It’s very doubtless that Don Airey seems on a number of of your most treasured albums. The unique keyboard kingpin, that’s Don on all the perfect post-Dio Rainbow albums. That’s Don on Ozzy’s Blizzard Of Ozz. That’s Don on Whitesnake 1987, some albums by Gary Moore, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and, for the previous three a long time, Deep Purple’s.
As Don says: “I prefer to hold busy.” So in addition to the very lengthy checklist of classes he’s accomplished and bands he’s toured with, he makes solo albums. His newest, Pushed To The Edge, is improbable: deeper than Purple, extra moreish than Moore, the wonderful spirit of basic Whitesnake and Rainbow absolutely intact.
Initially, the brand new album. It’s superior.
I’m glad you prefer it. I did an interview final evening, and the man stated to me: “It’s a cracking album.” I stated, “What? You suppose it’s a crappy album?”
How do you resolve which songs to maintain in your solo albums and which to supply to Deep Purple?
The document firm needed one other solo album, so I phoned [Purple guitarist] Simon McBride and stated: “What are you doing tomorrow?” He stated: “Nothing a lot.” I stated: “All proper, you’ve bought a aircraft ticket.” We had a number of days with [Nazareth vocalist] Carl Sentance, all sitting in a room, then we went within the studio for 5 days and that’s what got here out.
The place did you document it?
There’s a studio outdoors Cambridge in a spot known as Harston. It’s run by the son of a really outdated buddy of mine. It’s bought an enormous outdated analogue desk and he’s a shit-hot engineer. Every day I’d be up at half previous 5 within the morning and work out what we had been going to do. We tried to do two tracks a day, then begin the third monitor for the subsequent day, get just a little little bit of prep in.
Simon instructed me that on the finish of the day that the fellows had been going out to the automotive park like: “Phew, we bought via that! I ponder what the outdated boy’s going to provide us tomorrow?” Leonard Bernstein stated: “What you want for good work is a plan, however not fairly sufficient time to place it into operation.” He was fairly proper.
Among the new album sounds such as you’re channelling a few of the bands you’ve performed with. Like They Maintain Operating, which makes me consider Rainbow.
Yeah, the riff on the refrain may be very Blackmoreish. Ritchie might be very off-the-wall. He was nice at placing music collectively, so it stored shocking you. I’ve all the time been impressed by that. I’d say to the fellows: “We’re not hidebound right here by size of solos. In the event you actually need to go into one, go into one.” That was the rule, fairly than the exception. I used to be actually attempting to make an album that was like a gig, like we had been enjoying in a membership.
There’s just one music that’s three minutes lengthy, the remaining are throughout 4 minutes. So musically it stretched out. And I used to be attempting to make it a bit extra symphonic, totally different actions in several songs. One other factor I attempted to do is one thing The Beatles all the time did, which is if you get to the tip of 1 quantity, the subsequent quantity is in a distinct key, however it’s form of associated. That’s all the time enjoyable to do.
And also you recorded it old-school, enjoying collectively as a band?
We had been all in the identical room because the drums, however we had the bass amp in a single room and the guitar stack in one other room. I had a Leslie and a Marshall stack in one other compartment. So it actually labored. It was a bit cramped, however I feel that added to the ambiance.
Do you may have a private favorite monitor on the album?
Yeah, I like Out Of Focus. Impressed by Focus, who’re one in all my all-time favorite bands. Thijs van Leer, what a beautiful musician and organ participant. He has been an inspiration to me for years. That’s my little tribute to him, actually. There’s an organ solo the place I play a little bit of Bach, as a result of Thijs was all the time enjoying Bach – [1972 Focus song] Sylvia, for instance.
And I like The Energy To Change. It options our second vocalist, Mitchel Emms, who no one has heard of, however he was on Strictly Come Dancing for a few years, singing within the band there. He was additionally on The Voice. Mitchel sings with choirs. Final time we talked, he stated: “I’m out doing a dance with Ballet Rambert.” I may solely think about.
It’s a really up-sounding document. You sound such as you’re actually having fun with yourselves.
The band is sort of a facet challenge I’ve had going for ten years, and we tour yearly for 3 weeks doing golf equipment in Europe. On a tour bus with a trailer. And no one ever got here off the tour saying: “Oh, I’m glad that’s over.” It could be: “When are we doing this once more?”
Will you be touring the solo album this 12 months?
Hopefully. Issues have modified now with all of the Brexit nonsense. [Financially] it’s fairly tough for a small band to tour if you happen to’re solely doing halls and golf equipment. In the event you’re an enormous band, there’s no downside. However there’s reams of paperwork and god-knows what, so we’ll see. I haven’t actually toured this band since earlier than lockdown.
Any 2025 plans for Deep Purple?
I solely got here off the highway with Purple on the nineteenth of December. So we’re having a little bit of a break. As soon as the mud has settled down a bit we will look to the long run, I ought to suppose.
You as soon as instructed me a improbable story a few Rainbow present: how Ritchie used to lean again dramatically in opposition to his stack whereas soloing. He’d have roadies on the opposite facet of it holding it up so he didn’t fall over. This explicit gig, they didn’t get there in time, so instantly there he’s toppling backwards…
I’ll always remember it. The Sofia Gardens, Cardiff, 1980, on the Down To Earth tour. Ritchie form of gave me a wave as he was falling backwards and pointed. That was my cue to do a ten-minute keyboard solo.
Pushed To The Edge is out now through earMUSIC