BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS
Full Name: Donald Airey
Description: Keyboardist, Vocalist, UK
Known For: He replaced Jon Lord in
Instruments: keyboards
Music Styles: Rock
Location: United Kingdom
Date Born: 21st June 1948
Location Born: Sunderland, United Kingdom
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BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
Don Airey
A classically trained English keyboardist in the rock band Deep Purple since 2002, succeeding Jon Lord. He has had a long and productive career, playing with such acts as Gary Moore, Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Jethro Tull, Whitesnake, Colosseum II, Sinner, Michael Schenker, Uli Jon Roth, Rainbow, Ten, Divlje jagode and Living Loud. He has also worked with Andrew 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. He continued his love for music by earning a degree at the University of Nottingham and a diploma at the Royal Northern College of Music.
In 1971 he moved to London and joined Cozy Powell’s band Hammer. Don worked on several albums with solo artists and was a session musician on the 1978 Black Sabbath album Never Say Die! Soon after, he joined guitarist Ritchie Blackmore’s band, Rainbow, and featured on Gary Moore’s solo debut Back on the Streets.
With Rainbow he contributed to two hit albums, Down to Earth and Difficult to Cure. He was also part of the very influential jazz rock band Colosseum II with Jon Hiseman, Gary Moore and John Mole which also formed the core band that recorded Andrew Lloyd Webber’s variations on a theme of Paganini, simply called Variations.
After leaving Rainbow in 1981, Airey joined with Ozzy Osbourne for a three year stint where he helped with the albums Bark at the Moon and Speak of the Devil. He did play on the Diary of a Madman Tour from 1981–82 and appears on Blizzard of Ozz. Airey joined Jethro Tull in 1987 for their tour in support of Crest of a Knave.
The same year also saw the release of Whitesnake’s multi-platinum Whitesnake, on which Airey played keyboards. (The album is known as 1987 in Europe). Soon after he quit the band to record the solo album K2 – Tales of Triumph and Tragedy. In it he plays with Gary Moore, Keith Airey – guitars, Cozy Powell – drums, Laurence Cottle – bass, Chris (Hamlet) Thompson, Colin Blunstone, Mel Galley, Genki Hitomi – vocals.
In 1990 Don Airey played keyboards on Judas Priest’s Painkiller Album. Originally Airey played on all Painkiller tracks but they were cut out to make the album more brutal-like.[citation needed]
In 1997 he arranged and played on “Love Shine a Light” by Katrina And The Waves, conducting the accompanying orchestra at The Eurovision Song Contest. The song won the contest.
In 1999 he joined Manchester-based melodic hard rock band Ten where he played keyboards on the album Babylon which was released in 2000. He also toured with the band in support of the new album.
He also worked with Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson on one of Dickinson’s solo albums, playing keyboards on “Darkness Be My Friend”. Airey also played keyboards on At Vance’s mastermind Olaf Lenk’s first solo album Sunset Cruise. In 2006 Airey featured on Gary Moore’s release Old 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.
Airey went in semi-retirement until 2001, when he joined Deep Purple to fill in for an injured Jon Lord, who subsequently retired from the band. Airey joined the band as a full time keyboardist in March 2002. He has recorded two studio albums with the band, Bananas and Rapture of the Deep.
Airey lives with his wife, Doris, and their three children in South West Cambridgeshire. The first half of the 1990s saw Airey’s son suffer from a serious illness, so his musical activity was largely on hiatus during this time.
He has a brother, Keith Airey, who played guitar for the reformed version of The Zombies from 2001 to 2010.
He also has another brother, Paul Airey, who played piano for SlowBone and Rollups. He works with Robbie Gladwell at the moment.
He is currently writing a book about his experiences in the music business
Albums with many groups include .
1974 – Cozy Powell – “Na Na Na” (single)
1976 – Babe Ruth – Kid’s Stuff
1976 – Colosseum II – Strange New Flesh
1977 – Colosseum II – Electric Savage
1977 – Colosseum II – War Dance
1977 – Andrew Lloyd Webber – Variations
1978 – Jim Rafferty – Don’t Talk Back
1978 – Strife – Back to Thunder
1978 – Black Sabbath – Never Say Die!
1979 – Gary Moore – Back on the Streets
1979 – Rainbow – Down to Earth
1979 – Cozy Powell – Over the Top
1980 – Michael Schenker Group – The Michael Schenker Group
1980 – Bernie Marsden – And About Time Too
1981 – Ozzy Osbourne – Blizzard of Ozz
1981 – Cozy Powell – Tilt
1981 – Rainbow – Difficult to Cure
1981 – Rainbow – Final Vinyl (compilation album – 1986)
1982 – Gary Moore – Corridors of Power
1982 – Gary Moore – Rockin’ Every Night
1983 – Ozzy Osbourne – Bark at the Moon
1984 – Gary Moore – Dirty Fingers
1985 – Alaska – The Pack
1985 – Phenomena – Phenomena
1985 – Gary Moore – Run For Cover
1986 – Zeno – Zeno
1987 – Thin Lizzy – Soldier of Fortune (compilation)
1987 – Whitesnake – Whitesnake
1987 – Wild Strawberries – Wild Strawberries
1988 – Fastway – Bad Bad Girls
1988 – Jethro Tull – 20 Years of Jethro Tull
1989 – Don Airey – K2
1989 – Gary Moore – After the War
1989 – Whitesnake – Slip of the Tongue
1990 – Perfect Crime – Blond on Blonde
1990 – Jagged Edge – You Don’t Love Me
1990 – Judas Priest – Painkiller
1990 – Bruce Dickinson – Tattooed Millionaire
1990 – Forcefield – IV – Let the Wild Run Free
1990 – Tigertailz – “Bezerk”
1992 – Cozy Powell – Let the Wild Run Free
1992 – UFO – High Stakes and Dangerous Men
1992 – Anthem – Domestic Booty
1992 – Kaizoku – Kaizoku
1993 – Brian May – Back to the Light
1994 – Graham Bonnet – Here Comes the Night
1994 – The Kick – Tough Trip Thru Paradise
1994 – Gary Moore – Still Got the Blues
1994 – Katrina and the Waves – Turnaround
1997 – Quatarmass II – Long Road
1997 – Glenn Tipton – Baptizm of Fire
1998 – Colin Blunstone – The Light
1998 – Crossbones – Crossbones
1998 – The Cage – The Cage
1998 – Olaf Lenk – Sunset Cruise
1998 – Eddie Hardin – Wind in the Willows (live)
1998 – The Snakes – Live in Europe
1999 – Millennium – Millennium
2000 – Micky Moody – I Eat Them for Breakfast
2000 – Silver – Silver
2000 – Uli Jon Roth – Transcendental Sky Guitar
2000 – Olaf Lenk’s F.O.O.D. – Fun Stuff
2000 – Ten – Babylon AD
2000 – Company of Snakes – Burst The Bubble
2001 – Mario Fasciano – E-Thnic
2001 – Judas Priest – Demolition
2001 – Silver – Dream Machines
2001 – Rolf Munkes’ Empire – Hypnotica
2001 – Company of Snakes – Here They Go Again
2002 – Metalium – Hero Nation Chapter Three
2002 – Bernie Marsden – Big Boy Blue
2002 – Rolf Munkes’ Empire – Trading Souls
2003 – Deep Purple – Bananas
2003 – Living Loud – Living Loud
2003 – Silver – Intruder
2005 – Kimberley Rew – Essex Hideaway
2005 – Deep Purple – Rapture of the Deep
2006 – Gary Moore – Old New Ballads Blues
2008 – Don Airey – Light In The Sky
2008 – Judas Priest – Nostradamus
2011 – Saxon – Call to Arms
2011 – Wishbone Ash – Elegant Stealth
2011 – Don Airey – All Out
2012 – Deep Purple’s new album