Legendary British producer Martin Birch, best known for engineering and producing albums by Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Fleetwood Mac, Whitesnake, Blue Öyster Cult, died yesterday (Sunday, August 9th). He was 71. His passing was confirmed former Deep Purple/Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale, who tweeted: “It is with a very heavy heart I’ve just had verified my very dear friend & producer Martin Birch has passed away. “Martin was a huge part of my life…helping me from the first time we met through until Slide It In…
“My thoughts & prayers to his family, friends & fans…Broken heart”
Birch began his career in music as an audio engineer with Jeff Beck, Fleetwood Mac and Deep Purple. In 1981, he kicked off a long tenure working with Maiden, producing their first nine albums, from “Iron Maiden” to “Fear Of The Dark”. He also produced and engineered LPs for various Deep Purple-related projects (Rainbow, Paice Ashton Lord, Whitesnake, Roger Glover, Jon Lord). The song “Hard Lovin’ Man” from the Deep Purple album “Deep Purple In Rock” is dedicated to him. He retired in 1992, after producing “Fear Of The Dark” album for Iron Maiden. We send our sympathies to his family, friends, and fans at this time.
It is with a very heavy heart I’ve just had verified my very dear friend & producer Martin Birch has passed away…Martin was a huge part of my life…helping me from the first time we met through until Slide It In…Mt thoughts & prayers to his family, friends & fans…💔💔 pic.twitter.com/J4UyDiG9zR
— David Coverdale (@davidcoverdale) August 9, 2020
A Gloriously Talented, Loving Man…Will Be Sadly Missed …Martin Birch R.I.P. https://t.co/0xKO6pdBtq
— David Coverdale (@davidcoverdale) August 9, 2020
What a loss. RIP Martin Birch.
To say he was my biggest influence as a record producer would be an understatement. pic.twitter.com/JseecxUhTd— Jay Ruston (@jayruston) August 9, 2020
Really sad to hear of the passing of Martin Birch. Brilliant producer. Had the pleasure of working with him on the Black Sabbath albums #HeavenandHell and #MobRules. Condolences to Vera and family. #RIPMartin pic.twitter.com/FPZajWRvpN
— Geezer Butler (@geezerbutler) August 9, 2020
RIP Martin Birch. Legendary producer of countless albums by Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Deep Purple, Whitesnake, Iron Maiden & more.
"My thoughts & prayers go out to his wife Vera & his daughter Haley. He was a genius producer & a very dear friend of Ronnie’s. May he RIP"- Wendy Dio pic.twitter.com/9GTqNs36WC
— Official Dio (@OfficialRJDio) August 9, 2020
https://twitter.com/ellefsondavid/status/1292621635279781888?
RIP #martinbirch , he produced the Sounds to Most of our lives #tones #producer @IronMaiden @BlackSabbath
— Charlie Benante (@skisum) August 10, 2020