Tony Iommi posted on Facebook page August 10 2020 his reaction to the recent passing of Producer Martin Birch.
He said
"So shocked to hear the sad news of Martin Birch’s passing.
Martin was a lovely guy and a great producer - he produced Heaven and Hell and The Mob Rules for Sabbath. He will be deeply missed and my thoughts go out to his family. R.I.P."
Tony
Black Sabbath Heaven and Hell Album Artwork Vertigo
Whitesnake's David Coverdale has confirmed the passing of one of Rock/Hard Rock/Metal veteran producers Martin Birch. Birch was 71 years old. Cause of death unknown
Photo- back cover Iron Maiden Killers EMI
David Coverdale Wrote on Twitter August 9 2020
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 & fan"
Martin Birch (born 27 December 1948) is a British music producer and sound engineer, who became renowned for engineering and producing albums by British rock bands including Deep Purple, Rainbow, Fleetwood Mac, Whitesnake, Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, and Iron Maiden.
Martin Birch was born on 27 December 1948 in Woking, Surrey. He began his career in music as an audio engineer with Jeff Beck, Fleetwood Mac and Deep Purple, producing and engineering eleven albums for the latter. In 1980, coming from the "Deep Purple camp", he was called upon by Black Sabbath for Heaven and Hell; their previous albums had been self-produced and they were happy to let Birch, who had worked with Ronnie James Dio before, produce them. His "bright midrange" on the album is especially noted. In 1981 he began a long tenure working exclusively with Iron Maiden, producing and engineering Killers and retiring from working with other bands for a while.
Birch has also produced and engineered albums for numerous artists, such as Deep Purple-related projects (Rainbow, Paice Ashton Lord, Whitesnake, Roger Glover, Jon Lord), but also Wayne County & the Electric Chairs. On Fleetwood Mac's album Mystery to Me (1973) he is also credited playing acoustic guitar.
The song "Hard Lovin' Man" from the Deep Purple album Deep Purple in Rock is dedicated to him : "For Martin Birch - catalyst".
He retired in 1992, after producing Iron Maiden's Fear of the Dark album. Birch appears in Iron Maiden's music video "Holy Smoke".
Source Wikipedia
Some monumental albums that were produced by Martin Birch
Deep Purple Machine Head is the sixth studio album released by the English rock band Deep Purple. It was recorded during December 1971
Black Sabbath Heaven and Hell is the ninth studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath, released on 25 April 1980.
Iron Maiden Killers is the second studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was first released on 2 February 1981
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