LINE DANCE

He moves between Def Leppard and Last in Line without missing a step. But Vivian Campbell says he put the wrong foot forward with Ronnie James Dio.

- GARY GRAFF

VIVIAN CAMPBELL WAS barely 21 years old when he joined the initial lineup of Dio, and he was an integral part of the group's first three studio albums.

Quite a lot has happened since then. The Irish-born axeman was actually seasoned by the time Ronnie James Dio beckoned. A player since he was 12, Campbell was a teenager when he joined Sweet Savage, an Emerald Isle metal band whose "Killing Time" was covered by Metallica. He brought an abundance of chops into Dio and co-wrote tracks like "Rainbow in the Dark," "Gypsy," "Caught in the Middle," "The Last in Line" and "Just Another Day." But after touring to support their album Sacred Heart in 1986, Campbell acrimoniously parted ways with Dio, a rift that would not be repaired before the frontman's death in 2010. The guitarist landed on his feet, joining Whitesnake for a short tenure in 1987 and working with ex-Foreigner frontman Lou Gramm, both with his solo act and his band Shadow King. He played in Riverdogs before being brought into Def Leppard in April 1992 to replace the late Steve Clark. He's held onto that gig ever since.

Then came 2010. Dio died in May, and that same month Campbell was announced as a member of Scott Gorham's new Thin Lizzy tour lineup. "Gary Moore is my absolute guitar hero, so when Scott Gorham called and asked if I could be a stunt guitar player for Thin Lizzy in 2010, I can't even put into words how excited I was," Campbell told Guitar World. When the group's tour wrapped in 2012, Campbell immediately contacted his former Dio bandmates Jimmy Bain and Vinny Appice. "I came off that tour and called Jimmy and Vinny and said 'Let's go into a rehearsal room and play!"" With the addition of former Dio keyboardist Claude Schnell and singer Andrew Freeman, Last in Line was born.