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)