Wendy Dio, widow and longtime manager of the legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio, recently offered a glimpse into the friendships shared between her late husband and fellow rock icons Rob Halford of Judas Priest and Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead. Speaking on the “Rocktails With Ahmet Zappa” podcast, Wendy also recounted her poignant final visit with Lemmy just hours before his passing.
Describing the unique bond between the three metal titans, Wendy Dio said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), “[Ronnie] and [Judas Priest singer] Rob Halford and [Motörhead frontman] Lemmy [Ian Kilmister] were very similar people. They chose their friends very carefully. They were just really, really cool people that loved to hang out and loved each other — very much so… And they, as I said, truly loved each other.”
She highlighted Rob Halford‘s enduring connection and support: “Rob still is amazing. He keeps in touch with me all the time. He does whatever he can for our charity. When he is out here, we go and meet up and stuff, and he’s just a sweetheart. I actually gave one of Ronnie‘s rings to Rob.”
Wendy also shared a personal and moving recollection of her last encounter with Lemmy Kilmister, who passed away on December 28, 2015, shortly after a swift cancer diagnosis and celebrating his 70th birthday.
“I saw Lemmy two hours before he died,” Wendy revealed. She explained that Lemmy‘s manager, Todd Singerman, had called because Lemmy wasn’t feeling well, and asked if she could bring Dr. Sandy Kapoor (who was also Ronnie James Dio‘s doctor) to see him.
“So we went over there. And he was talking away,” Wendy recounted. “His birthday was [earlier] in December and this was [a couple of days later]. I had bought him some old German books that I found that he was very into. And these were old antique books that I’d found — war books. And he thanked me for those. And we sat and talked for a while. And his girlfriend was there. And he said, ‘I’m a bit tired. I’m gonna lay down.’ He laid down. I left. I went to the mall… Todd called me and said, ‘[Lemmy] just passed.’ I couldn’t believe it… It was horrible.”
During the podcast, when host Ahmet Zappa noted that Lemmy, despite a sometimes unapproachable stage persona, was known to be very friendly, Wendy Dio offered insight into his and other rock icons’ personalities. “He was very introverted,” she said of Lemmy. “So is Geezer Butler [Black Sabbath bassist]. They’re introverted people. They’re lovely people. But they really are kind of introverted. But when you know them, they’re just sweet, wonderful people.”
