Dio passed away in 2010
Tim "Ripper" Owens defended the Dio Disciples' decision to tour with a hologram of Ronnie James Dio, saying they are simply celebrating the music and life of the legendary singer.
Dio died in 2010 at the age of 67 due to stomach cancer. His hologram was created by Eyeillusion and made its first appearance at Wacken Open Air in 2016, in front of 75,000 fans.
The Dio Returns: The World Tour uses audio from performances recorded throughout the singer's career, and features the band Dio Disciples playing live.
In an interview with IndeOnline.com about his involvement with Dio Returns, the former Judas Priest vocalist said, “Wendy (Dio’s wife and manager) and the people in charge of the hologram both asked me if I was interested in singing. I love the Dio Disciples stuff, and it’s something I do for love. I hear people saying, ‘Oh, someone’s making money.’ No. Someone’s spending tons of money trying to make the fans happy. We don’t do this for money. I get paid better doing my solo shows, but I love this. I love Wendy and Dio as friends, so we’re just celebrating his life and music.”
Asked if he had any doubts about doing the tour, Owens said, “First, I wasn’t sure. But I thought I’d certainly like to see a hologram of David Bowie/Ziggy Stardust or Bon Scott… Maybe I wouldn’t, and I don’t know. But with us, it’s a live band playing with Dio’s vocals. I think it would be really cool to see those other artists in the same way, so that’s how I looked at it. I thought, ‘I’ll try it.’ (…). Not liking it is one thing, but attacking Wendy, who is doing this to make the fans happy, that’s the problem.”
The Dio Returns: The World Tour is expected to include a stop in Brazil, but the dates have not yet been announced.
