In the summer of 1989, rock-stars gathered at London Metropolis Studios to record all-star version of Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” hit to help Armenia after the Spitak earthquake. Mediamax presents the special project dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Rock Aid Armenia to reveal previously undisclosed details.
Rock Aid Armenia special project is supported by the British Council.
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Pink Floyd's David Gilmour was one of the key contributors to Rock Aid Armenia in 1989. Not only did he personally participate in the project, but he also helped bring in other stars.
Creator of Rock Aid Armenia Jon Dee has told Mediamax:
“From my work with the band YES, I knew a lot of people in the music industry. I decided that I wanted to do a remake of “Smoke on the Water” as that was a song that every guitar player tries to play when they first start learning guitar. Plus it's a really good song!
David Gilmour at Metropolis Studios in 1989Photo: Michael Putland/Rock Aid Armenia
I knew David Gilmour’s wife and she gave me a phone number to call David. I figured that if David was on board, it would be a lot easier to get other major stars involved. So I called David and he was very open to the idea. I asked him if I could tell other people that he was going to be involved. He very kindly said yes to that. As you can imagine, that made it a lot easier to get other people involved.”
In this video David Gilmour tells about recording “Smoke on the Water” and working with Brian May:
In 2009, Gilmour was awarded the Order of Honor by the Armenian President along with Ian Gillan, Tony Iommi, Jon Dee, Geoff Downes and Brian May.
Read also:
“Rock and Mercy”: Komsomolskaya Pravda covers Rock Aid Armenia in 1989
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On 5 June 2019, Yerevan will host a gala night to mark the 30th anniversary of Rock Aid Armenia. Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan, Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi and organizer of Rock Aid Armenia Jon Dee will attend the gala. The visit and celebration of the anniversary are organized by Mediamax Media Company and DoSomething (Australia).
The sponsor of Rock Aid Armenia’s 30th anniversary celebrations and the rock stars’ visit is IDBank. Koor Wines is the partner of the event.
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