Vivian Campbell is the guitarist of Dio's first three albums, and the author of the riffs that defined that band's sound. Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1962, he joined at twenty, invited by Ronnie James Dio to form the group that would record Holy Diver (1983). His contribution lies in the writing. The riffs of "Holy Diver", "Rainbow in the Dark", "We Rock" and "The Last in Line" are his, and it is the combination of that heavy, direct foundation with Dio's operatic voice that makes those records work. Campbell plays with melodic phrasing and a cutting tone, without excess virtuosity, and the result is a metal of clear structure that has aged better than much of its contemporaries'. He left in 1986, after a disagreement over pay and profit participation, and the relationship between him and Dio remained publicly sour for decades — an episode both commented on in interviews over the years. He went on to Whitesnake and, since 1992, has been a guitarist in Def Leppard. In 2013 he revealed he had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, and continued playing and touring through treatment.
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