73 Out of my Mind

(Gillan, Iommi)
from the double A-side single by WhoCares

This song was originally called Defense de fumer dans les toilettes in acknowledgement of that ubiquitous sign thrust in my face at every turn in any journey, and spotted yet again - unavoidably - by yours truly on a flight home from Yerevan with Tony Iommi.

As if we didn't know already, that smoking is not permitted on planes! I think they should concentrate on warning us of more serious activities that are forbidden in flight. Good morning ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard blah blah…and may I remind you this is a non-homicide flight, no murders are to take place until you are clear of the terminal. Strangulation, stabbing, matricide or any form of killing is strictly forbidden…and suicide in the toilets - if spotted by the smoking detectives - will result in prosecution and a flying ban. Grrrrrrr!!!

But sense prevailed and the theme changed to something less flippant when we wrote this song as a special project. The royalties will go towards building a music school in Gyumri, Armenia - plenty more information on that can be found in the pages of Caramba (www.gillan.com).

Truth is, I will never forget my first visit to Armenia 17/18/19 and 20th of June 1990, when I played Yerevan Sports Complex and - more significantly - visited Spitak; another town, along with Gymri, at the centre of the devastating earthquake that shook the region at 11.41 (twenty to twelve) 7th December 1988, leaving 25,000 dead and a quarter of a million homeless.

Seventeen months after the event people were still walking around with glazed eyes. The Mayor of Spitak told me that no music was being played in the region, no music in the church, at schools, on the radio; anywhere…it seemed that even the birds had stopped singing. I wrote a song shortly afterwards called Pictures of Hell which appeared on the Gillan album Toolbox, and that is the reference made in the choruses below.

We are used to seeing the cataclysmic works of nature on our omniscient news channels, but this happened whilst Armenia was still (just about) part of the Soviet Union; there was comparatively little reportage.

Tony and I are not alone in providing aid; there are many good people on board, not only lending their weight but ensuring that every single penny goes directly towards the school. This includes Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and President Serzh Sargsyan who sent the first vinyl copy of the WhoCares record as a gift to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

It seems that not only policemen but presidents too are getting younger.