In November 1982, Ronnie James Dio left Black Sabbath to form his band. Due to that, the remaining original members, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler began searching for a new singer for the Sabbath’s latest release. They then agreed to hire Ian Gillan to replace Dio in 1982. Their first intention was to form a supergroup, but they continued as Black Sabbath.
During his brief tenure in Black Sabbath, Ian Gillan became friends with Tony Iommi. In the following years, the pair remained close friends. In 2011, Ian Gillan came together with Tony Iommi to form a supergroup for a good cause and released an album and a single with the contribution of other rock artists.
What Was The Supergroup Ian Gillan And Tony Iommi Formed?
On December 7, 1988, an earthquake occurred in the northern region of Armenia, which is pretty vulnerable to destructive earthquakes. Following the 1988 Spitak earthquake, between 25,000 and 50,000 citizens died, and around 130,000 were injured. The British music industry then founded Rock Aid Armenia to raise money to help those in need.
Tony Iommi and Ian Gillan were also involved in the Rock Aid Armenia project since 1989. In October 2009, the Prime Minister of Armenia awarded the pair with the Orders Of Honor, Armenia’s highest order, for their help after the devastating earthquake. In 2011, Gillan and Iommi decided to form a supergroup named WhoCares and dedicated their music work to raising money to help Armenia.
Ian Gillan and Tony Iommi focused on raising funds to rebuild a music school in Gyumri, Armenia, heavily affected by the earthquake. Many artists participated in the project to support them, including Deep Purple’s Jon Lord, Iron Maiden’s Nicko McBrain, Metallica’s Jason Newsted, and HIM’s Mikko ‘Linde’ Lindstrom. They then released a single titled ‘Out Of My Mind / Holy Water’ on May 6, 2011, and a 2-CD release titled ‘Ian Gillan & Tony Iommi: WhoCares’ in 2012.
You can listen to WhoCares’ ‘Out Of My Mind’ below.
