Drummer SIMON WRIGHT On AC/DC, RONNIE JAMES DIO And DIO DISCIPLES

August 17, 2011

BlastzoneOnline.tk recently conducted an interview with drummer Simon Wright (AC/DC, DIO, DIO DISCIPLES, UFO, RHINO BUCKET). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

BlastzoneOnline.tk: Why did you leave AC/DC?

Simon Wright: Well, I had been in the band for about eight years and I began to get complacent about things. Don't get me wrong they are an incredible band, as we know, but I needed to expand on my drumming more. Branch out a bit. I think they noticed this in me I guess it happens so it was time to move on. I will never have enough thanks for the amazing journey they took me on. They are great people and a killer band.

BlastzoneOnline.tk: Tell me how you got the gig in DIO?

Simon Wright: A friend of mine knew Wendy Dio [Ronnie James Dio's wife/manager] and I had met Ronnie on several occasions. The first time was in Italy when DIO was on the same bill as AC/DC in 1984. He struck me right away as being a really clever, kind, very funny person. It was a big thrill meeting him. I had admired his singing and songwriting for years. So this friend of mine got in touch with Wendy and they invited me to rehearsal. We seemed to click and moved on from there to record the album "Lock Up The Wolves".

BlastzoneOnline.tk: Why did you leave DIO?

Simon Wright: Well actually, I never did. After the album "Lock Up The Wolves", Ronnie rejoined BLACK SABBATH, and I rejoined in 1998 when Vinny [Appice] left and have been in DIO ever since. Even when Ronnie was doing the HEAVEN & HELL project, we were still there as his band, so yeah, I never actually left.

BlastzoneOnline.tk: What is DIO DISCIPLES?

Simon Wright: We were Ronnie's band, the DIO band, with two singers. We felt we needed two singers to even get close to Ronnie's vocal range. We have Wendy Dio's blessing to carry on and keep Ronnie's songs alive for his fans. It is a celebration and we honor Ronnie's incredible songs and music. Ronnie was my best friend. I am not trying to one-up anyone here. We all felt we had to keep going, and like I said, keep his music alive and celebrate him. We were family.

Read the entire interview from BlastzoneOnline.tk.

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