a fine vocalist, his superb work with Rainbow and Sabbath will live on.

worked as his security, twice ,at festivals in Spain. A smashing bloke.He had a fantastic sense of humour and was a delight to work with. No side to him at all. RIP Ronnie.

By coincidence, I enjoyed listening to Rainbow's Rising last night. He was a fine, fine singer and, as Gatz says, a part of my youth.

My condolences to all of his family. Holy Diver is a great LP.

.....because Fluff Freeman used it as part of his radio jingle. Superb track. Have to say I don't really know much of his material beyond that.

Rest in peace though.

Rainbow Rising playing loud right now. rock on Ronnie!

Ronnie was the greatest rock vocalist of them all, though because he was always true to his hard rock roots he was over-looked by the purists and under-rated by everybody else. I can't believe that he's dead. He was one of those rare musicians, a true hero from my musical youth who lived on into my adulthood and remained a hero. My brother even got a hold of his wife last year and on my wedding day Ronnie sent a personal letter congratulating me and the wife! An amazing moment, and definite highlight of the day (though I can't tell the wife that!). He'll be greatly missed. I really feel sorry for his wife, for Geezer Butler, Vinnie and Tony and all who shared a stage and a drink with him.

Rainbow Rising - what a great album. Only six tracks, but they're all brilliant.

Dio was a fantastic vocalist. RIP.

This is very sad. I'm getting to the stage when the musical heroes who inhabited my universe during my late teens are now approaching that dangerous age range. Its such a shame because there was some optimism earlier this year that Ronnie was beating the big C. Stargazer represents his career apogee, I suppose along with Heaven and Hell, though my personal favourite is his rendition of Mistreated on Rainbow on Stage (alternative 1977 Munich recording below). Glad to say I've seen the little man live on stage twice. He knew how to work a crowd and hold your attention with that powerful operatic voice and stage charisma.

I ♥ Ronnie James Dio's voice. He was arguably the finest hard rock singer of all time and a man who fully understood that his job was to entertain. He could take - let's be honest about this - ludicrous lyrics and sing them with such conviction and passion that they sounded absolutely brilliant.

As I have mentioned on here previously, I met him after a Dio gig in 1984 and he was a true gentleman... just a really, really nice guy. He seemed as pleased to meet the fans as we were to meet him.

I feel strangely moved by his passing... normally rock star deaths don't really touch me, but this has.

Thanks for the music Ronnie... and the devil signs.

The great man in a typical pose

Has just acquired a superb vocalist. Rest in peace Ronnie.

Ronnie Dio - probably the greatest heavy rock singer. A best of RJD, inc Rainbow, Dio and Sabbath would make a fitting tribute.

I was talking about Ronnie James Dio last night to someone. Now I hear he is dead. Very sad. I seen Dio in Belfast years ago and he put on a great show. R.I.P

I saw Rainbow at The Rainbow back in the 70's. Great live band.

I remember seeing Dio on their Holy Diver tour at the Hammy O. What a great night. Strange how silly things stick in the memory: Vinnie Appice's kit being so large it went right over his head, and the roadies setting up Ronnie's mike stand so it was only two foot high. I don't know any roadies but I'm guessing that they only do this sort of thing if their employer is either a royal pain in the arse or a genuinely nice bloke who can laught at himself. I reckon in Ronnie's case it was the latter.

And so to Spotify.

As the embodiment of Dungeons n' Dragons Rock n' Roll, Dio said what every fourteen year old boy (and immature 38 year old) wants to hear - That no problem cannot be solved by slaying a dragon, riding a tiger and uh... being a rainbow in the dark.

Today I'll be doing all those things - or maybe just listening to The Mob Rules really loud (once described - in Q I think - as sounding like "the four horsemen of the apocalypse riding over the cobbles of hell")

Long Live Rock N Roll"

Seems faintly appropriate right now.

vocals were the soundtrack to my early teen years when as a 13-15 year old the differences between punk and metal didn't seem quite so pronounced as it did to older kids. As long as there was plenty of guitar and attitude it ticked the boxes; you were as likely to headbang to Stiff Little Fingers and The Clash as you were Motorhead and Rainbow.

Here's one of those tracks that did the trick:

That Dio was only a couple of inches above 5 foot in stature is, in my mind, testament that he was more committed than most to being the very best at what he did. To get that level of sustained power is incredible. I often think of heavy rock singers and musicians as the circus performers of modern music, always wanting to put on a show, performing feats no ordinary human would ever dare attempt and working hard day and night to create the moments of perfection in the spotlight. Dio, in voice and attitude, was undoubtedly a fully paid up member of The Greatest Show On Earth.

God bless you, Ronnie...

How I shall always remember him...

I loved them all. Had the pleasure of seeing him in concert a few times and he never let you down.
My friend was Dio's table football partner for a while and always said Ronnie (as he knew him) was a top bloke. Sadly missed already.

Sad news indeed. A wonderfully commanding rock vocalist who gave us some of our favourite songs. For me, it was always 'Stargazer' and 'Catch The Rainbow'.

I've also just learned that Bo Hansson has passed on too. This Swedish keyboardist was another musician I grew up with. His best albums were 'Lord Of The Rings', 'Magician's Hat' and 'Attic Thoughts'.