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Ronnie James Dio dead at 67

Mon 17th May, 2010 in International News

Metal legend Ronnie James Dio has died in an Houston hospital aged 67.

Dio famously replaced Ozzy Osbourne as the lead-singer of Black Sabbath in 1979 and went on to release one the band’s best selling albums, Heaven and Hell .

The singer last visited Australia in 2007 with this original Sabbath line-up of Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice, playing under the moniker Heaven and Hell. FasterLouder reported from their Melbourne show at Rod Laver Arena, “Dio’s performance was above top notch. He presented every song note perfectly …you gotta love a man like that. “

The singer was diagnosed with stomach cancer in November last year and had been battling the illness ever since.

He is survived by wife Wendy Dio who released this statement earlier this morning: “My heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45am. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever.”

You can see photos of the last Dio performance in Australia here.

Nobody has hearted this, be the first!

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HEAD OF STATE

HEAD OF STATE said on the 17th May, 2010

RIP RJD! Killer voice, and a nice dude!

Braveheart81

Braveheart81 said on the 17th May, 2010

http://files.myopera.com/rpsgc/albums/16337/DEVIL%20HORNS.png

R.I.P.

sarahanne

sarahanne said on the 17th May, 2010

I had no idea he invited the devil-horn salute till just now.

Whiplash

Whiplash said on the 17th May, 2010

OHNO! Dio was my favourite vocalist. I have loved him since the 80;s. He will be truly missed by all.
This is a sad day in music history. RJD ruled! I am so glad I got to see him in Perth in 2008.I was in awe of him. RIP DIO.

alexjordan

alexjordan said on the 17th May, 2010

BTIazza

BTIazza said on the 17th May, 2010

Holy Diver!

Was one ugly mutha fucker that's for sure. But that said, had a mean set of pipes.

Kapper_23

Kapper_23 said on the 17th May, 2010

so shattered :'( i've been a fan of his for so long. everything he did was great, whether it was with sabbath, rainbow, dio or heaven

Lucan

Lucan said on the 17th May, 2010

Very sad day. I didn't know he was ill, so this was a huge shock.

mattchew

mattchew said on the 17th May, 2010

very sad day in rock.
rip ronnie.

Chan_Marshall

Chan_Marshall said on the 17th May, 2010

Sad news indeed. RIP.

Zeppeloholic

Zeppeloholic said on the 17th May, 2010

RIP Dio. A sad day :(

Ronny

Ronny said on the 17th May, 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uNS91GN0H4

Cpt_Pugwash

Cpt_Pugwash said on the 17th May, 2010

Ronf said on the 17th May, 2010

lineofbestfit

lineofbestfit said on the 17th May, 2010

ozzy has outlived two sabbath replacements makes you wonder what kind of deal he made.

huck

huck said on the 17th May, 2010

DAMN YOU ELVES OF THE DARK FOREST - Why didn't you take Billy Joel!!!!

buffalotice said on the 18th May, 2010

absolutely gutted - have been following dio since 1975. without doubt the best vocalist of all time. rip mate - forever in our hearts & ears.

mooney88

mooney88 said on the 18th May, 2010

private health insurance?

stormbringer1 said on the 19th May, 2010

ronnie was a god.i first saw him live in '85 then again in 2008 he was still the man. r.i.p. stargazer

HeavyMetalMerchant

HeavyMetalMerchant said on the 19th May, 2010

the greatest metal singer of all time. the best of the best. rip rjd.

you listen to dio an you know what good singing is all about.

as my buddy dio biographer martin popoff just wrote:
"heavy metal has just lost its king, ronnie james dio. sure, there will be more famous figures in hard rock that will pass, and the mainstream media will write about it and get it slightly wrong. but metalheads pride themselves on sussing out who is authentic, hard-working, pure of heart, creative and just the best to hang out with in any headbanging situation. and that was ronnie. despite his unparallel legacy, he was one of us, a headbanger."

jettimon

jettimon said on the 20th May, 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK2Pltm8ZsQ

anyone remember this?

HeavyMetalMerchant

HeavyMetalMerchant said on the 20th May, 2010

roger glovers (deep purple) the butterfly ball and the grasshoppers feast. yes remember that they used to show it on countdown and sometimes on abc when the tranmissions were down.. came out in the mid 70's while ronnie was just starting with rainbow.

jettimon

jettimon said on the 21st May, 2010

yeah i remember seeing this a fair bit as a little sprog on the abc. Didnt realise it was Dio till someone pointed it out the other night.. ahhh it brings back the memories

marigoldman

marigoldman said on the 28th Nov, 2010

the greatest voice in metal full stop. it still saddens me to think he's gone. so many tremendous vocal performances it's hard to fathom. stargazer, gates of babylon, heaven and hell, stand up and shout, long live rock and roll, children of the sea, the mob rules......on and on and on. one of the absolute greats.