OZZY OSBOURNE Dedicates 'Road To Nowhere' To His 'Old Friend' RONNIE JAMES DIO (Video)

Ozzy Osbourne dedicated the song "Road To Nowhere" to his "old friend" Ronnie James Dio during Ozzy's September 22, 2010 concert at the Palasharp Arena in Milan, Italy.

"I'd like to dedicate this to my old friend Ronnie James Dio," Osbourne said from the stage. "God bless you, man. It's a song called 'Road To Nowhere'. I love you, Ronnie."

Fan-filmed video footage of the Dio dedication and "Road To Nowhere" performance can be viewed below.

Photos of the ahow are available on the news blog Musica Metal.

Ozzy's setlist was as follows:

01. Bark At The Moon
02. Let Me Hear You Scream
03. Mr Crowley
04. I Don't Know
05. Fairies Wear Boots
06. Suicide Solution
07. Road To Nowhere
08. Shot In The Dark
09. [Band Jam / Solos]
10. Rat Salad
11. Iron Man
12. Killer Of Giants
13. I Don't Want To Change The World
14. Crazy Train
15. Mama, I'm Coming Home
16. Paranoid
17. War Pigs

Ozzy Osbourne told QMI Agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on in May that Ronnie James Dio's ultimately fatal battle with stomach cancer hit close to home.

"As soon as I heard I heard he had been diagnosed with cancer, I sent him some encouragement," Osbourne said. "Having been through that situation myself with (my wife) Sharon when we were doing (the reality TV show) 'The Osbournes', it's always somebody over there. When it lands at your doorstep you're like, 'What do you do? How do you get round this?' When Sharon got (colon) cancer, I'd never known anyone who survived. I thought it was bullshit when they told you, 'They can survive.' I just thought they were trying to smooth me over. And she got over it."

Osbourne added that he ran into BLACK SABBATH/HEAVEN & HELL drummer Vinny Appice at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards show in early April and inquired about Dio's health.

"I didn't get a chance to see him but I was talking to the drummer Vinny, and I said, 'Did he get my message?' 'I don't know,' he said.' And I said, 'Well, tell him to keep up the fight.' Then on the weekend, we heard he had passed away, which is sad. He had a great voice. People thought that me and him were at war. At first, I suppose a bit of theatrics would be involved, but I mean it's been 30 years."

The deaths of Dio and SLIPKNOT bassist Paul Gray are the latest that have stunned the heavy rock world in the last few months. AVENGED SEVENFOLD drummer James "The Rev" Sullivan died last December, while TYPE O NEGATIVE frontman Peter Steele passed away in April.

Ozzy, who knew or had a passing acquaintance with all four artists, told The Pulse of Radio it's sad to see so many musicians pass away in such a short period of time. "I mean, of late everyone's dropping dead," he said. "This happens every so often, you know. I'm only hoping my number don't come up soon. It's what happens, you know. You hear me talking, I'm lucky I'm not one of the dead ones, 'cause I used to — I mean, Ronnie James Dio didn't have any problems, but when there's drugs involved or alcohol...I should have died a thousand times."