1983 in rock: Dio release debut album 'Holy Diver'

By 1983, vocalist Ronnie James Dio had become known as the man to revitalise a rock career. He came to prominence in 1975 when he, and other members of his band Elf, backed Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore for an album known as 'Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow'.  This album, recorded secretly while Blackmore was still in Deep Purple, featured a cover of 'Black Sheep Of The Family' by the progressive band Quatermass, a song which Blackmore had long wanted to record but his suggestion was nixed by the other members of Purple. Frustrated by this, and by the band's leaning towards a funkier musical direction, Blackmore handed in his notice once his album was released, going on to form Rainbow and work through a succession of line-ups.

Ronnie James Dio would appear on two more albums, both of which became hard rock classics, before parting ways with Blackmore and going on to replace Ozzy Osbourne in Black Sabbath. This move was even more controversial, as the Birmingham outfit had held its line-up together for most of the 1970s and it was a tough ask for their partisan fans to accept anyone but Ozzy at the microphone. The fanbase indeed did polarise into pro-Ozzy and pro-Dio camps, as Ozzy launched his own solo career, but like Blackmore before him, Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi found it very easy to create music alongside Dio. This partnership lasted three years and two albums, before a split in late 1982 over mixing of the band's 'Live Evil' album.

With this track record behind him, fans were very eager to see what Dio would come up with now that he had a free reign. Recruiting his old Rainbow band mate Jimmy Bain, and retaining drummer Vinny Appice from the most recent line-up of Sabbath, the new band initially were going to recruit Jake E. Lee for the guitar role, but that did not last (Lee eventually ended up with Ozzy and achieved great prominence), and so the band looked back across the Atlantic to recruit young Ulsterman Vivian Campbell. With this band in place, and settling on the name 'Dio' for the group (the singer had intended this to be an actual  band, rather than a vanity project) the foursome began work on their debut album.

Issued in May 1983, 'Holy Diver' became an instant classic. Racing out of the traps with the high-paced 'Stand Up And Shout', and with a selection of strong hard rock songs, it proved once and for all that the man who revitalised at least two careers could do the same for his own. The record was a success on both sides of the Atlantic, and the band secured a slot on the Monsters of Rock festival in the UK that year, the first appearance in the country for Ronnie James Dio and his new band. Expectations were high, but they were somewhat stymied by a poor sound mix which rendered the guitar completely inaudible for the first two numbers. Somehow, the frontman held it together and even with no guitar, he delivered a memorable performance blending tracks from the new album with selected classics from his past. Despite the sound problems, Dio won many fans that day and they went on to do an extensive tour of the UK and Europe to close out 1983.

The Dio band released two more albums before the singer finally made a change to the line-up, axing Campbell from the group in early 1986 and causing a rift which never healed, Campbell went on to Whitesnake and then Def Leppard where he remains to this day. Dio meanwhile, then started to endure the same personnel problems with his own band that dogged his previous acts, and eventually Dio the band became Dio the solo act - something he had intended to avoid. He continued to tour and release albums regularly, even reuniting with Black Sabbath in 1992 for a short period (and again in 2007 under the name Heaven and Hell), before he was suddenly taken ill in 2009. Diagnosed with cancer, he vowed to fight it and return but sadly he lost his battle in May 2010, leaving his many fans distraught.

From the 'Dio Live In Concert' video recorded in Utrecht, Netherlands on the 1983 tour, here is a live rendition of 'Holy Diver':

*2023 Update - old dead video link replaced*