The Last in Line (song)

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"The Last in Line"

Single by Dio

from the album The Last in Line

B-side

"Stand Up and Shout" (live) (EU)
"One Night in the City" (Aus.)

Released

June 11, 1984

Recorded

1984
Caribou Ranch, Colorado, US

Genre

Heavy metal

Length

5:48

Label

Vertigo

Songwriter(s)

Ronnie James Dio, Jimmy Bain, Vivian Campbell

Producer(s)

Ronnie James Dio

Dio singles chronology

"Rainbow in the Dark"
(1983)

"The Last in Line"
(1984)

"We Rock"
(1984)

Alternative cover

Pinkpop '84 festival cover

"The Last in Line" is the third single released by heavy metal band Dio, appearing on their platinum-certified LP of the same name. It was Dio's only song to hit the Top 10 of Billboard's Album Rock Tracks.^[1]

Unlike the band's first two singles, this song was not released as a single in the UK, but rather in the Netherlands, Spain and Australia. There is also an alternate version in the Netherlands sold only at the Pinkpop '84 festival on June 11, 1984.^[2]^[3] The sleeve of this release was the same as the band's previous single, "Rainbow in the Dark", with the Pinkpop logo in the corner.

A music video was made for the single and was directed by Don Coscarelli, who is known for directing the horror film series Phantasm. The video features a teenage delivery boy who is tasked with a delivery to a building. Upon entering an elevator, it suddenly goes haywire and sends him to a fantastical dimension. He is then accosted by a cyborg and is enslaved with several other people and creatures to be tortured by various means (e.g. endlessly playing arcade games that electrocute the losers). At one point, the demon creature from the album cover is seen as the slaves are being led to their fates. The horrified boy takes off back to the elevator and is accosted again by the same cyborg from earlier. Ronnie James Dio, who was seen performing the song with his band, intervenes and saves the boy, before being captured by the other cyborgs. The video ends with the boy making it back to the elevator and returning to his home world.

The song was covered by Tenacious D for the 2014 This Is Your Life tribute album. Their cover won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.

Charts

Chart (1984)	Peak position
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)^[1]	10

References

^ ^a ^b "Dio Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
^ Tapio Keihänen. "Tapio's Ronnie James Dio Pages: Dio 7" Discography, May 1983-March 1986". Dio.net. Retrieved March 7, 2007.
^ Tapio Keihänen. "Tapio's Ronnie James Dio Pages: Dio 12" Discography, May 1983-March 1986". Dio.net. Retrieved March 7, 2007.

v t e Dio
Ronnie James Dio Vinny Appice Jimmy Bain Jake E. Lee Vivian Campbell Claude Schnell Craig Goldy Simon Wright Rowan Robertson Jens Johansson Scott Warren Tracy G Jeff Pilson Doug Aldrich Rudy Sarzo
Studio albums	Holy Diver The Last in Line Sacred Heart Dream Evil Lock Up the Wolves Strange Highways Angry Machines Magica Killing the Dragon Master of the Moon
Live albums	Intermission Inferno: Last in Live Evil or Divine: Live in New York City Holy Diver: Live At Donington UK: Live 1983 & 1987 Live in London, Hammersmith Apollo 1993
Compilations	Diamonds: The Best of Dio The Very Beast of Dio The Very Beast of Dio Vol. 2
Singles	"Holy Diver" "Rainbow in the Dark" "The Last in Line" "Rock 'n' Roll Children" "Hungry for Heaven" "King of Rock and Roll" "Electra"
Videos	A Special from the Spectrum Sacred Heart "The Video" Time Machine Evil or Divine: Live in New York City We Rock Holy Diver: Live Live in London, Hammersmith Apollo 1993
Related bands	Black Sabbath Elf Hear 'n Aid Heaven & Hell Last in Line Rainbow
Tribute albums	Holy Dio: Tribute to Ronnie James Dio Dio (Jorn album) Ronnie James Dio – This Is Your Life The Dio Album
Discography Members

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