A passionate fan of late legendary singer and metal music icon Ronnie James Dio has started a petition at Change.Org, calling for the construction of a statue in his honor to be built in Porstmouth, NH. Dio was born and raised in Portsmouth. Metal fan Brian Kelly started the petition, which passed the 1000 signatures mark after just a few days and is fast closing in on the first milestone of 1500. The petition calls on the City Council and Mayor of Portsmouth to honor Dio as well. Using the hashtag #BuildDio, fans from all over the world have responded, even though Change.Org is a USA-based entity. Dio who passed away in 2010 from cancer at age 67 is widely known as one of the most talented and endearing vocalists ever in music, not just heavy metal. Singing for bands such as Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio, and Heaven And Hell, he has been emulated and influenced by countless other artists. As a result there are numerous awards in his name, stages at metal festivals bare his mark, tribute bands and albums; and of course the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund charity as well.
There is currently no statue of Portsmouth native Ronnie James Dio, paragon of Rock and Roll, anywhere in Portsmouth.
Ronnie James Dio is a hero and a champion of art and deserves to be memorialized forever on his native soil. This petition is to help bring a statue, bust or memorial of Ronnie James Dio (born Ronald James Padavona; July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010) to an agreed upon location in Prescott Park the South End of Portsmouth, NH
Dio was a musician that had, and still has, a great influence on many in the music industry. There are currently other towns and cities with Dio’s likeness, but at this time, his birthplace has nothing. Mr. Dio sold over 47 million albums in his life and is still selling today. He was a heavy hitter in bands like Elf, Rainbow, Dio, Black Sabbath and more. His contributions are undeniable. We have to do something.
This petition will help gauge and demonstrate interest in a tribute we can all agree upon. The tribute itself will be crowd or city funded (through provisions set aside in Portsmouth to pay for artistic installations) and multiple designs will be presented before asking for approval. We truly hope the city of Portsmouth will help us find the right tribute to one of the most influential musicians of our time.
We would like to set the statue in Prescott Park, the heart of the Arts in Portsmouth, honoring the legacy of this influential man. Preferably there would be a water feature on this memorialization considering our strong maritime tradition. We believe it should be constructed of metal (naturally). We would defer to the artists for all decisions, of course, and we are open to discussion.
We would love to see him him to be depicted as he was in the video for Holy Diver, sword in hand, ready to fight for the Arts and what is right. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkysjcs5vFU. We understand this might not coincide with the wishes of all, so we will of course work with the estate of Mr. Dio to determine how they would like him depicted.
Please consider signing. Throw up some horns with your other hand when you do.
Sign the petition and get involved at this link:
