Released October 21, 1983 Genre Power metal | Format 7", 12" Length 4:15 | |
B-side Stand Up and Shout (live), Straight Through the Heart (live) Recorded 1983, Sound City Studios, Los Angeles, California | ||
"Rainbow in the Dark" was the second single released by heavy metal band Dio, taken from their 1983 album, Holy Diver. It was numbered 13 on VH1's "Top 40 Greatest Metal Songs".
Contents
The song was covered by Corey Taylor, with support from Roy Mayorga, Satchel, Christian Martucci & Jason Christopher for the Ronnie James Dio: This Is Your Life - Tribute.
Music Video
The music video was filmed close to the time of the original studio recording of the song. The video's location takes place in central London, with scenes alternating between shots of a man following a woman through a street lined with pornographic cinemas, and Ronnie James Dio singing from a rooftop. The implied malicious intent of the man is made evident during the guitar solo, when guitarist Vivian Campbell (and later bassist Jimmy Bain) appear and effectively "scare" him away after he follows the woman into a moviehouse, with the woman kissing Campbell on the cheek in apparent gratitude. The video includes shots of tourist attractions such as Nelson's Column, Westminster Bridge, Picadilly Circus, and Soho.
In popular culture
It is featured in the video game Rock Band 3 and the films Bad Teacher (2011) and Ricky 6 (2000).
The band Goldfinger briefly plays the song in their cover of the Duran Duran song "Rio", appearing on the Duran Duran Tribute Album (1997). The last chorus pays tribute to Dio. The music video for the song also utilizes clips from the original Rainbow In The Dark music video.