Ronnie James Dio is to tour in November – as a hologram.
The late singer – who died in 2010 aged 67 – closed the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany alongside his group Dio Disciples in August last year, and now he will return to the stage for the ‘Dio Returns’ series, which will begin in Helsinki, Finland on November 30 and concluding on December 21 in Tilburg, Netherlands.
Even before he passed away, Ronnie was very much interested in stage production and had even performed inside a giant Crystal Ball, which he designed.
Ronnie’s widow Wendy – who served as his manager for several years – says Ronnie, who performed with Black Sabbath and was known for his hits ‘Holy Diver’, ‘Rainbow in the Dark’ and ‘We Rock’, would more than give his "blessing" to the hologram.
She told Rolling Stone magazine: "In 1986, for the ‘Sacred Heart Tour,’ Ronnie and I created the Crystal Ball with Ronnie filmed and speaking in a suspended crystal ball effect, done with back projection, which was the closest we could get to a hologram.
"Ronnie was always wanting to experiment with new stage ideas and was a big Disney fan. With this said, I am sure he is giving us his blessing with this hologram project.
"It gives the fans that saw Ronnie perform an opportunity to see him again and new fans that never got to see him a chance to see him for the first time. We hope everyone will enjoy the show that we have all worked so hard to put together."
Dio Returns Tour Dates:
November 30 – Helsinki, Finland @ The Circus
December 3 – Stockholm, Sweden @ Fryshuset
December 4 – Oslo, Norway @ Rockefeller Music Hall
December 6 – Warsaw, Poland @ Progresja
December 13 – Barcelona, Spain @ Bikini
December 15 – Santander, Spain @ Escenario Santander
December 17 – Bucharest, Romania @ Arelene Romane
December 20 – Antwerp, Belgium @ Trix
December 21 – Tilburg, Netherlands @ 013