DON AIREY To Sit Out DEEP PURPLE Concert Due To Illness; ADAM WAKEMAN To Fill In

Due to "unforeseen illness", DEEP PURPLE keyboardist Don Airey will sit out the band's December 17 concert at Bandland festival in Bengaluru, India. Filling in for him at the gig will be Adam Wakeman (BLACK SABBATH, OZZY OSBOURNE).

Bandland is promoted and produced by BookMyShow Live, the events arm of India's leading ticketing portal BookMyShow. The event is scheduled for December 16 and December 17 at the Embassy International Riding School Ground, Bengaluru.

Earlier today (Friday, December 15),DEEP PURPLE released the following statement via social media: "Due to unforeseen illness, Don Airey is unable to perform at Bandland in Bengaluru later this month. Don is hugely disappointed not to be performing with the band in India, but wishes all fans a fantastic night in Bengaluru on 17th December. Adam Wakeman (BLACK SABBATH, OZZY OSBOURNE) will be performing with DEEP PURPLE at Bandland in Bengaluru on 17th December."

It is hard to find a name amongst all those that over the last 35 years have left their mark in the history of rock that has not utilized Don's keyboard skills at some point. The list includes OZZY OSBOURNE, RAINBOW, WHITESNAKE, JUDAS PRIEST, Gary Moore, Brian May, JETHRO TULL, BLACK SABBATH and, obviously, DEEP PURPLE, the band of which Airey has been a full-time member for over 20 years.

In 2022, the now-75-year-old Airey told Rolling Stone magazine that there is no concrete plan for him and his DEEP PURPLE bandmates to stop playing live shows.

"We started the farewell tour in 2017. It was due to end in 2019," he noted. "But the thing is, when you're a musician in a band, you think you're in control of it, but you're not. The business is running you.

"Of course, there was so much demand for the band to continue from the promoters and agents that we said, 'Okay, we'll do one more year.'"

Regarding when he thinks DEEP PURPLE will finally call it quits, Don said: "The words of T.S. Eliot [the greatest English-language poet of his generation] come to mind: 'This is the way the band ends. Not with a bang, but with a whimper.' I think we won't know it's the last gig. We won't have a clue that this one is going to be the last one. That's how it's going to end. It's going to be no big scenario.

"I like what Buddy Guy said. He said, 'Musicians don't retire. They drop.' You do have thoughts about being in the garden and bouncing the grandchildren on your knee, but it's part of your blood system, playing and touring. It's an addiction. I hope I keep playing for a while yet."

In July 2022, guitarist Steve Morse officially left PURPLE to care for his wife, Janine, who is battling cancer. He has since been replaced by Simon McBride.

DEEP PURPLE's latest album, "Turning To Crime", came out in November 2021 via earMUSIC. The LP contains DEEP PURPLE's versions of great rock classics and musical jewels — including songs originally recorded by Bob Dylan, FLEETWOOD MAC, Bob Seger, CREAM and THE YARDBIRDS — carefully chosen by each member of the band.