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Don Airey | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Don Airey performing with Deep Purple in 2024 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Donald Smith Airey |
| Born | (1948-06-21)21 June 1948 (age 76) Sunderland, England |
| Genres | Rock,hard rock,heavy metal,blues rock,progressive rock,jazz fusion |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instrument | Keyboards |
| Years active | 1969–present |
| Member of | Deep Purple |
| Formerly of | Rainbow,Ozzy Osbourne,Black Sabbath,Gary Moore,Glenn Tipton,Judas Priest,Wishbone Ash,Whitesnake,Ten,Jethro Tull,ELO Part II,Hollywood Monsters,Divlje Jagode, Anthem |
Donald Smith Airey (born 21 June 1948) is an English musician who has been the keyboardist in the rock bandDeep Purple since 2002, after the retirement ofJon Lord. He has had a long and productive career, playing with such acts asGary Moore,Ozzy Osbourne,Judas Priest,Black Sabbath,Jethro Tull,Whitesnake,Saxon,Wishbone Ash,Colosseum II,Ten,Sinner,Michael Schenker,Rainbow,Empire,Brian May,Divlje jagode andLiving Loud. He has also worked withAndrew Lloyd Webber.
Inspired by his father, Norman Airey, Don Airey took a love for music at a young age and was trained in classical piano from the age of seven.[1] He continued his love for music by earning a degree at theUniversity of Nottingham and a diploma at theRoyal Northern College of Music (where he studied underRyszard Bakst).[2] Following his studies, he formed a band and worked on P&O cruise liners travelling the world.[3]
In 1971 he moved to London and joinedCozy Powell's band Hammer. In 1975 he joinedJon Hiseman's highly influential jazz rock bandColosseum II, along withGary Moore,Neil Murray,Mike Starrs and laterJohn Mole. They made three albums and also formed the core band forAndrew Lloyd Webber's albumVariations, a set of variations on a theme byPaganini. Don worked on several albums with solo artists and was asession musician on the 1978Black Sabbath albumNever Say Die! Soon after, he joined guitaristRitchie Blackmore's band,Rainbow, and featured on Gary Moore's solo debutBack on the Streets. With Rainbow he contributed to two hit albums,Down to Earth andDifficult to Cure.
After leaving Rainbow in 1981, Airey joined with Ozzy Osbourne for a three-year stint where he helped with the albumsBark at the Moon andSpeak of the Devil. He also played on the Diary of a Madman Tour from 1981 to 1982 and appears onBlizzard of Ozz and was also the only witness toRandy Rhoads's death. Airey joinedJethro Tull in 1987 for their tour in support ofCrest of a Knave. The same year also saw the release ofWhitesnake's multi-platinumWhitesnake, on which Airey played keyboards. Soon after he quit the band to record the solo albumK2 – Tales of Triumph and Tragedy. In it he plays with Gary Moore and Keith Airey – guitars, Cozy Powell – drums,Laurence Cottle – bass, Chris (Hamlet) Thompson, Colin Blunstone,Mel Galley, and Genki Hitomi – vocals.[4]
In 1990, Airey recorded keyboard parts for several songs onJudas Priest's albumPainkiller. However, because Judas Priest wanted the album to have a heavier sound than their previous work, only one song onPainkiller, "A Touch of Evil", prominently features Airey.[citation needed] In a 2020 interview, Airey revealed that he also played most of the album's bass parts on aMinimoog, as Judas Priest bassistIan Hill was unable to participate in recording sessions due to illness.[5] He also toured with the Japanese heavy metal bandAnthem, in 1990 and 1992.
In 1997 he arranged and played on "Love Shine a Light" byKatrina and the Waves, conducting the accompanying orchestra at theEurovision Song Contest. The song won the contest.
In 1999 he joined Manchester-based melodic hard rock bandTen where he played keyboards on the albumBabylon, which was released in 2000. He also toured with the band in support of the new album.
Airey played keyboards on the song "Darkness Be My Friend" byIron Maiden vocalistBruce Dickinson, released on the 2002 reissue of Dickinson's debut solo albumTattooed Millionaire. Airey also played keyboards onAt Vance's Olaf Lenk's first solo albumSunset Cruise. In 2006 Airey featured onGary Moore's releaseOld New Ballads Blues contributing to all tracks.
In 2008 Airey released his second solo album,A Light in the Sky and recently it has been announced that another solo album from Airey is set to premiere in 2011.
In early 2014 Airey joined hard rock bandHollywood Monsters where he played keyboards (Hammond B3 organ) on the track "Move On" on the album "Big Trouble" which was released in 2014 onMausoleum Records. The album featuresSteph Honde on vocals and guitars,Vinny Appice on drums,Tim Bogert on bass andPaul Di'Anno on lead vocals on the bonus track.[6]
On 18 January 2017, Airey was inducted into the Hall of Heavy Metal History.[7]
In January 2020, Airey played two shows withUriah Heep, filling in for Phil Lanzon after the keyboardist's son died.[8]
Airey joinedDeep Purple in 2001 to fill in for an injuredJon Lord, who subsequently retired from the band. Airey joined the band as a full-time keyboardist in March 2002. He has recorded seven studio albums with the band,Bananas,Rapture of the Deep,Now What?!,Infinite,Whoosh!,Turning to Crime, and=1.
Interviewed by Jeb Wright, for Classic Rock Revisited, about the albumNow What?!, he said "Well, it's Deep Purple and there is aHammond there. There is only one way to go, really. Over the years, I have really worked on my sound, it didn't just happen overnight. The first two, or three, years I was with the band, I was using Jon's C3 and it was pretty knackered. I had it refurbished. It's been put in mothballs now... I much prefer Hammond A-100's, that's my choice."[9]
Airey has employed many instruments and effect processors to aid him in the creation of his music and is well known for the use of hisHammond A100. In an interview with Keyboard Magazine Don Airey explained that he preferred the Hammond A-100 over other organs (including the Hammond B-3) for their "purer tone" in live settings. He also uses Leslie 122 speakers and aHughes and Kettner Puretone amplifier. For piano sounds, Airey uses aKurzweil PC3K8 and also uses aMoog Voyager. He also uses several rack and pedal based units such as a Roland Fantom.[10]
Airey is also an endorsing artist for several effects companies including Neunaber Audio andTC Electronic and currently uses a Neunaber Seraphim Shimmer as well as a TC Hall of Fame Reverb and a TC Flashback Delay.[11][12]
Airey lives with his wife, Doris, and their three children in South WestCambridgeshire. In 1992, Airey's son suffered from a serious illness, causing him to slow down his musical activity until 1995.[13] Airey is an ardentSunderland A.F.C. fan.[14]
He has a brother,Keith Airey, who played guitar for Nik Kershaw during the mid-1980s and the reformed version ofThe Zombies from 2001 to 2010 and is currently lead guitarist for the London stage showMamma Mia!.
His other brother, Paul Airey, played piano for SlowBone and Rollups and currently works withRobbie Gladwell and his band.
He is currently writing a book about his experiences in the music business.[1][needs update]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | K2 | Studio |
| 2005 | E-Thnik (with Mario Fasciano,Steve Morse &Ian Paice) | Studio |
| 2008 | A Light in the Sky | Studio |
| 2011 | All Out | Studio |
| 2014 | Keyed Up | Studio |
| 2018 | One of a Kind | Studio |
| 2019 | Contractual Obligation #1: Live in Moscow (withIan Gillan and Orchestra) | Live, BD/2CD |
| 2019 | Contractual Obligation #2: Live in Warsaw (withIan Gillan and Orchestra) | Live, 2Cd |
| 2019 | Contractual Obligation #3: Live in St. Petersburg (withIan Gillan and Orchestra) | Live, 3LP |
| 2021 | Live in Hamburg | Live, Recorded 2017 |
| 2025 | Pushed To The Edge | Studio |
| Year | Band | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Cozy Powell's Hammer | "Na Na Na" (Single) |
| 1976 | Colosseum II | Strange New Flesh |
| 1977 | Electric Savage | |
| 1977 | War Dance | |
| 1979 | Rainbow | Down to Earth |
| 1979 | Denver 1979 (LP) | |
| 1979 | Long Island 1979 (LP) | |
| 1979 | Down to Earth Tour 1979 (box set) | |
| 1980 | Monsters of Rock - Live at Donnington 1980 | |
| 1981 | Difficult to Cure | |
| 1981 | Boston 1981 | |
| 1986 | Finyl Vinyl | |
| 1997 | Quatermass II | Quatermass II: Long Road |
| 1998 | The Snakes/The Company of Snakes | Live in Europe |
| 2001 | Here They Go Again | |
| 2001 | Empire | Hypnotica |
| 2003 | Trading Souls | |
| 2003 | Living Loud | Living Loud |
| 2004 | Live in Sydney 2004 (2CD/DVD) | |
| 2003 | Deep Purple | Bananas |
| 2005 | Rapture of the Deep | |
| 2006 | They All Came Down to Montreux (CD) /Live at Montreux 2006 (DVD) | |
| 2007 | Over Zurich (DVD) | |
| 2002 | Live at the NEC UK 2002 (DVD) | |
| 2011 | Live at Montreux 2011 (CD / DVD) | |
| 2013 | Now What?! | |
| 2013 | The Now What?! Live Tapes | |
| 2014 | Deep Purple,Bruce Dickinson,Glenn Hughes,Paul Weller,Rick Wakeman & Many Others | Celebrating Jon Lord at the Royal Albert Hall (CD / DVD) |
| 2014 | Deep Purple | Live in Verona (CD / DVD) |
| 2015 | From the Setting Sun... (In Wacken) (CD / DVD) | |
| 2015 | ...To the Rising Sun (In Tokyo) (CD / DVD) | |
| 2017 | InFinite | |
| 2017 | The Infinite Live Recordings, Vol. 1 | |
| 2013 | Live in Rome 2013 | |
| 2020 | Whoosh! | |
| 2002 | Live in London 2002 | |
| 2021 | Turning to Crime | |
| 2024 | =1 |
| International | |
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