“If somebody’s got an alcohol problem or a drug problem, there’s nothing you can do”: the epic life of Don Airey, the man who has worked with Ozzy Osbourne, Ritchie Blackmore and Gary Moore and lived to tell the tale

A portrait of Don Airey.

Don Airey has a theory about the great guitarists. “They’re insecure,” he says. “All of them. A lot of the best guitarists don’t know how they do what they do; it’s like it comes from another world, almost. When you’re a keyboard player you just read music and play it. That’s easy.”

This is typical Don Airey. You’d be hard-pushed to find a more self-effacing musician, especially one who has played keyboards with some of the greatest acts in rock history: Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, Deep Purple, Gary Moore, Whitesnake…