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Agence France Presse
May 6 2011
Hard rock stars sing for Armenian school
(AFP) -
YEREVAN - Hard rock stars Ian Gillan and Tony Iommi, famous for
playing with Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, launched a charity record
on Friday to raise money for a music school in ex-Soviet Armenia.
Proceeds from the record by singer Gillan and guitarist Iommi's band
WhoCares are intended to help rebuild the impoverished school in the
Armenian city of Gyumri, which was hit by a massive earthquake in 1988
that killed 25,000 people.
"I'm very happy that our collaboration with the rock stars is
continuing," Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian, known as a fan
of hard rock, said at the launch in Yerevan.
"They fell in love with our country and this disc is an expression of that."
The record, "Out of My Mind", is accompanied by a film about the
British musicians' long-term involvement with the small Caucasus
republic.
"Both Gillan and Iommi have spent a lot of time in Armenia, fallen in
love with the country and the people and have dedicated a lot of work
to a nation still shocked after the earthquake," said a statement on
Gillan's website.
Deep Purple played a concert in Armenia in 1990 to raise funds after
the earthquake, and another charity show for 10,000 people in Yerevan
last year.
A version of the band's best-known song "Smoke on the Water" featuring
stars from Pink Floyd and Queen was also released as part of the Rock
Aid Armenia campaign, which led the authorities in Yerevan to award
state honours to the musicians in gratitude.
Deep Purple remain hugely popular across the former Soviet Union,
counting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev among their fans as well as
the Armenian prime minister.
From: A. Papazian
May 6 2011
Hard rock stars sing for Armenian school
(AFP) -
YEREVAN - Hard rock stars Ian Gillan and Tony Iommi, famous for
playing with Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, launched a charity record
on Friday to raise money for a music school in ex-Soviet Armenia.
Proceeds from the record by singer Gillan and guitarist Iommi's band
WhoCares are intended to help rebuild the impoverished school in the
Armenian city of Gyumri, which was hit by a massive earthquake in 1988
that killed 25,000 people.
"I'm very happy that our collaboration with the rock stars is
continuing," Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian, known as a fan
of hard rock, said at the launch in Yerevan.
"They fell in love with our country and this disc is an expression of that."
The record, "Out of My Mind", is accompanied by a film about the
British musicians' long-term involvement with the small Caucasus
republic.
"Both Gillan and Iommi have spent a lot of time in Armenia, fallen in
love with the country and the people and have dedicated a lot of work
to a nation still shocked after the earthquake," said a statement on
Gillan's website.
Deep Purple played a concert in Armenia in 1990 to raise funds after
the earthquake, and another charity show for 10,000 people in Yerevan
last year.
A version of the band's best-known song "Smoke on the Water" featuring
stars from Pink Floyd and Queen was also released as part of the Rock
Aid Armenia campaign, which led the authorities in Yerevan to award
state honours to the musicians in gratitude.
Deep Purple remain hugely popular across the former Soviet Union,
counting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev among their fans as well as
the Armenian prime minister.
From: A. Papazian