Ronnie James Dio’s former wife and longtime manager Wendy Dio says that the controversial touring hologram of her late husband has been retired for the time being.
The hologram was projected on stage while a band of live musicians, featuring some of Dio’s former collaborators, performed on stage with a vocal backing track. The hologram debuted at Wacken in 2016, and full tours took place in 2017 and 2019, stirring up plenty of backlash from the metal community from people who felt Dio’s likeness shouldn’t be exploited without his consent.
Speaking to Ultimate Classic Rock, Wendy Dio explained:
“The hologram is on hold,” she said. “I don’t know if we’re going to do that again or not. We went out, and we tried it — we did it.
“There’s still talk about doing the hologram. I don’t know. I think that there’s so much more that’s come along developing-wise [as far as technology]. I just think that the fans would prefer to see Ronnie as being really Ronnie instead of a hologram.”
The idea of “Ronnie being Ronnie instead of a hologram” at this point, or any point in the future, is, quite simply, ludicrous. He has been dead since 2010. He left an incredible legacy of music and good vibes, and while no projection can bring back “really Ronnie,” we’ll always have his music. That should be enough.
We’ll keep you posted if the Dio hologram ever comes back. But it seems, at least for now, that this embarrassing chapter in metal history is behind us.