Last in Line, the surviving original members of heavy metal legends Dio, released the first batch of dates Wednesday for an upcoming tour of the UK.  Guitarist Vivian Campbell, drummer Vinnie Appice, bassist Jimmy Bain and keyboardist Claude Schnell got together intending to just play a show or two, but the vibe felt so right the guys decided to launch a tour, bringing in singer Andy Freeman to handle the vocals.  The tour marks the first time in nearly 30 years the original Dio rhythm section will perform together, as Campbell was fired by Dio frontman Ronnie James Dio in 1986.

For Campbell, who has also played with Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake and most recently Def Lepard, the Last In Line project is a chance to recapture music he wrote years ago and then abandoned.  Campbell handled a lot of the writing on Holy Diver and The Last In Line, the band's first two albums that are considered classics of the heavy metal genre.  In an interview with Classic Rock Magazine, Campbell noted : "I've got a different way of looking at it now than I've had for almost 30 years.  I was fired, then I was portrayed as the one who'd turned my back on the band. It wasn't true: I never wanted to leave Dio."

Campbell went on in the interview to say he's still upset about how he, Bain, Appice and Schnell were treated.  "We wrote those songs," he noted.  "We weren't just salaried guitarists, bassists, drummers. But we got none of the records, the tour profits, the merchandise. We were paid literally less than the crew.  No word on whether Last In Line will produce any new material, but below are the first four dates for a lengthy tour of England.

Last In Line Tour Dates

Aug 8: Belfast Limelight
Aug 9: Glasgow Cathouse
Aug 10: Bloodstock festival
Aug 11: London Islington Academy

-- Edited by Mob Rules on Wednesday 17th of July 2013 10:47:05 AM