Ian Bairnson

John "Ian" Bairnson (3 August 1953 – 7 April 2023) was a Scottish musician and member of Pilot and the Alan Parsons Project. He was a multi-instrumentalist, who played saxophone and keyboards, but mainly performed as a guitarist, which he played with a sixpence. In addition to his work with Parsons, Bairnson played guitar on four Kate Bush albums, including the guitar solo on her 1978 debut single, "Wuthering Heights".

Early life Bairnson was born in Lerwick, Shetland, on 3 August 1953. 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. Bairnson learned how to play the guitar when he was six.

Bairnson was born John but christened Ian. He also remained with Parsons after the dissolution of the Project, playing guitar and saxophone in the studio and as part of the live band and also writing several songs for the albums Try Anything Once, The Very Best Live, On Air and The Time Machine.

In 2019, Bairnson added guitar solos to two songs from Alan Parsons' new album, The Secret, specifically the tracks "Years of Glory" and "I Can't Get There from Here".

Additional work Bairnson played on Kate Bush's first four albums The Kick Inside (1978) On her Facebook page, she subsequently announced that Bairnson had died on 7 April 2023, following a long period suffering from dementia. He was 69.

Albums discography

With Pilot

From the Album of the Same Name (1974) Second Flight (1975) Morin Heights (1976) Two's a Crowd (1977) Blue Yonder (2002) A Pilot Project (2014)

With The Alan Parsons Project

Tales of Mystery and Imagination (1976) I Robot (1977) Pyramid (1978) Eve (1979) The Turn of a Friendly Card (1980) Eye in the Sky (1982) Ammonia Avenue (1984) Vulture Culture (1985) Stereotomy (1985) Gaudi (1987) Freudiana (1990) The Sicilian Defence (2014)

With Kate Bush

The Kick Inside (1978) Lionheart (1978) Never for Ever (1980) The Dreaming (1982)

With Buckz Fizz

Bucks Fizz (1981) Are You Ready (1982) Hand Cut (1983) I Hear Talk (1984) Writing on the Wall (1986)

Others As a session player, Bairnson played on over 100 albums for various artists including David Courtney, Billy Lyall, Hudson Ford, Steve Harley, Rab Noakes, Chris de Burgh, John Townley, Lenny Zakatek, Eberhard Schoener, Jon Anderson, Elaine Paige, Mick Fleetwood, Bananarama, Esther Ofarim, Panarama, Akira Inoue, Rick Cua, Julia Downes, Andrew Powell, Keats, Kenny Rogers, Mari Iijima, Uwe Buschkötter, David Sylvian, Anri, James Reyne, Nobuhide Saki, Thomas Anders, Masamichi Sugi, Eric Woolfson, Yukio Sasaki, Yui Asaka, Kyoko Koizumi, Miss Thi, Chage & Aska, Marie Claire, Tom Jones, David Paton, Tam White, Marian Gold, Beverley Craven, Jim Diamond, Marajan, Alan Parsons, Mary Mac, Jargon, Manolo García, Chris Rainbow, Alfonso XII, Carola, Chris Norman, Liverpool Express, 101 South, Leslie Mándoki, and Jelone.