Original DIO to reform.

[jestor92]

from http://www.classicrockmagazine.com/n...-original-dio/

Former Dio guitarist Vivian Campbell has revealed plans to reboot the original lineup of Dio with new singer Andy Freeman, who he vows will “do justice” to the fallen frontman’s legacy.

The Def Leppard and Thin Lizzy axeman had a rocky relationship with the former Black Sabbath frontman, who passed away in 2010. Dio once said of Campbell: “I hope he fucking dies. He’s a fucking asshole.”

But the guitarist has always insisted he was proud of the work he did on the first three Dio albums.

Now he’s confirmed a reunion with drummer Vinny Appice, bassist Jimmy Bain and keyboardist Claude Schnell, two months after they jammed together. That was brought about when Campbell jammed Rainbow in the Dark with Steel Panther in January.

He says: “I met up with the original Dio band guys again. Now that I’ve brushed up on how to play those solos again, we’re planning to jam some more and plan to do some gigs too.

Campbell describes Freeman, a past member of Hurricane and Bulletboys, as “a great singer who can really do justice to Ronnie’s parts.”

Bain says: “We’ve had a couple of rehearsals and it sounds great. Listening to Vivian playing those songs again has been amazing. He’s just so into doing this and his enthusiasm has rubbed off on the rest of us.

“Andy isn’t Ronnie. How could he be? But what he does bring is his own twist on the vocals.

“Our aim is to do some shows around November, concentrating on the first two albums. It’s gonna be great getting back onstage with these guys for the first time in so long.”

Last year Campbell revealed he’d been “numb” to the iconic singer’s death, saying: “We never had a very strong relationship beyond music. That was what brought us together. I found it difficult to communicate with him and he found it difficult to communicate with me. I didn’t have any reason to contact him after he fired me.”

Vinny Appice recently came close to ruling himself out of replacing Bill Ward in the Black Sabbath reunion lineup if he was asked, saying: “It’s hard not to. But right now I’m concentrating on Kill Devil Hill.”

An official tribute band, Dio Disciples, has been touring since last year, featuring Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens, Toby Jepson and James LoMenzo along with Craig Goldy, Simon Wright and Scott Warren – all of whom were in the band when Dio died.

[devstorm]

I'm against this until Wendy approves, or they announce the show $$ will go to the Stand Up & Shout Fund. I don't discredit the music Campbell forged with Dio; it's some of my favorite music of all time.
But it seems cheesy to me that this happens now. Campbell seems to be profiting quite well off dead rock stars as it is.. First Def Lep, then Thin Lizzy..now Dio? Who the fuck is next?

[Charger]

Viv's an asshole...and he has never hid the fact that he hated Ronnie and the music they did together so this seems a bit out of place truth be told.

And I am bit shocked that Vinny would be a part of this...

I'll support Dio Disciples all the way instead of this...after all they're doing it (or did it...I'm not sure if the project goes on this year...) for charity!

I smell nothing but a cash crab...as devstorm said Viv has a knack for profiting from dead people....Ronnie deserves so much better than this.

[-E5150 StarWanderer-]

All the ex-DIO members suddenly want to put up some sort of a tribute act: Dio Disciples, The Southern Cross and now this...atleast the first two are doing it for the charity, and if the reunion with the original DIO line-up realizes, they'd better give all the profit for charity too. It just seems like a pure cash grab, mostly because of the history between RJD and Cambell.

But if these news would have hit us when Dio was still alive, I would have been over the moon. It would have been great to see the original and best DIO line-up together on stage.

[Thelemech]

This is very weird! I smell a cash grab- I mean they hated each other for years now Vivian wants to do "Tribute" to Ronnie - let's hope that it is for real, and not what it so obviously is, profit from the dead.

[Machiel]

They are not actually calling the band Dio are they?

[Monster Boy]

I think that Viv actually wrote a good amount of that material so if somebody is going to make money playing it, why not him? I do agree that it is a cash grab of sorts, but folks gotta make a living. One could take the view that Hey! This means there will be another Dio tribute band to see and I love Dio, so hells yeah! Or get very indignant and denounce Vivian's name and wish him a very warm spot in hell for this. Or shrug the shoulders and do a little fanny dance out the door.

[KazolOrajia]

I can't say I approve of this. Campbell did nothing but slam Dio and said he didn't like the music they did together. The guy was a great player, and I can't argue that he co-wrote some amazing songs, some of the best in heavy metal, but there's no reason he would do this other than for money. This whole thing stinks. It makes me sad that the other members would go along with this as well.

You can disagree if you want, but I'm going to trust my gut on this one, and my gut says this is wrong.

[celt]

I too think this stinks. I can't believe Vinny would have any part of this. I thought he wanted to move on from things Sabbath and Dio. I don't like an of these tributes, e.g., Dio Disciples, the new Southern Cross thing, and now this. Maybe Vivian should have considered a reunion of the original lineup when Ronnie was still alive. There would have been a lot of interest in that.

[nunoni]

Is Appice going to be in this project? Can't believe it.

[sn0wb1ind0zzy]

What a joke

[MH1986]

As long as they give most of their earnings to Dio's charity I'm good with this. These guys where instrumental in writing the early Dio songs they have the right to play them.

[EDTRADER]

At least they didn't get Dio's neighbor's cousin's former roommate on vocals.

[RichDunn]

It would be cool if Tony Martin was the lead singer, but I doubt he would do it.

[VikingChrist]

They are not actually calling the band Dio are they?

I highly doubt it considering that the Dio name is trademarked and all.

I'm curious as to what Vivian's motive is. I know a lot of people are screaming "cash grab" but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense considering he's in Def Leppard and all and I really doubt this sort of thing would net him more money than his day job. Maybe the guy wants to reclaim part of his legacy. I mean, he did co-write a big chunk of that material. I don't know...I'm nowhere near as upset about it as some people. I'm just confused because I always thought that Vivian wasn't a big fan of this era of his career. That he didn't like Ronnie is clear. He has his reasons and if what he says about the business aspect of the band is true, I don't necessarily blame him but it's weird that he seemed to look down on his life with Dio for a long time and now he wants to bring it back.

[Monster Boy]

I'm nowhere near as upset about it as some people.

Neither am I. I suspect that some people aren't really as upset about it as they claim to be, but I don't know, maybe they reeeaallly do reeeealy care about it.

[Soul Sucker]

This "reunion" would be exciting if Ronnie was still alive. Without him, it's pointless.

[Soul Sucker]

"When we first got together, Ronnie promised us that by the third album there would be an equitable split for the band. Everyone would be an equal guy in terms of merchandise and record sales. We got none of that. Jimmy Bain (Bass) and Vinnie Appice (Drums) and myself were all salaried players. We earned less than our road crew. I just felt it was wrong.
Ronnie and particularly his wife Wendy made this promise to all of us back then. So we started doing the third album, and I was probably the most vocal. “Hey Ronnie, we talked about this back then and you promised us this.” Ronnie kept saying, “We’ll talk about it when the record is over.” Then the record was over and I brought it back up again and he said, “We’ll talk about it when we’re on the road.” It just kept getting put off.

Then we had a break in the tour and I went back to Ireland to visit my parents. I got this FEDEX asking me to sign this contract. They were going to pay me an extra two hundred bucks a week, and that failure to return it signed by such and such a date would be constituted as me leaving the band.

So I’m on the phone trying to get Ronnie, and of course Ronnie won’t pick up the phone. The next thing I know, the band is doing the UK part of the tour with Craig Goldie and I’m fired. I’m very proud of those records. The songs that I wrote with Ronnie and the records we made really stand up. It’s bittersweet for me because I never got paid for them, nor did Vinnie or Jimmy.
We got no royalties on the records. We got none of the receipts from the tour. We were salaried guys getting paid less than the lighting designer, getting paid less than the sound guy, getting paid less than the professionals on the crew. To put a dollar figure on it, in 1984 I earned sixty something thousand dollars, and Ronnie earned eleven million. It’s a little bit of a financial discrepancy, considering that the band also wrote the music. Jimmy Bain and I wrote a lot of those songs with him. To not get paid at all and then to be fired…

I don’t like talking about the details of it in that way. I thoroughly enjoyed playing in that band. I never wanted to leave. I got fired. As a result, it did leave a bit of a bad taste in my mouth, so I hadn’t spoke to Ronnie since then. Frankly, when he died it was two weeks after my mother died, so I was kind of a little bit numb to the whole thing.

People were calling me saying, “What do you think about Ronnie dying?” I didn’t feel anything about Ronnie dying. I hadn’t talked to him in over twenty-five years and my mother had just passed. Saying that I left the band and turned by back on Dio is absolutely not true. I was 100% fired."

http://blog.sharemyguitar.com/smg-in...ent-adventure/

[The Wretch]

Well, I don't know about the claims in regards to earnings (I have no doubt Ronnie earned more, but 11 million? I presume that even if he did, it wasn't purely from Dio) in a recent Metal Hammer Bain has said that "Viv did nothing that warranted his removal from the band in what is still considered to be a cowardly way" and he also said "For me, firing Viv was the biggest mistake of Ronnie's career. The problem could have been solved if there was a will to do so from Ronnie and Wendy"

[paulmelv]

So Wendy Dio did a Sha$$on. She get's pelters on this forum all the time for that so maybe these guys deserve to make some cash from THEIR legacy all these years later. If they gig this way I'll go see them.

[KazolOrajia]

I find it very hard to believe that Dio made $11 million in one year.

[Charger]

Well Viv's (as usual) pretty full of it....

He might be telling the truth about some things but even so his exaggerating everything....

And he lost all credibility when he says "he's proud of the records he made with Ronnie" since the past 25 years he's been slagging them every chance he's got...what a douche.

[VikingChrist]

Well Viv's (as usual) pretty full of it....

He might be telling the truth about some things but even so his exaggerating everything....

Just curious, but how do you know this?

[MH1986]

I find it very hard to believe that Dio made $11 million in one year.

Guy bought an english manor and moved it all over the place. I have no trouble imagining Ronnie could have made 11 mil or more during one in the 80s. He was huge for a while after Sabbath.

[Lord Necros]

What will they call it "Viv" and friends?

[LouiST]

Vinny wont join... not even Sabbath.

[DarthTyr]

Well it's difficult to know how much of what Campbell is saying is true, however I don't find it very hard to believe that Wendy is very much a Sharon-type manager, ie. she would do anything to benefit her client, including ripping off band members.
I really don't see this as a cash grab, to me it seems like they just genuinely want to play some tunes they wrote and played together back in the day. To me the lineup that recorded the Holy Diver and Last in Line albums playing those songs with a different singer is much more authentic than the Dio Disciples, where the guys didn't originally play on most of the songs in their setlist.

Yes, Campbell has been pretty inconsistent in interviews regarding how he feels about the early Dio albums, first dismissing them as something he doesn't care for then saying he's really proud of them. I for one would love to hear them tear through those classics, cuz no offense but Goldy and Wright can't hold a candle to these guys...

[Billy Underdog]

I know i don't really have an right to comment on this issue since i'm not a fan of the music, but:

Yes, Campbell has been pretty inconsistent in interviews regarding how he feels about the early Dio albums, first dismissing them as something he doesn't care for then saying he's really proud of them.

In the course of almost 30 years, one can change opinions several times. I know i've done so in just 10-15 years...

[VikingChrist]

Apparently, the tentative title of this project is The Last In Line.

[-E5150 StarWanderer-]

Apparently, the tentative title of this project is The Last In Line.

Yup, here's the interview with Claude Schnell:

Dio replacement ready to be ‘world’s most hated singer’

Andrew Freeman is prepared to be regarded as “the world’s most hated singer” when he replaces Ronnie James Dio in a reunion of Dio’s original lineup.

Guitarist Vivian Campbell recently announced he’d jammed with keyboardist Claude Schell, bassist Jimmy Bain and drummer Vinny Appice, and it had gone so well they’d decided to work together again.

Now Schnell confirms they’ll perform under the name Last In Line, by way of a tribute to Dio, who died two years ago yesterday.

The keyboardist also reveals the reunion came about after Def Leppard axeman Campbell jammed with metal cabaret act Steel Panther.

Schnell tells MusicLegends: “Viv had done an impromptu play with Steel Panther and he was energised to the point of saying, ‘We should get together.’

“It was initially supposed to be a fun hang. It turned out to be more than just fun. As chance would have it, it actually sounded quite good.”

But the musicians shared a sombre moment when they jammed Dio classic Holy Diver. Schnell says: “The song starts with just the instruments alone. I think all of us had kind of a memory anticipation of the next thing we were going to hear being Ronnie’s voice. Other than the obvious and notable absence it sounded exactly as it sounded back in the day.

“On the one hand it felt great to be playing this great music again – but Ronnie being no longer with us to sing it became painfully obvious as we progressed through the session.”

Despite those emotions, Schnell says former Lynch Mob singer Freeman did a great job. “If he didn’t, I don’t believe we’d be pursuing the project with him,” the keyboardist explains. “His online comments about ‘preparing to be the world’s most hated singer’ notwithstanding, I think he’s going to do a ver credible and impressive job of covering this material.”

When Dio returned to Black Sabbath in 2006 the lineup called themselves Heaven and Hell after one of their albums, to distinguish what they were doing from Sabbath’s output. That’s a leading reason why the former Dio men came up with the name Last in Line – the band’s second album but the first to include a keyboardist in the band.

“It’s been getting a very good response,” says Schnell. “It’s a subtle nod to Ronnie. The first album on which we all played, me included, was The Last in Line. And I think it works better than Holy Diver does anyway.”

http://www.classicrockmagazine.com/n...-hated-singer/

[TheElfoid]

Really, people think this is a cash grab?

Dio used to perform to venues varying from audiences of 500 to 5000 near the end of his career. A tribute act will be significantly smaller in scale.

There's not gonna be any money in this for Viv Campbell, relatively speaking. He's been raking it in for years. He was with Sweet Savage 1979-83, Dio 1982-86 (co-wrote most of the material on the albums in that time, so a ton of money still gets made from back-sales), he did a round the world tour with Whitesnake at their career peak, and he's been with Def Leppard since 1992. Def Leppard headline arenas; they headlined Download Festival in 2009 and 2011. In the 2011 year, Thin Lizzy (who Campbell was recently with) were a few slots below Leppard on the main stage. Dio Disciples were halfway down the second stage (and Dio-nostalgia has declined since then, as its been a while since his death).

He makes more money from one month on the road with Leppard than he would from an entire tour with this Dio tribute act. I don't know why he's doing it, but I don't buy that money's a reason.

[DiosSword]

Is Vivian Campbell trying to just bring his name back into the limelight somehow? Note: that does not equate with making a shitload of money on something like this.

It sure isn't like Def Leppard are on everyone's lips these days...and I lived through their "bigger-than-Elvis" years, bought High 'N Dry as a new release and saw them live when Steve Clark (the real musical guts of that band) was still living, and when Rick Allen still had both arms (Krokus and Gary Moore were support acts at that gig).

I am very sceptical about this, given that Viv spent virtually all his post-Dio years trying to distance himself from RJD and heavy metal in general. I remember a 1985 interview in Guitar World that he did alongside Neal Schon (the two of them, of course, played on Hear 'N Aid) and he spent most of it slagging the "Dungeons And Dragons" imagery of Dio, and saying he wanted to get away from that, how he'd prefer to play with Hall and Oates or "black musicians." I have nothing against either of those choices - Edward Van Halen played on Michael Jackson's "Beat It," after all - but I also balance such a quote with one from RJD around the same time saying "Vivian was unproductive because he said he 'didn't feel like being productive' and that he didn't want to be a 'Guitar Hero'...and what's a heavy metal band without a Guitar Hero?!." RJD should know a Guitar Hero, after all.

Vivian is, of course, a very good guitarist, though I like the other guitarists RJD had in his band (Tracy G, Craig Goldy, Rowan Robertson and Doug Aldrich) better. I saw Vivian with Dio on The Last In Line tour and he was quite good, except for throwing a wobbler on some of the Blackmore/Iommi solos.

I also recognise that if Vivian were forming a new band, he would have every right to play anything he cowrote on those first three Dio albums.

I do not understand the reasoning behind this. If Vivian and RJD had reconciled, it would be a different matter, but they didn't...

[BibleBlack]

This sounds kind of like an Ozzy reunion without Ozzy. I don't get it.