Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple Producer Martin Birch Dead At 71

Acclaimed producer Martin Birch, best known for his work on legendary albums with Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, died on Sunday (August 9th) at the age of 71.

Birch produced some of the biggest albums for Iron Maiden including "Number Of The Beast". He worked with band from their sophomore album "Killers" through 1992's "Fear Of The Dark".

His credits also include Deep Purple's "Machine Head", "Deep Purple in Rock" "Stormbringer", "Burn" and more. He also produced Rainbow's early albums and went on to work with Ronnie James Dio again on Black Sabbath's "Heaven and Hell" and "Mob Rules" albums.

Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale paid tribute by saying "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..."

Black Sabbath's Geezer Butler tweeted, "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".

Wendy Dio tweeted, "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"

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