Rock Aid Armenia was founded in 1989 by Australian activist Jon Dee as a charity music project to aid victims of the Spitak earthquake in Armenia. The initiative began with a re‑recording of "What's Going On" featuring Boy George, Aswad, Errol Brown, and Richard Derbyshire, before moving on to a collaborative cover of Deep Purple’s "Smoke on the Water" that involved artists like Bryan Adams, Geoff Beauchamp, Ritchie Blackmore, Bruce Dickinson, Geoff Downes, Brian May, Paul Rodgers, Chris Squire, and Roger Taylor. The single, produced by Gary Langan and Geoff Downes at Metropolis Studios, entered the UK charts and peaked at number 39. In 1990, the project released the compilation album The Earthquake Album, which included tracks from Free, Rush, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Genesis, Yes, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, and Mike & the Mechanics. A VHS video featuring performances by Pink Floyd, Bon Jovi, Led Zeppelin, and others accompanied the release. In 2010, Dee issued the EP Smoke on the Water – The Metropolis Sessions, accompanied by a DVD that documented the making of the 1989 single. In 2009, Dee and other musicians involved in the project were awarded the Order of Honor by Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Saryan
