In a recent conversation with Metal Mayhem ROC, former Black Sabbath singer Tony Martin talked about the way late singer Ronnie James Dio was angry with Tony Iommi for inviting him for a Sabbath tour.
Read below what the singer said:
“Actually, Tony Iommi had invited me backstage to one of the ‘Dehumanizer’ shows here in England. I was backstage, and Ronnie was not happy — he was not happy. I think he was really angry with Tony Iommi for inviting me back there. I tried to catch his eye backstage. It was a relatively big affair, with people all over the place. Every time he walked past me, I went, ‘Ronnie!’ And he disappeared. ‘Ronnie!’ Eventually, I managed to catch his attention.
”I said, ‘Ronnie! Come here.’ So he walked over, and he just stared at me. I thought maybe he was gonna hit me or something; he just stared. And I was trying to explain. I said, ‘Ronnie, I love what you do, man. I’m a big fan.’ I said, ‘You’re a hard act to follow.’ He said, ‘Good,’ and walked off. That was it. He didn’t stay. He just said ‘good’ and walked off. So that was my only conversation with Ronnie James Dio.
”Ronnie wasn’t happy that I was there. He must have thought he was being put on the spot. Iommi, obviously, hadn’t told him that I was gonna be there. After the ‘Dehumanizer’ thing is when I rejoined. So there was stuff going on in the background and I don’t know what the issues were but they hadn’t been getting on well. Tony Iommi told me that it hadn’t gone well with Ronnie. I was back there after that. So my name has been attached to Black Sabbath for 11 years, more or less, without too much of a break.”