Blue Mountains Gazette
July 3, 2019 Wednesday
Rock 'n' roll roots reach to Armenia
by Jennie Curtin
Jon Dee has a heavy rock 'n' roll past. The Katoomba man better known for his sustainability advocacy once organised one of the world's biggest hit records – the 1989 recording of Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water by a mob of heavy rockers.
Rock Aid Armenia was recorded to support the people affected by a massive earthquake which shook the country in 1988.
Mr Dee, who produced the record, last month took a trip back to Armenia to mark the 30th anniversary of the event.
With him were Deep Purple's Ian Gillan and Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath. They met the Armenian president, Armen Sarkissian, at a major event in Armenia's main opera house.
Queen's Brian May even sent a video message.
They also visited the Gyumri Musical School, which Mr Dee and friend Ara Tadevosyan built in 2014 to mark the 25th anniversary of the single.
In a widely varied career, Mr Dee has founded Planet Ark, DoSomething! and One Tree Per Child. He is host of Smart Money, a TV program showing businesses how sustainable practices can help their bottom line.
But he's proud of his rocker past, which also featured the Earthquake Album in 1989, with tracks from a number of top names. It was the first charity UK album to go gold.
Mr Dee, who travelled with his daughter, Claudia, said it was a special occasion.
"When I started Rock Aid Armenia back in 1989, I never imagined that 30 years later we'd have 1,200 people and the president of Armenia joining us to celebrate 30 years of the initiative at the opera house in Yerevan. It was a really wonderful night.
"It was also really special that we were being supported on the night by the guys from Queen, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Yes.
"They've been supporting this project for 30 years now. Without their help, Ara Tadevosyan and I wouldn't have been able to build our music school in the earthquake zone."
He said the music school now teaches 220 children a year.
"And it's become a key part of the community. Many of the kids performed a concert for us to showcase the skills that they've been learning there."
Anahit Seyranyan, who has been working as a violin teacher at the school for 34 years, told Mr Dee: "We used to give concerts in these containers, on crushed stone, by the light of a petroleum lamp. Now we feel like we have moved from a shack to a palace."
To continue raising funds for new instruments for the school, Mr Dee has launched a new album of ancient Armenian songs. Mashtots: Sacred Armenian Songs from the Fifth Century by Hasmik Baghdasaryan and Vahan Artsruni will be available via Apple, Amazon and You Tube.