DOUG ALDRICH Recalls Getting 'Kind Of Booted' Out Of RONNIE JAMES DIO's House By The Legendary Singer

In a new interview with Radioactive MikeZ, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM program "Wired In The Empire", former DIO and WHITESNAKE guitarist Doug Aldrich was asked if he was part of the DIO lineup that opened for IRON MAIDEN on a U.S. tour more than two decades ago. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "No. Actually, that tour was in 2003. And so what happened is, originally WHITESNAKE asked me to play [with them], and I asked Ronnie [James Dio if he was okay with it], and he said, 'Yeah.' And it was gonna be a two-month tour. And we just had a blast. I mean, the WHITESNAKE band was on fire, just like the DIO band. And [David] Coverdale [WHITESNAKE leader] said, 'Do you wanna carry on? I've got dates. I'm gonna finish out the year.' I'm, like, 'Hell yeah. Let's do it.' And in the breaks, I was going up to Ronnie's. We were writing — starting to write for what turned out to be 'Master Of The Moon', which I actually in the end didn't contribute anything to. But we started writing. And one day he goes, 'Oh, we've got this tour with IRON MAIDEN coming up in the summertime.' And I was, like, 'Oh, Ronnie. Are you serious? Are you sure?' He's, like, 'Yeah.' I go. ''Cause I just committed to David Coverdale about the summer run.' And he was pissed, man. He was, like, 'What the fuck?' I was really upset. He kind of booted me out of the house. It was, like, 'The writing session's over. Get the fuck out,' kind of thing. He was pissed. And I felt horrible. But I had a great opportunity to work with Coverdale, and in the end it paid off with a lot of new music for WHITESNAKE. And I went back to Ronnie a couple of times. In 2005, he asked me to come back and fill in on a tour in Europe. And then I ended up doing another tour in Europe with him in 2005, which ended up being the 'Holy Diver Live' DVD. And that's when Coverdale was, like, 'Hey, I hear you're back with Ronnie. And some people are saying it's full time.' And I just said, 'Look, if you wanna keep WHITESNAKE going, we've gotta do some new music.' And he agreed. And that's when we started writing together. But it's all kind of intertwined. But the bottom line is that I missed that tour, and I heard it was a great tour."

Last year, Aldrich confirmed that a previously unreleased Ronnie James Dio song which he was working on with the legendary heavy metal singer before his 2010 death will be included on an upcoming Dio collection of never-before-heard and obscure recordings. The track in question was written during the sessions for DIO's "Magica II", a sequel to 2000's "Magica" that was left unfinished when Ronnie died in 2010. Another "Magica II" track titled "Electra" made it on to 2012's "The Very Best of Dio Vol 2".

In a 2015 interview with CrypticRock.com, Aldrich said that he was "only really in [DIO] for about a year, but in that year, we did do the 'Killing The Dragon' [2002] record. I got to contribute to that record with a couple of songs also, which was nice," he said. "We did a lot in that first year. We did that record, a bunch of touring, and a live DVD called 'Evil Or Divine - Live In New York City' [2005]. Then I joined WHITESNAKE, but I kept coming back to DIO. There was a couple of tours in 2005. Ronnie said, 'Would you come on tour with me?' I said, 'Absolutely, I just have to speak to David about it.' David said, 'Cool, just make sure you come back,' because we had talked about some new music and he did not want me to split."

Having also played with LION, HOUSE OF LORDS, BAD MOON RISING, HURRICANE and Glenn Hughes, Aldrich joined THE DEAD DAISIES in 2016 and can be heard on that band's last four albums, 2016's "Make Some Noise", 2018's "Burn It Down", 2021's "Holy Ground" and 2022's "Radiance".

Ronnie James Dio, best known for his work with BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW and DIO, died of stomach cancer in May 2010 at the age of 67.

Ronnie was renowned throughout the world as one of the greatest and most influential vocalists in heavy metal history. The singer was diagnosed with cancer in late 2009. He underwent chemotherapy and made what is now his final public appearance in April 2010 at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles.

Ronnie's memoir, "Rainbow In The Dark: The Autobiography", was released in July 2021 via Permuted Press. It was written with longtime friend of 30 years and esteemed music writer Mick Wall, who took up the mantle after Ronnie's passing.

"Dio: Dreamers Never Die", the first-ever career-spanning documentary on the life and times of Ronnie James Dio, received a DVD and Blu-Ray release in September 2023.