Ronnie James Dio July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010
I went to see Rainbow at the Ingliston Pavilion in 1979.
Expecting to see the Terry Gilliamesque jailor from Life of Brian with a voice that could fell trees, I got short haired, willy-waving Graham Bonnet instead.
Sigh.
Weigh a pie Ronnie.
It is sad.
ReplyDeleteThink I saw the Ronster twice: at the NEC with the temporary Sabs' reunion in 93-ish, and in Glasgow with his own band in around 2005.
The recent "Heaven and Hell" live CD & DVD are worth a spin.
Actually, it was just the other day I was thinking that the SNP could take rebranding advice from Ronnie James: how about:
"Alex Salmond's Salmond National Party - Featuring Alex Salmond".
Heh Smee, I'm trying to imagine you with long hair and a denim jacket full of band name patches...
ReplyDeleteCTL, if you look at my current avatar pic you should have no difficulty picturing me in such mode.
ReplyDeleteBut sadly, I've never had Joe Elliot's looks or physique - although I think my voice may have been better than his at various points (hee!)
My musical taste reached the likes of Dio sort-of backwards - I started liking classical, descended via Jean-Michel Jarre, Sky and Dire Straits, and then in around 1985 made two crucial discoveries.
One was "The Best of Rainbow" - which led directly to the rest of the tangled Blackmore-Dio-Purple-Sabbath family tree.
The other was Journey's "Escape".
It annoys me immensely, for some reason, that kids today are listening to "Don't Stop Believin'".
That was my song, dammit, and I liked it when most people in the UK had never heard of the band.
Grrr.