Tributes have poured in for legendary producer Martin Birch, whose death was confirmed by Whitesnake’s David Coverdale in a tweet on August 9. He was 71.
“It is with a very heavy heart I’ve just had verified my very dear friend & producer Martin Birch has passed away,” wrote Coverdale. “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.”
At the time of writing no cause of death has been issued.
Birch was one of the most highly respected producers/engineers in rock, having worked with everyone from Fleetwood Mac and Jeff Beck through to Wishbone Ash, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Blue Oyster Cult and Heaven & Hell.
He is, however, most closely associated with Iron Maiden, having helmed all of the group’s albums between 1981’s Killers and 1992’s Fear Of The Dark. He retired from the music industry shortly after the release of the latter.
A host of names have taken to social media to celebrate Birch’s remarkable legacy.
RIP Martin Birch (1948 – 2020)
— Iron Maiden (@IronMaiden) August 10, 2020
A man of many nicknames… and simply one of the greatest people we have ever worked with.https://t.co/ngCVfFKyNS#IronMaiden #MartinBirch #Legend pic.twitter.com/AYXRSHTjTf
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
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.
— Official Dio (@OfficialRJDio) August 9, 2020
"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
R.I.P. Martin Birch, a man who helped define my listening in the 80s. Purple, Rainbow, Whitesnake, Blue Oyster Cult and perhaps most importantly Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden. Lucky enough to meet him a couple of times. Lovely man with some great stories.
— Jerry Ewing (@TheJerryEwing) August 10, 2020
Really sad to hear about Martin Birch passing away, incredible producer of Deep Purple, Iron Maiden as well as many others ????
— Steven Battelle (@StevenJBattelle) August 9, 2020
So sad to hear of the passing of my all time Favorite producer Martin Birch. He produced a lot of my fave albums and bands like Deep Purple, Rainbow, Blue Oyster Cult, Iron Maiden and so many more classics. RIP #ripmartinbirch
— Brian Slagel (@brianslagel) August 9, 2020
Photo: Getty
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