Swedish RONNIE JAMES DIO Memorial Event Planned For This Sunday

May 28, 2010

On Sunday, May 30, fans of Ronnie James Dio will come together at Pub Anchor in Stockholm, Sweden for "RJD RIP - In Memory Of Dio", a two-hour celebration of the legendary heavy metal singer's life. Swedish hard rockers FATAL SMILE will perform their "To The Last In Line" Dio tribute song, and there will be some comments from music video director Bill Schacht, who helmed DIO's "Push" clip (see below). The memorial, which is scheduled to begin at 10:00 p.m., is for the fans, by the fans, and open to everyone.

The "Push" video was Ronnie's first introduction to actor/comedian Jack Black, which led to Dio's appearance in Jack's "Pick Of Destiny" feature film.

Schacht, who helped organize the Stockholm memorial event, commented: "I have had the honor of working with many of the greats in rock and music in general, in one form or another, and I can say with no hesitation that while many have been special and kind, and many incredibly talented, none matched the combination of talent, kindness and generosity of spirit of Ronnie James Dio, which is evident from the tens of thousands of posts, comments, tributes, tears and memorials all over world these days since his passing. I just can't imagine any other legend getting in his car to drive a few miles to personally direct my car to the highway, a bit of an odyssey from his home where we discussed pre-production for his 'Push' video. And which other artist would actually welcome you into his home studio, pop on a Marshall and hand you a Les Paul to honor a request you have for a brief moment to jam out a few bars of 'Rainbow In The Dark' with the master? That was a fan's dream come true. And as everyone familiar with his lyrics know, Dio was all about following your dreams and making them come true. And he was a man of his word.

"Add me to the unending list of people coming forth to express just how much one Mr. James Padavona touched his heart and soul.

"Thank you, Ronnie. May your music, memory and spirit live on forever."

Dio, who fronted BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW and his own band, died on May 16 from stomach cancer at the age of 67. His public memorial service will take place this Sunday, May 30 at the Hall Of Liberty at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, in Los Angeles, beginning at 2:00 p.m. PT. The event is open to the public.

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