running a limousine company (Blabbermouth, 2003). Doug Aldrich took his place, and the ninth album, Killing the Dragon, released in May 2002, was made by Ronnie James Dio, Aldrich, Bain and Wright (BMG announcement, via Blabbermouth, 2019; MusicBrainz). Most of the songs were already written, so Aldrich co-wrote only two of them, "Scream" and "Along Comes a Spider" (Blabbermouth, 2019). The album spent one week on the Billboard 200, at No. 199 (Billboard), and reached No. 16 on the British rock and metal albums chart (Official Charts Company). Aldrich's time in the band also produced the live film Evil or Divine: Live in New York City (Blabbermouth, 2019).

In 2003 Aldrich went on tour with the reunited Whitesnake. Warren DeMartini of Ratt was announced as the band's touring guitarist but left before playing a show, and in May Goldy's return was announced (Blabbermouth, 2003). DeMartini's exit was first put down to personal reasons; Ronnie James Dio later explained that after three weeks of rehearsals DeMartini had simply not suited the way the band worked (Blabbermouth, 2003). Goldy's first show back was at the Bang Your Head festival in Germany on 27 June, and from July the band toured North America with Iron Maiden and Motörhead (Blabbermouth, 2003).

Master of the Moon and Holy Diver Live (2004-2005)

In April 2004 Rudy Sarzo, who had played with Quiet Riot, Whitesnake, Ozzy Osbourne and Yngwie Malmsteen, joined as the band's new bassist, while Pilson played bass on the album then being recorded (Blabbermouth, 2004). The tenth album, Master of the Moon, was made by Ronnie James Dio, Goldy, Pilson and Wright and came out in 2004, on SPV in Europe and Sanctuary Records in the United States (BMG announcement, via Blabbermouth, 2019; Blabbermouth, 2004; MusicBrainz). It was the last studio album released under the Dio name (BMG announcement, via Blabbermouth, 2019). It reached No. 13 on the British rock and metal albums chart (Official Charts Company).

In 2005 the band played Holy Diver from start to finish, and the recording of a sold-out show in London was released in 2006 as Holy Diver Live (Blabbermouth, 2009; MusicBrainz). The film of the show was certified gold by the RIAA in 2015 (RIAA). In October 2005, after Goldy hurt his arm on tour in Russia, Aldrich stood in for him from the show in Eindhoven in the Netherlands to the end of the tour (Blabbermouth, 2005).

Heaven & Hell (2006-2009)

In 2006 Rhino, a Warner Music company, planned Black Sabbath: The Dio Years, a collection of Ronnie James Dio's recordings with Black Sabbath, and asked for unreleased material. With nothing suitable left in the vaults, Iommi suggested to Dio that they write some new songs together (Blabbermouth, 2006). Late that year Dio, Iommi, Butler and Appice recorded three new songs, and The Dio Years came out in April 2007 (Rhino announcement, via Blabbermouth, 2007). To keep themselves distinct from the Black Sabbath that featured Ozzy Osbourne, the four called themselves Heaven & Hell, toured from March 2007 (Blabbermouth, 2006; Rhino announcement, via Blabbermouth, 2007; The Guardian, 2010) and released a studio album, The Devil You Know, in 2009 (Blabbermouth, 2010). Their last tour ended at the House of Blues in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on 29 August 2009, the last time Dio performed in public (Rolling Stone, 2017).

Dio the band kept going in the meantime, with a short European tour that began in Birmingham, England, on 27 May 2008 (Blabbermouth, 2008). In August 2009 British dates were announced for November, and in September it was announced that Aldrich would play the November and December European tour in place of Goldy, who was already committed to a Budgie tour in Australia; Ronnie James Dio was to be joined by Sarzo, Wright and Warren (Blabbermouth, 2009).

Ronnie James Dio was honoured in his lifetime: in 2004 he was inducted into the hall of fame of Cortland, his home town, which has a street named Dio Way after him; in 2006 Classic Rock magazine gave him its Metal Guru Award; and in 2007 he was inducted into the Hollywood Rock Walk, where he left his handprints (official site; The Guardian, 2010).

Illness and death (2009-2010)

In November 2009 Ronnie James Dio was taken ill and went into hospital, and the band's European tour was cancelled (Blabbermouth, 2009). On 25 November Wendy Dio announced that he had been diagnosed with early-stage stomach cancer and that treatment would start at once (Blabbermouth, 2009); she said later that the doctors had in fact told them it was stage four (Blabbermouth, 2021 and 2025). He was treated with chemotherapy at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas (Blabbermouth, 2010 and 2021).

In February 2010 Tournado, a box set limited to 1,500 copies that had been prepared for the cancelled tour, was offered to fans. It contained "Electra", a song Ronnie James Dio had finished while writing for two sequels to Magica (Blabbermouth, 2010; BMG announcement, via Blabbermouth, 2019).

On 8 April 2010 Ronnie James Dio appeared at the Revolver Golden Gods awards at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, where he was named best vocalist for his singing on Heaven & Hell's The Devil You Know. It was his last public appearance (Blabbermouth, 2010; official site). He said there that he had complete trust in his hospital in Houston and his doctor (Blabbermouth, 2010). Early in May, Heaven & Hell called off their summer shows in Europe (Blabbermouth, 2010; AP, 2010).

Ronnie James Dio died on the morning of 16 May 2010, aged 67. Wendy Dio said that many friends and relatives had been able to say their private goodbyes before he passed away peacefully (Blabbermouth, 2010; Los Angeles Times, 2010; Rolling Stone, 2010). According to her, two days earlier, on the Friday, he had gone into hospital in severe pain; he was given morphine, fell into a coma and died on the Sunday morning (Blabbermouth, 2021).

Two weeks later a public memorial was held at the Hall of Liberty at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles. More than 1,200 people filled the hall, and many more fans watched on screens outside (official site; Rolling Stone, 2010). The Los Angeles City Council declared 30 May Ronnie James Dio Day (official site).

After 2010

The many donations made in Ronnie James Dio's memory became the start of the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund, which Wendy Dio co-founded in 2010 to support cancer research and early detection (official site; Permuted Press announcement, via Blabbermouth, 2021; Rhino announcement, via Blabbermouth, 2016). The fund has supported research at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, where Dio was treated in the last six months of his life, and at the T.J. Martell Foundation, and it has funded work at UCLA on a saliva test for detecting cancer early (official site). By 2025 it had raised close to three million dollars (Blabbermouth, 2025).

On 23 October 2010 a bronze statue of Ronnie James Dio was unveiled in Kavarna, Bulgaria, and the British festival Bloodstock Open Air named its main stage after him (official site).

Wendy Dio went on to launch Niji Entertainment Group, the record label she and Ronnie James Dio had been preparing, in 2010, and its first release, in November, was Dio at Donington UK: Live 1983 & 1987 (Rolling Stone, 2010), which reached No. 98 on the Billboard 200 (Billboard). Later releases included A Decade of Dio: 1983-1993, a box set of the first six studio albums, from Rhino in 2016 (Rhino announcement, via Blabbermouth, 2016), BMG's expanded reissues of the four albums from 1996 to 2004 in 2020 (BMG announcement, via Blabbermouth, 2019) and a four-disc expanded edition of Holy Diver in 2022 (Rolling Stone, 2022).

In March 2011 four members of the band's final line-up, Sarzo, Wright, Goldy and Warren, announced that they would perform as Dio Disciples, with the former Judas Priest singer Tim "Ripper" Owens and Toby Jepson as their singers (Blabbermouth, 2011).

The founding members Campbell, Bain and Appice played together again in a Los Angeles rehearsal room in 2011, and in 2012 they took on the singer Andrew Freeman and became Last in Line (Blabbermouth, 2016). At first the band played nothing but songs from the first three Dio albums, and with Schnell also on board it played shows from southern California to Britain and Japan (Blabbermouth, 2015 and 2021). It went on to write new music, and its album Heavy Crown, produced by Pilson, came out on Frontiers on 19 February 2016 (Blabbermouth, 2015 and 2016). Bain did not live to see it: he died on 23 January 2016 aboard a cruise organised by Def Leppard, aged 68, of lung cancer (Blabbermouth, 2016).

On the Ronnie James Dio tribute album This Is Your Life, released in 2014, Tenacious D recorded "The Last in Line", and their version later won the Grammy for Best Metal Performance (Louder, 2024).

In August 2016 a hologram of Ronnie James Dio, created by the company Eyellusion, appeared during Dio Disciples' set at Wacken Open Air in Germany and sang "We Rock", using Dio's real recorded voice (Ultimate Classic Rock, 2016). A tour built around the hologram, Dio Returns, played its first seven shows in Europe in December 2017, and after the hologram was reworked it toured the United States from the end of May 2019 (Blabbermouth, 2017, 2018 and 2019).

The autobiography Ronnie James Dio had been writing before his death was completed by Wendy Dio and the music writer Mick Wall, and Rainbow in the Dark: The Autobiography was published on 27 July 2021 by Permuted Press in the United States and Canada and by Constable in Britain (Rolling Stone, 2021; Permuted Press announcement, via Blabbermouth, 2021). Dio: Dreamers Never Die, the first documentary to cover his whole career, directed by Don Argott and Demian Fenton, premiered at the SXSW Film Festival in 2022, had a special release in more than 600 cinemas that autumn and was shown on Showtime from 1 December (Blabbermouth, 2022 and 2023). Mercury Studios released it on DVD and Blu-ray on 29 September 2023 (Universal Music Canada, 2023; Blabbermouth, 2023).

Discography (as registered on this site)

Year	Title	Type
1983	Holy Diver	Studio album
1984	The Last in Line	Studio album
1985	Sacred Heart	Studio album
1986	Intermission	Live album (with one studio track)
1987	Dream Evil	Studio album
1990	Lock Up the Wolves	Studio album
1993	Strange Highways	Studio album
1996	Angry Machines	Studio album
2000	Magica	Studio album
2002	Killing the Dragon	Studio album
2004	Master of the Moon	Studio album

Beyond these there are the live albums Dio's Inferno: The Last in Live (1998), Holy Diver Live (2006), Dio at Donington UK: Live 1983 & 1987 (2010), Finding the Sacred Heart: Live in Philly 1986 (2013), Live in London: Hammersmith Apollo 1993 (2014), Donington '83 and Donington '87 (2022) and Live in Fresno 1983 (2023); the films Sacred Heart: The Video (1986) and Evil or Divine: Live in New York City; the compilation The Very Beast of Dio (2000, certified gold by the RIAA); and the box sets A Decade of Dio: 1983-1993 (2016) and The Studio Albums: 1996-2004 (2023), among others (official site; RIAA; Official Charts Company; MusicBrainz).

Concerts in Japan

In Japan, Nippon Phonogram (later Mercury Music Entertainment) released every album from Holy Diver (1983) to Angry Machines (1996), Polydor released Magica (2000), and Victor Entertainment released Killing the Dragon (2002) and Master of the Moon (January 2005) (the Japanese editions' obi strips; Universal Music Japan). The debut was the only DIO album to be given a Japanese title with Japanese words in it, which reads as "Flames of Passion: Holy Diver" (the obi strip; Universal Music Japan; Tower Records). Magica came out in Japan first (the obi strip; Oricon). The Japanese editions added tracks found nowhere else: "God Hates Heavy Metal" on Angry Machines, "Annica" on Magica and "The Prisoner of Paradise" on Master of the Moon (the obi strips; Blabbermouth). On Oricon's album chart Lock Up the Wolves reached No. 70, Magica No. 71, Killing the Dragon No. 85 and Master of the Moon No. 259 (Oricon).

Dio first came to Japan in 1985 to play SUPER ROCK '85 IN JAPAN (Tower Records). Presented by Nippon Television, it was an all-night concert held on open ground beside the Odaiba sports ground on Tokyo Bay, running for twelve hours from 18:30 on 10 August, with Sting, Foreigner, Mama's Boys, Rough Cutt and Earthshaker also on the bill; the band came on after 2 a.m. on the 11th (concert flyer and ticket; Toshiba video). Toshiba released the set on video (Toshiba video).

In 1986 the band toured Japan, a tour that included the Nippon Budokan, after Craig Goldy had joined as Vivian Campbell's successor (Tower Records). Billed as DIO JAPAN TOUR '86, it ran to seven dates, from Sapporo on 30 August through Osaka on 1 and 2 September, Tokyo on the 3rd, Hiroshima on the 5th and Fukuoka on the 8th to Nagoya on the 9th (BURRN! poster). The Budokan show was promoted by Kyodo Tokyo, with Nippon Broadcasting System supporting and the Japanese label Nippon Phonogram cooperating; doors opened at 17:30 and the show began at 18:30, with S seats at 4,300 yen (Kyodo Tokyo ticket).

In 1997 Japan shows were booked straight after a US tour that ran until 1 May (Mercury Music Entertainment). The show at Club Citta' in Kawasaki on 10 May was promoted by the hall itself, with the Japanese label Mercury Music Entertainment cooperating; doors opened at 17:00 and the show began at 18:00, all standing at 6,500 yen including tax (Club Citta' ticket).

In June 2000 the band played four dates: BIG CAT in Osaka on the 22nd, Club Quattro in Nagoya on the 23rd and the Liquid Room in Shinjuku on the 25th and 26th (Creativeman; the band's official site). The bassist Jimmy Bain could not obtain a visa, and Chuck Garric, formerly of L.A. Guns, came in his place (Creativeman).

In May 2005 the band was back in Japan, with Spiritual Beggars as the opening act (LOUD PARK 06 official site; Trooper Entertainment). Creativeman announced the visit as the band's first in five years and as a joint tour with Spiritual Beggars, the band led by Michael Amott of Arch Enemy, and booked three dates: Zepp Nagoya on the 27th, Zepp Osaka on the 28th and Zepp Tokyo on the 29th (Creativeman). The tour was billed as Dio with Spiritual Beggars Japan Tour 2005 (Creativeman flyer).

In October 2006 the band played the second day of LOUD PARK 06, the metal festival Creativeman and Howling Bull Entertainment had started that year, in halls 9 to 11 of Makuhari Messe on the 15th; it closed the Big Rock Stage, coming on at 19:40, before Slayer ended the day on the Unholy Alliance Stage at 20:50 (LOUD PARK 06 official site). The next day it played LOUD PARK Osaka at Zepp Osaka with Megadeth and Anthrax (LOUD PARK 06 official site; Tower Records). Ronnie James Dio was back in Japan in October 2007 as the singer of Heaven & Hell, playing LOUD PARK 07 (LOUD PARK 07 official site).

Date	Venue	Show
10 August 1985	Beside the Odaiba sports ground, Tokyo Bay (Tokyo)	SUPER ROCK '85 IN JAPAN; the first visit; on stage after 2 a.m. on the 11th
3 September 1986	Nippon Budokan (Tokyo)	DIO JAPAN TOUR '86; the Tokyo date of seven
10 May 1997	Club Citta' Kawasaki (Kanagawa)	The band's own show
22 June 2000	BIG CAT (Osaka)	The band's own show; first date of the 2000 visit
23 June 2000	Nagoya Club Quattro (Aichi)	The band's own show
25 June 2000	Shinjuku Liquid Room (Tokyo)	The band's own show
26 June 2000	Shinjuku Liquid Room (Tokyo)	The band's own show; last date of the 2000 visit
27 May 2005	Zepp Nagoya (Aichi)	Joint tour with Spiritual Beggars, who opened
28 May 2005	Zepp Osaka (Osaka)	As above
29 May 2005	Zepp Tokyo (Tokyo)	As above; last date of the 2005 visit
15 October 2006	Makuhari Messe (Chiba)	LOUD PARK 06, day two; closed the Big Rock Stage
16 October 2006	Zepp Osaka (Osaka)	LOUD PARK Osaka, with Megadeth and Anthrax

About the sources

The sources are the official Ronnie James Dio website (ronniejamesdio.com); announcements by the labels and publishers Rhino, BMG, Eagle Rock, Permuted Press and Mercury Studios; the RIAA's Gold & Platinum database; the chart records of Billboard and the Official Charts Company; The Guardian; the Los Angeles Times; the Associated Press; Rolling Stone; Blabbermouth.net; Louder (Classic Rock); Loudwire; Ultimate Classic Rock; Guitar World; uDiscover Music; and Universal Music Canada. Some labels, countries, release dates and credits were checked against MusicBrainz.