What do you get when you combine Ian Gillan of Deep Purple with Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath? Well, you get a pretty stellar (but short-lived) hard rock and heavy metal supergroup. That supergroup actually existed between 2011 and 2012, but don’t feel like an out-of-touch fan if you’ve never heard of them. The supergroup in question, called WhoCares, was a very short-lived affair that was only put together to support charity efforts. And, honestly, it was a great idea that did what the band sought to do.
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WhoCares was made up of several big names in rock music. Outside of Tony Iommi and Ian Gillan, Jon Lord of Deep Purple and Jason Newsted of Metallica were also on board. Nicko McBrain of Iron Maiden and Mikko “Linde” Lindström of HIM were also part of this supergroup.
WhoCares Put Their Rock Star Status and Talent To Good Use and Built a School in Armenia
Well, they didn’t go straight to Armenia and build the school by hand. But, WhoCares did raise some money for a charity project that sought to rebuild a music school in Gyumri, Armenia, after the building was destroyed during the 1988 Armenian earthquake.
Specifically, WhoCares got together to record and release Ian Gillan & Tony Iommi: WhoCares in 2011 with the intention of using the proceeds to support the reconstruction of the school and purchase new instruments for the students. The lead single of the album was “Out Of My Mind / Holy Water”, also released that year.
The project was a success. The album sold over 20,000 copies in Europe upon its release. And the supergroup wasn’t the first charitable effort to help Armenia by Gillan. He had been involved with charity efforts in the country for years, and he began working with Rock Aid Armenia following the devastating earthquake that took place in 1988. Iommi had similarly been working to help those affected by the earthquake.
The two visited Armenia to receive a medal for their work, when they learned about a destroyed music school. Thus, WhoCares was formed.
Honestly, the album is pretty great. The whole record is a great mix of some of the greatest instrumentalists in rock music. And I can’t think of many other supergroups that were formed with the intention of supporting charity. Good on them!
Photo by Will Ireland/Classic Rock Magazine/Future via Getty Images/Future via Getty Images
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