DIO HONOURED AT MEMORIAL SERVICE
RONNIE JAMES DIO was honoured at a public memorial service in Los Angeles on Sunday (30May10) - family, friends and fans all turned out to pay the ir last respects to the late rocker.
More than 1,200 devotees attended the event, held at the Hall Of Libert y at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, and the service featured performances f rom former Black Sabbath star Glenn Hughes, Anthrax’s Joey Belladonna and the star’s Dio bandmates Claude Schnell and Scott Warren.
Fans were able to watch the service on TV monitors outside the building , while inside, Dio’s relatives and close friends paid tribute to the mus ic legend, who lost his battle with stomach cancer on 16 May (10) at the age of 67.
Dio’s cousin and ELF bandmate David ‘Rock’ Feinstein, told the gatherin g, "He touched all of us with his music and his message and his magic. I know that Ronnie truly loved all of you. He had a great appreciation for your loyalty. I’m talking about all you out there, all the fans." Dio’s son Dan Padavona also urged the crowd to have regular medical che ck-ups to prevent similar tragedies: "I beg you not to make the same mist ake my dad made. For dad, the show always had to go on. He ignored the wa rning signs for years, and all along the cancer was growing and mutating from something that was probably easily defeatable into a monster which e ven Dio couldn’t slay." Dio’s widow, Wendy, recently urged fans to ignore a protest by members of the Westboro Baptist Church, who planned to demonstrate at the star’s funeral. The protesters were reportedly kept out of the Forest Lawn site and away from the memorial service.
A source tells Blabbermouth.net, "Protesters were cordoned off outside of Forest Lawn grounds proper and were small in number with an at least e qual number of counter-protesters. All seemed orderly despite the usual i diocy from the WBC folks."
Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)
