Wendy Dio, former wife, and the manager, of Ronnie James Dio says that she thinks that the iconic singer would have approved of his hologram appearing with the Dio Disciples at the Waken Festival, on August 6th.
Wendy tells Eddie Trunk Live, “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 Waken.
sources: Classic Rock via teamrock.com
7 Responses
that is so weird, how is a hologram going to respond to you reacting to him? it nullifies the feedback loop essential to live performance, just absolute garbage.
the only way this works is if Ronnie’s spirit possesses the hologram, but, I don’t see cahtolics doing this with Jesus…God, at least I hope not.
Maybe we can hologram Randy Rhoads for a guest guitarist for a song and have John Bonham sit in for one or 2 songs also ? This is weird and I cant help think its all about the cash. Those who never got a chance to see Ronnie live should just get 1 of the many available dvds out there that feature him. This way you`ll see him in sync with the band and how he really performed without all the technical magic. I`ll probably get some crap for this but I`ve always thought Wendy was like a mini Sharon Osbourne, all about the mighty buck. Leave Ronnies legacy alone its perfect the way it is.
Actually, if you check out the recent interviews with Vivian Campbell, the Sharon Osbourne Business Model was exactly what was going on in the early days of Dio, apparently with Ronnie’s approval.
Wendy got some press and probably got to make some $$$, and that’s what makes this story so heart warming.
I think if Wendy Dio want’s to do this, then that’s her deal, but I don’t think it’s right to put words in people’s mouths that are no longer here.
There’s a reason why Zeppelin wouldn’t use a hologram of John Bonham, and nobody is trotting out holograms of John Lennon and George Harrison. It’s kind of gross and tacky.