History Rock Aid Armenia

Rock Aid Armenia was a joint humanitarian effort by an elite group of contemporary hard rock and heavy metal musicians who gathered at the historic Metropolis Studios in Chiswick, London on July 8, 1989 for a project to raise money to help those affected by the Leninakan Earthquake of 1988 that struck Armenia.

Originally the organizers planned for an Armenian earthquake benefit concert in Moscow, but plans fell through and a benefit album was recorded instead. The project was created and coordinated by international charity campaigner Jon Dee and Paul Lowell. The recording consisted of original tracks by Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Gary Moore, Black Sabbath, Asia, Mike & the Mechanics, Rush, Deep Purple, Bon Jovi, Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin, Foreigner, Pink Floyd, Queen, Yes, Whitesnake and others. Rock Aid Armenia: The Earthquake Album was released in 1990, Rock Aid Armenia: The Earth Hour Video was a video compilation released in the same year.

The project is most remembered for a re-recording of one of Deep Purple’s famous hit songs, "Smoke on the Water", with different vocalists singing each verse. The single made it to the British Top 40. The exceptional rock talent that was involved in the recording of the song included Bryan Adams, Ritchie Blackmore, Bruce Dickinson, Keith Emerson, Ian Gillan, David Gilmour, John Paul Jones, Tony Iommi, Alex Lifeson, Jon Lord, Brian May, Adrian Smith, Paul Rodgers, Chris Squire and Roger Taylor. The rehearsals of the re-recording of Smoke on the Water were filmed and released in the same year on video as Rock Aid Armenia: Making of Smoke on the Water, along with interviews and a video clip for the single.

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