“I’d given up hope. Then Wendy Dio called me. She asked how I’d feel playing in front of 20,000 people”: Rowan Robertson was 17 years old when he joined Dio. He looks back on how he got the gig – and why it all came to an end after one album

Singer Ronnie James Dio poses with guitarist Rowan Robertson on April 10, 1990. Robertson, a former fan, had just been signed with Dio.

Rowan Robertson was 17 when he got the gig as Ronnie James Dio’s guitarist. When he hit the studio to record 1990’s Lock Up the Wolves he was a co-writer on every single track. “When we started the writing process I told Ronnie, ‘I don’t know if I can do this.’ But he said, ‘Trust me – you can.’”

Dio’s confidence came from the reason he’d chosen Robertson as Craig Goldy’s replacement. “He liked my rhythm tone,” Robertson says. “I know he liked the way British players played, so that was a big thing in my favor.”