Don Airey – K2

K2 was recorded in 1988 at Sarm East Studios, London, and originally released worldwide on MCA Records. An article written by mountaineer Jim Curran about his harrowing experiences on the 1986 expedition to K2 that claimed the life of 12 climbers inspired it. The music was completed after meeting Jim at his house in Sheffield where he talked of his friends Al Rouse and Julie Tullis, who both died in a blizzard at the summit having become the first UK climbers to conquer the peak.

The album has been re-mastered and a bonus track (Take me Home) added, and depicts both the savage mystery that is K2, and the ascent of the climbers to a destiny that engulfs them. However it must be said that it is about something else altogether.

The album notably features the talents of the late great Cozy Powell on drums, Gary Moore on guitar, and Chris Thompson, Colin Blunstone and Mel Galley on vocals and was engineered and mixed by Rene Hill (Pet Shop Boys, Seal, Grace Jones etc)