John Bairnson was born on 3 August 1953 in Lerwick in Shetland, and was named John as were all the men in his family, but when he joined Pilot he used the opportunity to change his name to Ian. He grew up in Levenwick, also in Shetland, before his family moved to Edinburgh, Midlothian, when he was nine years old, following the death of his father. He learned how to play the guitar when he was six, but was also proficient on keyboards and saxophone, and following stints with a few bands in his youth, such as East West and Ears, by the early 70's he was earning his living as a session musician. In 1974 he joined former Bay City Rollers musicians David Paton and Billy Lyall to record some tracks for their band Pilot's debut album 'From The Album Of The Same Name', contributing the harmony guitar parts to their hit single 'Magic', and adding his guitar to 'High Into The Sky'. By the time they came to record their follow-up album 'Second Flight', Bairnson was a full-time member of the band, and their hit single 'January' was taken from the album, topping the UK singles charts in 1975. During this time with Pilot, he first collaborated with record producer Alan Parsons on his debut album 'Tales Of Mystery And Imagination - Edgar Allen Poe', and it was this relationship that helped incorporate most of Pilot's members (bassist/lead singer Paton and drummer Stuart Tosh) into the Alan Parsons Project. As a guitarist, he was featured on every Alan Parsons Project album, including the 1984 side project Keats and Eric Woolfson's rock opera 'Freudiana', contributing the distinctive guitar solo on the track 'I Wouldn't Want To Be Like You' on their 'I Robot' album in 1977.
In 1978 Bairnson played the guitar solo on Kate Bush's hit single 'Wuthering Heights', going on to play on her first four albums, and in 1981 he started a collaboration with Eurovision winners Bucks Fizz, playing guitar on their 1981 eponymous record, and co-writing two of their Top 20 hits, 'If You Can't Stand The Heat' in 1982, and 'Run For Your Life' in 1983. His session work continued after Pilot took a break in 1977, and during this part of his career he played on more than a hundred albums in different styles, for artists such as Yvonne Keeley, Joe Cocker, Jon Anderson, Chris DeBurgh, Mick Fleetwood, and Neil Diamond, as well as playing live with Sting, Eric Clapton, Beverley Craven, and even appearing on Paul McCartney's 'Mull Of Kintyre' single. When anyone from The Project needed a hand, you could be sure that he would help out, and so Andrew Powell called him up for both the 'Ladyhawke' film soundtrack, and also his own 'Best Of The APP' album. When The Alan Parsons Project came to an end and Parsons was looking to start over, Bairnson was instrumental in helping write the next chapter of Parsons' sound, and on the 1993 'Try Anything Once' album, he not only played, but contributed four songs including 'Siren Song', and the live concert favourite 'Turn It Up'. He lived in Spain from 2003 to 2013, where he had a recording studio, and continued working as a session guitarist, but in 2018 his wife Leila announced that he had been diagnosed with a progressive neurological condition that affected his communication skills, so he would no longer play in public. On 7 April 2023 Bairnson passed away at the age of 69, following a long battle with dementia. I've always thought that Pilot were a very under-rated band, and am particularly fond of Bairnson's guitar-work on their 1976 album 'Morin Heights', and so I hope that this collection of his work for other artists throughout his musical career will serve as a fitting tribute to a guitarist who was well known amongst his peers for his fluid guitar style, but who never seemed destined to reach the heights of some of his contemporaries.
Track listing
Disc One
01 High In The Sky (from 'From The Album Of The Same Name' by Pilot 1974)
02 The Raven (from 'Tales Of Mystery And Imagination' by The Alan Parsons Project 1976)
03 Solo Casting (from 'Solo Casting' by William Lyall 1976)
04 95 In The Shade / Daylight (from 'Daylight' by Hudson-Ford 1977)
05 Kite (b-side of 'Wuthering Heights' by Kate Bush 1978)
06 I Wish It Would Rain (from 'Hobo With A Grin' by Steve Harley 1978)
07 Carry On (from 'Crusader' by Chris De Burgh 1979)
08 White Trails (from 'White Trails' by Chris Rainbow 1979)
09 Hear It (from 'Song Of Seven' by Jon Anderson 1980)
10 Maximum Penetration (single by Maximum Penetration 1980)
11 Far Side Of The Bay (from 'Elaine Paige' by Elaine Paige 1981)
Disc Two
01 Cassiopeia Surrender (from 'The Visitor' by Mick Fleetwood 1981)
02 Getting Kinda Lonely (from 'Bucks Fizz' by Bucks Fizz 1981)
03 Dry Ice (from 'Can This Be Paradise' by Panarama 1982)
04 One Way Out (from 'No Mystery' by Rick Cua 1983)
05 Fight To Win (from 'Keats' by Keats 1984)
06 End Titles (from the soundtrack to the film 'Ladyhawke' 1985)
07 Grand Prix (from 'Computer Energy' by Uwe Buschkötter 1986)
08 The Pages Of Your History (from 'Trouble In Paradise' by Anri 1986)
09 Upper Me (from 'Freudiana' by Freudiana 1990)
10 Lost Without You (from 'Love Scenes' by Beverley Craven 1993)
