Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi told this story in a 2011 interview with comedian Bill Burr. It happened not long after Ronnie James Dio joined Black Sabbath, replacing Ozzy Osbourne. Dio brought a new style and energy to the bandbut also a strong personality.
During a concert at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, likely on May 10, 1980, Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham came to see the show. After the performance, the band planned to go out for drinks. Bonham was standing on the side of the stage, drinking Guinness, when he made a comment about Dio.
“Yeah, there was some kind of a word,” Iommi replied when reminded of the incident. “John came to the gig when we played at Hammersmith in London. And we were going to go out after the show to a bar.
As Iommi explained, Bonham said, “He’s got a great voice for a midget.” Dio heard this and didn’t like it at all.
Anyway, John’s drinking on the side of the stage, drinking Guinness. And we came off stage, and as we walked past John, John said to me, ‘Oh, man, he’s got a great voice for a midget.’ And, of course, Ronnie heard that and he didn’t really like that
Bonham didn’t mean it as an insult. Iommi said Bonham was just surprised at how powerful Dio’s voice was for someone small. But the way he said it came off wrong.
Dio got upset and was ready to fight. Iommi quickly stepped in to stop things before they got out of hand. “I told them to let it go,” he said.
At the time, drummer Bill Ward was still with Black Sabbath but would leave a few months later in August. He was replaced by Vinny Appice. Sadly, John Bonham passed away on September 25, 1980, making this one of the last stories involving him and other rock legends.
