Don Airey Musician Country: Great Britain

Biography of Don Airey

Don Airey, a musician, was born in June 1948 in Sunderland, United Kingdom. He attended music school, focusing on piano, while also developing a passion for jazz and rock. During this time, Don began performing in bars and clubs, playing the Hammond organ. He later graduated from the University of Nottingham and obtained a diploma from the Royal Northern College of Music.

In 1972, Don embarked on his career as a professional musician and spent some time earning a living by playing on cruise ships and resorts in Africa, Florida, and the Far East. In 1974, he settled in London and joined the band Hammer, founded by renowned drummer Cozy Powell. The band also included guitarist Bernie Marsden, who later gained fame as a member of Whitesnake. Hammer successfully toured, but Cozy Powell was eventually invited to join Rainbow with Ritchie Blackmore, while Don Airey found himself in the ranks of the cult British fusion band Colosseum II. With Colosseum II, he recorded three albums: "Strange New Flesh" (1976), "Electric Savage" (1976), and "Wardance" (1977). During this time, Don also began a long-term collaboration with musicians such as Gary Moore and Neil Murray, who later became members of Whitesnake, Black Sabbath, Peter Green, Brian May, and others.

In 1977, Don participated in the recording of Andrew Lloyd Webber's album "Variations" and Gary Moore's debut solo album "Back on the Streets." Don was responsible for arranging the theme that later became the famous blues hit "Parisienne Walkways." In 1978, Colosseum II disbanded, and Don Airey joined Black Sabbath to record the album "Never Say Die." Shortly after, Cozy Powell invited Don to join Rainbow, and by the end of 1978, Don became a full-fledged member of the band. With Rainbow, he recorded the albums "Down To Earth" (1979) and "Difficult To Cure" (1981). In late 1981, Ritchie Blackmore decided to bring fresh blood into Rainbow, leading Don to leave the band and join a new project led by Ozzy Osbourne. During his tenure in Rainbow, Don had also recorded keyboards for Ozzy Osbourne's debut solo album "Blizzard of Oz," as well as played on Michael Schenker Group's debut album (1980), Cozy Powell's solo album "Over the Top," and Bernie Marsden's solo album "And About Time, Too."

From 1981 to 1985, Don worked with Ozzy Osbourne, contributing to the album "Bark at the Moon." Afterward, he collaborated with Gary Moore, Alaska (Bernie Marsden's band), and others. In 1987, Don recorded keyboard parts for Whitesnake's commercially successful album "Whitesnake'87." He also toured with the legendary Jethro Tull and participated in the recording of their Grammy-winning album "Crest of a Knave." In early 1988, Don started working on his long-awaited solo album "K2," featuring Gary Moore and Cozy Powell. However, the album had limited release in Germany and Japan in 1989 and did not achieve commercial success. Don returned to collaborate with Whitesnake and participated in the recording of their next album, "Slip of the Tongue" (1990). In the fall of 1989, he once again joined Gary Moore in the production of albums "After the War" (1989) and "Still Got the Blues" (1990), where he played all the Hammond parts and did orchestration.

In the 1990s, Don continued recording and touring with artists such as Brian May ("Back to the Light," 1993), Cozy Powell ("The Drums are Back," 1992), Judas Priest ("Painkiller," 1990), Glenn Tipton ("Baptizm of Fire," 1997), Mickey Moody ("I Eat them for Breakfast," 2000), Uli Jon Roth ("Transcendental Sky Guitar," 2000), G3, and many others. In 1997, he even contributed to the Eurovision Song Contest, orchestrating and conducting the orchestra during Katrina & the Waves' performance, which won first place. In 1999, a remastered edition of Don's album "K2" was released. In the last two years, Don collaborated with the band Company of Snakes (Bernie Marsden, Mickey Moody, and Neil Murray).

In the summer of 2001, Roger Glover invited Don to replace John Lord on tour, as he underwent knee surgery. Don successfully performed on Deep Purple's European tour. In 2001, Don concluded the year by touring with Graham Bonnet under the name Graham Bonnet & Don Airey Band, featuring the former Rainbow vocalist from 1979-1980.