Heaven and Hell singer Ronnie James Dio would still be alive today if he’d had a medical check-up while his bandmates had theirs, says friend and bandmate Geezer Butler.

Dio died of cancer in May last year after a six-month battle against the disease. But Butler says the frontman had stage-four stomach cancer by the time it was discovered – and it was already too late for him.

The bassist tells Noisecreep: “By the time Ronnie was diagnosed it was inoperable. The doctor hinted it was just a matter of time and there was nothing they could do. They said if he’d gone in for a check-up a year or two earlier they could have treated him.”

Tragically, Dio’s three colleagues had all had their own routine colonoscopies around the critical time – and the band even discussed the topic in rehearsals.

Butler says: “Vinny Appice had just done it and he couldn’t sit down on his drum stool. I was making arrangements to have it done. But Ronnie was going, ‘Oh, I’m never going to have anything like that.’

“If he’d gone in at the same time as everyone else they’d have caught it before the tour. All the doctors said if it had been stage-one cancer they could have dealt with it.

“If he’d had regular check-ups… it’s really upsetting to think about that. But hopefully it will encourage people who need a check-up to get it done.”