Jimmy Bain, Dio and Rainbow Bassist, Dies at 68
Jimmy Bain, who played bass with Rainbow in the mid-'70s and Dio throughout the '80s, has died at the age of 68. At the time of his death, Bain was a member of Last in Line, which was comprised of Dio veterans guitarist Vivian Campbell and drummer Vinny Appice and singer Andrew Freeman (Lynch Mob, The Offspring).
Campbell confirmed the news on his Facebook page, labeling Bain "a very kind and gentle and generous soul" and thanking him for "my first big break in the music industry."
The group had performed as recently as Wednesday (Jan. 20) in Miami. They were taking part in Def Leppard's Hysteria on the High Seas Cruise, which is expected to return to Miami tomorrow (Jan. 25). Last in Line's debut, Heavy Crown, will be released on Feb. 19.
Simon Wright, who drummed with Dio from 1989 to 1991 and 1998-2010, posted "Jimmy Bain R.I.P." to his Facebook page early this morning. In addition, Diana DeVille, who works at Wendy Dio's Niji Management, posted a picture of the two of them to her Instagram account with the caption, "I am in shock to hear that yet another one of our Rock friends has passed on. RIP Jimmy Bain. You will be missed. #grimreapersucksagain #heartbroken"
Born in Scotland on Dec. 19, 1947, Bain joined Rainbow in time to record their second album, 1976's Rising. But his time in the band was short-lived, and he was fired in 1977. However, Rainbow's singer, Ronnie James Dio, took note of his skills and, when Dio left Black Sabbath to start his own self-named band in 1983, hired Bain as his bassist. Before reconnecting with Dio, he worked with Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy, co-writing several songs and performing on Lynott's two solo albums in the early '80s.
Bain stayed through four studio albums with Dio, parting ways after 1987's Dream Evil. But he rejoined for 2000's Magica, and remained in the band until Dio's death of cancer in 2010. Last in Line formed a few years later as a live act playing songs from Dio's first two albums, and they were offered a record deal with Frontiers Music. Their debut single, "Devil in Me," was released last November.
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