Legendary Metal Singer Dio Returns In Hologram Form

For Dio fans on these shores who have been waiting to witness the Ronnie James Dio Hologram show that has wowed audiences in Europe over the last three years: Your wait is over.

The Dio Returns tour, featuring an all-new hologram designed with the latest cutting-edge technology, comes to the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park on Saturday, June 8. The show features a stunningly lifelike hologram of the legendary metal singer, who passed away from cancer in 2010.

Adding to the authenticity of the performance is the Dio Returns backing band, which consists of most of the members of the man’s band for the last 17 years of his life: guitarist Craig Goldy, drummer Simon Wright, keyboardist Scott Warren and newer Dio family member Bjorn Englen on bass. They are joined by singers Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens (Judas Priest/Yngwie Malmsteen) and Oni Logan (Lynch Mob).

The set list spans the stellar Dio canon, from Rainbow to Black Sabbath and his solo career.

The Dio hologram was created by Eyellusion (CEO Jeff Pezzuti is from Rochelle Park), live music’s premiere hologram production company, in coordination with Wendy Dio, the late singer’s wife and manager. We recently spoke to Wendy Dio.

How did you come up with the idea for the Dio hologram?

Jeff Pezzuti, who owns Eyellusion, approached me about it about five years ago. At first I was a little hesitant about it but the more we talked about it I said, ‘let’s try it, let’s see what happens.’ We made the first one, which debuted in 2016 at the Wacken Festival for 75,000 people in Germany. That went down very well. We were the first ones to do it with a live band. It was very emotional for me seeing it for the first time.

What can you tell us about the show?

It’s a spectacular show with all kinds of holographic things going on and special effects. It’s an entertaining show. There’s fire, there’s dragons, there are old photos of Ronnie going up on the screen. There’s all kinds of stuff going on the whole time. There are songs from Rainbow and Black Sabbath and Ronnie’s solo career. There are all the songs, “Man on the Silver Mountain,” “Heaven and Hell,” “Holy Diver.” There are also other ones that haven’t been done for a while like “Invisible." It’s a good set.

You’ve taken some heat over the hologram

Some people are hesitant about whether to come. We have critics and everyone is entitled to their opinion. I just ask that people come and see the show first before criticizing. We got a lot of flak in the beginning but I think more and more people are getting used to it. It’s for the fans. It’s for the fans who would love to see Ronnie back up on the stage and the ones that never got a chance to see him. I think Ronnie would approve. If anybody saw the Sacred Heart tour in 1986 we tried to make a hologram then. We head Ronnie in a crystal ball hanging from the stage talking through it. Also he was an innovator in music so why not be an innovator in technology.

He left an indelible mark on fans. It’s not every artist who has passed on who can demand an audience with a hologram.

That’s because he had such a connection to his fans. Because he was a human being. He was a star onstage but offstage he was a working class guy that came from upstate New York. He always stayed true to his fans. He would stand in the rain for hours signing autographs after a show to make sure no one went home unhappy. He loved his fans more than anything. He’s been gone nine years and there’s still 2.5 million fans on his Facebook. The most moving thing was when there were three generations of fans at a concert in London. The grandfather was about 60, the son was about 40 and the grandson was about 19. They all had Dio shirts on and they were all crying saying thank you for bringing him to us.

You have an all-new hologram for the Dio Returns tour. What’s different about it?

Technology has come a long way since the first one was created. I’m much happier with the new one. It’s a million times better. I wasn’t happy by the end of the last tour. I wanted Ronnie to look more like Ronnie. I was very picky about the eyebrows actually. Maybe someone else wouldn’t have noticed it but I noticed it. I wanted to make sure that everything was perfect. He’s also now in the same line as the band, in front. Before he was at the back of the stage.

How many months of planning and design went into creating the new hologram?

It’s been about a year. It’s like a cartoon. Every stroke, every eyelash, has to be done individually. Then there’s me going, ‘I don’t like that!’ The people involved really care about it. We're all there during the creation, making it exactly what we wanted to do.

Any parting thoughts on the show?

I think it's an experience. It’s a fun night celebrating Ronnie’s life and his music. It’s done with love, certainly not for money. When Ronnie was passing away I promised myself I would do everything possible to keep his music and legend alive.