Legendary Iron Maiden Producer Martin Birch Dead at 71

ceedub13, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
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Legendary producer Martin Birch, best known for his work on Iron Maiden‘s most infamous albums, has died. He was 71 years old.

The news was confirmed by various rock stars who had worked with Birch over the years, notable among them Whitesnake’s David Coverdale, who wrote on his Twitter, “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…”

https://twitter.com/davidcoverdale/status/1292570882938769409

 

Born in Surrey, Birch came up as an audio engineer with the likes of Deep Purple, Jeff Beck, and Fleetwood Mac. His credits include some of rock and metal’s most important albums, among them Black Sabbath’s Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules, Rainbow’s Rising, and Whitesnake’s Slide It In. 

But it was Birch’s work on the bulk of Iron Maiden’s classic material for which metalheads will remember him. He produced, engineered, and mixed the following albums for the NWOBHM band:

  • Killers (1981)
  • The Number of the Beast (1982)
  • Piece of Mind (1983)
  • Powerslave (1984)
  • Live After Death (1985)
  • Somewhere In Time (1986)
  • Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
  • No Prayer for the Dying (1990)
  • Fear of the Dark (1991)

So basically, the backbone of heavy metal as we know it.

Other rock royalty have also paid tribute to Martin on social media, with Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler tweeting, “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“

Ronnie James Dio’s official Twitter account wrote, “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”

Everyone at The Pit sends their heart out to Martin’s friends, family, loved ones and collaborators during this difficult time.

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Words by Chris Krovatin

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