Last In Line originally planned to deliver many more shows than the low-key tour they’ve just completed – but guitarist Vivian Campbell’s battle against cancer was the contributing factor, says drummer Vinny Appice.
The drummer reports he’s amazed by Campbell’s energy – and as soon as he’s fully recovered they will continue to tour.
He tells Get Your Rock Out, “We were going to play a bunch of festivals, but Viv had to take care of himself. When he gets fully better we’ll book more next year. He amazes me – I’ve played with guys going, ‘I’ve got a cold, I can’t go on…’ But he’s doing chemo, and he’s rocking out. He’s loaded with energy, and God bless him, it’s great. He’s still doing Def Leppard and I’ve got a bunch of other projects. We’re just trying to get past these shows; but we’ve got to continue after that.”
Last In Line is made up of the original lineup of Dio minus late singer Ronnie James Dio, with Andy Freeman filling the metal icon’s shoes.
Asked whether the band have faced negativity Appice says, “You get people who say that, and you get people that love it. The majority of people want to hear these songs – Holy Diver is 30 years old this month and it still sells. People are buying it still, and this is a great chance to see as close as you can to the real thing. We’re not trying to be Dio; we’re just trying to make the songs as good as possible. You’ll see the smiles on our faces. We haven’t played with Viv in something like 25 years, but it gels together because you’re a band. It never goes away.”
Meanwhile, Campbell has updated fans on his health status, saying, “It’s chemo number 10 today. Only two more left after this, then it’s goodbye cancer, welcome back eyebrows – brilliant!”
additional source: classicrockmagazine.com
4 Responses
Doing Chemo and playing this stuff…there’s more to this and I think I know why.
Just can’t groove w/ Campbell coming out vocally about his history w/ Dio after he’s passed, I think it’s weak and shoulda been rectified years ago, and now that RJD’s gone, Viv wants to discuss it? With no option for RJD to speak? Suddenly embracing that era? Now he’ll play the tunes w/ the band cuz Ronnie’s not involved?! not cool, man.
When you look for work in the biz, you can’t go public with your screw job pay from Dio cause you’ll get offers in the same league since you signed off on it with Dio. He’s catching a paycheck to cover his medical co-pay on DL down time. Sure it is a joke, but; people will pay it, 75% who were not there 30 years ago.
I saw the fullerton, ca show last month & they killed/crushed & laid waste!! We all miss Ronnie terribly & I’m sure he would want peace w/ those guys if he were here. They have love for Ronnie, but apparently he didn’t pay worth a shit, so they split & his (solo) career sputtered; do the math. That’s life. If you love the original dio band, go see the show, it will blow ur mind just as hard maybe harder than it did in ’83. If you’d rather stay home & whine because we can’t turn back time before the break-up, stay home; just another ticket for the real MUSIC lovers. There will come day, maybe soon, when 1 of the other guys will be gone & you will have missed your shot.