Donald Smith Airey was born on 21 June 1948 and is an English musician who has been the keyboardist in the rock band Deep Purple since 2002, after the retirement of Jon Lord.
21 Facts About Don Airey
2.
Don Airey continued his love for music by earning a degree at the University of Nottingham and a diploma at the Royal Northern College of Music.
3.
Don Airey played on the Diary of a Madman Tour from 1981 to 1982 and appears on Blizzard of Ozz and was the only witness to Randy Rhoads's death.
4.
Don Airey joined Jethro Tull in 1987 for their tour in support of Crest of a Knave.
5.
In 1990, Don Airey recorded keyboard parts for several songs on Judas Priest's album Painkiller.
6.
Don Airey toured with the band in support of the new album.
7.
Don Airey played keyboards on the song "Darkness Be My Friend" by Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson, released on the 2002 reissue of Dickinson's debut solo album Tattooed Millionaire.
8.
Don Airey played keyboards on At Vance's mastermind Olaf Lenk's first solo album Sunset Cruise.
9.
In 2006 Don Airey featured on Gary Moore's release Old New Ballads Blues contributing to all tracks.
10.
In 2008 Don Airey released his second solo album, A Light in the Sky and recently it has been announced that another solo album from Don Airey is set to premiere in 2011.
11.
In early 2014 Don Airey joined hard rock band Hollywood Monsters where he played keyboards on the track "Move On" on the album "Big Trouble" which was released in 2014 on Mausoleum Records.
12.
On 18 January 2017, Don Airey was inducted into the Hall of Heavy Metal History.
13.
Don Airey joined Deep Purple in 2001 to fill in for an injured Jon Lord, who subsequently retired from the band.
14.
Don Airey joined the band as a full-time keyboardist in March 2002.
15.
Don 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 his Hammond A100.
16.
Don Airey uses Leslie 122 speakers and a Hughes and Kettner Puretone amplifier.
17.
For piano sounds, Don Airey uses a Kurzweil PC3K8 and uses a MOOG Voyager.
18.
Don Airey uses several rack and pedal based units such as a Roland Fantom.
19.
Don Airey is an endorsing artist for several effects companies including Neunaber Audio and TC Electronic and currently uses a Neunaber Seraphim Shimmer as well as a TC Hall of Fame Reverb and a TC Flashback Delay.
20.
In 1992, Don Airey's son suffered from a serious illness, causing him to slow down his musical activity until 1995.
21.
Don Airey is currently writing a book about his experiences in the music business.