The DiCola
Biography

Artist, performer and composer Vince DiCola is best known for composing and performing on the soundtrack for the 1986 animated film The Transformers: The Movie. While most tunes, including “Instruments of Destruction,” “Dare to Be Stupid,” and “The Transformers Theme,” were firmly set in the heavy metal/heavy rock tradition, Vince's song “Dare” (performed by Stan Bush) reflects more of a rock and pop influence.

A native of Lancaster, PA, DiCola launched his career after moving to Southern California in 1981. His first success came when he was chosen to co-write eight tunes for Staying Alive, starring John Travolta and written and directed by Sylvester Stallone. Vince received a Golden Globe nomination as co-writer on the song “Far from Over” (performed by Sylvester Stallone's brother Frank Stallone). This song also went on to achieve top 10 status on the Billboard charts for 2 weeks. After recording his album Piano Solos in 1986 (reissued in 2019 by Notefornote Records with remastered audio, new artwork and bonus material), DiCola went on to record in a variety of contexts. A performer and arranger of four tunes on the 1991 multi-artist tribute album Artfully Beatles (along with friend and musical cohort Casey Young), his recording of “Yesterday” was heard during the Winter Olympics in 1998. He arranged, produced, and performed on all ten tracks of a follow-up CD, Artistically Beatles, in 1993.

Vince's second solo album — In-VINCE-ible — was released in November 2000 to coincide with his performance at that year's BOTCON Transformers convention. Combining highlights from Vince's career up to that point with past and previously unreleased material, the album received positive feedback from fans and critics alike.

Vince has also worked on several hit video games with his colleague Kenny Meriedeth, including “Angry Birds Transformers,” “Transformers: Devastation,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” “Saturday Morning RPG,” “Infinite Fleet” and others.

DiCola later balanced his solo and film work with membership in a five-piece rock band, Storming Heaven; their debut album, “Life in Paradise,” was released in Europe and Japan in 1996. Vince and his good friend Doane Perry (drummer for Jethro Tull for over 30 years) went on to assemble the progressive rock/R&B/soul trio THREAD. Their debut album — also featuring Ellis Hall (Tower of Power) on vocals — was released in 1996 and reissued by Escape Records in 2023 as an expanded limited collection including remastered audio, bonus tracks and a booklet. This album has enjoyed critical success worldwide and continues to be a fan favorite.

DiCola remains committed to the music that he composed for Transformers. He released three CDs of film-oriented material early in the new millennium — his full original score, “Protoform Sessions” (a collection of rare tracks and demos) and “Artistic Transformations: Themes and Variations” (an album featuring reinterpreted solo piano versions of highlights from Vince's score).

In 2010, Intrada Records released DiCola's score to Rocky IV in its entirety. While the movie's original song-heavy album came out in 1985, this specific release marked the very first time Vince DiCola's complete instrumental score was made available to the public. Intrada followed up that collection with the release of DiCola's entire score to The Transformers: The Movie in 2014. Both albums were released in CD and vinyl LP formats and included a booklet with expanded liner notes.

In addition to his film, TV and video game work, Vince has enjoyed recording and/or performing live with some of the most iconic solo artists in rock and roll. To name just a few: Glenn Hughes from the group Deep Purple, Bobby Kimball from Toto, Jason Scheff from Chicago, Steve Walsh from Kansas, Rick Springfield and Alex Ligertwood from Santana. (Sadly, Alex recently passed away; a major loss to the world of rock and roll.)

Among Vince's greatest and most enjoyable live performance achievements was his appearance as special guest composer at three popular film music festivals in Europe. In 2019 he performed a medley of highlights from his score to Rocky IV at FIMUCITÉ 13, accompanied by the CPMTFE Tenerife Fimucité Youth Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Diego Navarro. In 2022, DiCola performed a medley from his score to The Transformers: The Movie at FIMUCITÉ 16, accompanied by the Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife and the Tenerife Film Choir, again under the direction of Diego Navarro. Moving ahead to 2025, Vince performed both medleys at SonaFilm VII accompanied by the Universal Orchestra and Choir under the direction of José Martínez Colomina. At this event Vince was also joined by drummer Greg Ellis and guitarist Amir John Haddad. Vocalist extraordinaire Jadel (Javier Luis Delgado) contributed his considerable talent to each of these concerts. All three events were attended by some of the most enthusiastic audiences Vince has ever performed for. DiCola is eternally grateful to his good friend Pedro Mérida for inviting Vince over to Spain for all three events (Pedro was co-founder, executive producer and core organizer of FIMUCITÉ and is the producer of SonaFilm).

A few other live performances need to be mentioned here as well. Each of these events celebrated Vince's contributions to The Transformers: The Movie, Rocky IV and Staying Alive. In 2018 and 2026, Vince performed with his band at the world-famous Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. In 2026, Vince performed at TFNation, a Transformers convention that takes place each year in Birmingham, UK. Joining Vince once again was his good friend Jadel on vocals, and the pair delivered a powerful and unforgettable experience for the 700 Transformers fans who were lucky enough to get tickets!

Most recently, Vince and Kenny signed on to score the movie, series and game from the NRCity universe.

Vince is represented by Peter Hackman of Different Direction Management.