Wendy Dio went into the Wacken Open Air festival pit to see the hologram of late husband Ronnie James Dio appear on stage for the first time – and she admits the experience reduced her to tears, even though she didn’t think it would.
But she believes the Black Sabbath icon, who died in 2010, would have approved of the idea.
The surprise performance took place on August 6 at the end of a set by the Dio Disciples. She’d seen the projection during private rehearsals, but wanted to view it from the fans’ perspective.
Wendy tells Eddie Trunk Live (via Blabbermouth): “We went down into the pit to watch it. I’ve seen it over and over again in rehearsals – but actually seeing Ronnie on stage with his band, I was brought to tears, as were all the fans near me.
“They were all enjoying it, but crying. It was a lot of of love. They really got it and they loved it. I didn’t think I was going to cry, but I did.”
She reports that the response to the hologram was “90% positive,” adding: “You always get the naysayers, but I think people that haven’t seen Ronnie would love to see it, and people that have seen Ronnie would love to see him again, especially with his bandmates.”
On the overall concept she says: “I thought it was a really good idea, especially with Ronnie – he was always into fantasy and theatrics. I thought it was something he probably would want to do, and something to keep his memory and his music alive.”
Guitarist Craig Goldy, a former member of Dio, has said the Dio Disciples will take the hologram show on tour next year.
Wendy says: “We did one song with Ronnie at the end. What we want to do is a whole show, with Ronnie coming in and out, doing maybe six songs.”
Meanwhile, a North American show is under discussion so that fans there can see what European followers saw at Wacken.
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Opinion: Enough with the Dio hologram – let the dead stay dead
