Don Airey

Don Airey is a keyboard artist currently best known as a member of the rock band Deep Purple since 2002. Airey joined the group to replace the injured and soon-retired keyboardist Jon Lord. Airey has a career spanning five decades, having played in Black Sabbath and Rainbow in the 1970s; Ozzy Osbourne’s solo projects, Jethro Tull, and Whitesnake in the 1980s; Judas Priest and Iron Maiden in the 1990s.

Airey’s prolific career has also extended to session music work as a guest member of such diverse acts as Thin Lizzy, UFO, Glenn Tipton, and Saxon. Among the most notable albums he has performed on are Rainbow’s “Down to Earth,” Osbourne’s “Blizzard of Ozz” and “Bark at the Moon,” and Empire’s “Hypnotica.” Airey has been inducted into the Hall of Heavy Metal History. As of this writing he is currently writing his own autobiography about his experiences in the music world.