A letter to Ronnie from Lars Ulrich

I just got off stage in Zagreb. I was met with the news that you've passed on. I'm kind of in shock, but I wanted you to know that you were one of the main reasons I made it onto that stage to begin with. When I first saw you in Elf, opening for Deep Purple in 1975, I was completely
blown away by the power in your voice, your presence on stage, your
confidence, and the ease with which you seemed to connect to 6000 Danish
people and one starry-eyed 11 year old, most of whom were not familiar
with Elf's music. The following year, I was so psyched when I heard the
results of you joining forces with my favorite guitar player. You guys
sounded so right for each other and I instantly became Rainbow's #1 fan
in Denmark. In the fall of 1976, when you played your first show in
Copenhagen, I was literally in the front row and the couple of times we
made eye contact you made me feel like the most important person in the
world. The news that you guys were staying in town on your day off
somehow embedded itself in my brain and I made the pilgrimage to the
Plaza Hotel to see if I could somehow grab a picture, an autograph, a
moment, anything. A few hours later you came out and were so kind and
caring... pictures, autographs and a couple minutes of casual banter. I
was on top of the world, inspired and ready for anything. Rainbow came
to Copenhagen a couple more times over the next few years and each time
you guys blew my mind, and for a good three years were my absolute
favorite band on this planet. Over the years I've been fortunate enough
to run into you a half dozen times or so and each time you were as
kind, caring and gracious as you were in 1976 outside the hotel. When
we finally got a chance to play together in Austria in 2007, even though
I may not have let on, I was literally transformed back to that little
snot nosed kid who you met and inspired 31 years earlier and it was such
a fucking honor and a dream come true to share a stage with you and the
rest of the legends in Heaven and Hell. A couple of weeks ago when I
heard that you were not going to be able to make it to the Sonisphere
shows that we would be sharing this June, I wanted to call you and let
you know that I was thinking of you and wish you well, but I kind of
pussied out, thinking the last thing you needed in your recovery was
feeling obligated to take a phone call from a Danish drummer/fan boy. I
wish I'd made that call. We will miss you immensely on the dates, and
we will be thinking of you with great admiration and affection during
that run. It seemed so right to have you out on tour with the so-called
“Big Four” since you obviously were one of the main reasons that the
four bands even exist. Your ears will definitely be burning during
those two weeks because all of us will be talking, reminiscing and
sharing stories about how knowing you has made our lives that much
better.

Ronnie, your voice impacted and empowered me, your music inspired and influenced me, and your kindness touched and moved me. Thank you.

Much love,

Lars