Martin Birch, producer for Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and more, dies aged 71

Martin Birch, the producer whose bright but heavy sound was applied to classic albums by Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and more, has died aged 71. No cause of death has been announced.

Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale 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.”

Birch was born in Woking, Surrey, in 1948, and worked first as an engineer, earning early credits on debut albums by the Faces and Wishbone Ash, plus Jeff Beck’s Beck-Ola. He also began the first of many longstanding band relationships with Fleetwood Mac, working on five albums between 1969 and 1973, and Deep Purple, working on 11 albums with them including two UK No 1s, Fireball and Machine Head.

He continued working with Wishbone Ash, engineering their prog classic Argus, and from the mid-70s established his pop-leaning hard rock aesthetic where heavy rhythm sections and intricate guitar lines – often two at a time – would be rendered in great clarity.

He worked on multiple albums with Rainbow, Blue Öyster Cult and Whitesnake, and helped Black Sabbath freshen up their heavy metal sound after Ronnie James Dio took over from Ozzy Osbourne on vocals. Birch produced their albums Heaven and Hell (1980) and Mob Rules (1981). Bassist Geezer Butler said he was “really sad” to hear of Birch’s death, while Dio’s widow Wendy said “he was a genius producer & a very dear friend of Ronnie’s. May he RIP”.

Birch’s most enduring partnership, though, came with Iron Maiden, who he started working exclusively with in the 1980s. Beginning with their second album in 1981, Killers, Birch produced a string of nine classic albums until 1992’s Fear of the Dark, three of them reaching UK No 1, including the classic The Number of the Beast. Birch described them as “my favourite band to work with … there is a great unity and nobody tries to stand out individually from the team”.

Birch retired from the music industry after Fear in the Dark, aged 42.