IRON MAIDEN Guitarist ADRIAN SMITH On Passing Of Producer MARTIN BIRCH - "I Was Shocked, Really... He Was Quite Young Still"
August 17, 2020, 4 years ago
Iron Maiden's Adrian Smith has commented on the passing of producer Martin Birch, expressing his shock and calling it; "very sad". The guitarist who worked with Birch for almost a decade during his initial tenure in Iron Maiden in the 1980s, made the comments while speaking to eonmusic about his book Monsters Of River & Rock.
Birch, who passed away on August 9, produced a run of Iron Maiden albums that began with Killers in 1981, and culminated with 1992's Fear Of The Dark'
Said Adrian; "Well, firstly, it was very sad when he passed away. I was shocked, really, I mean, he was quite young still. He was only 71".
The guitarist went on to detail his first encounter with Martin, with whom he first worked with during the 1981 Killers session. Said Smith: "Martin obviously did a lot of great bands; before us he did Purple and Sabbath. He was great, but he was a bit intimidating at first, because he had this big reputation."
Adrian continued; "I’d never been in the studio to do a proper album before; I mean, I could hardly eat in the week leading up to going in the studio. But he had an air of authority about him because of his reputation."
Smith also detailed Birch's martial arts prowess, which, he said, the producer would demonstrate at the most inopportune moments; "He also - as he reminded us on many occasion - he was a karate black belt, and there’s a few stories about that in the book; if he had a few drinks after a [recording] session, he’d start doing his karate routine and practising his kicks and his chops in the studio; you’d see all the roadies scurrying around moving the guitars out of the way in case he kicked the headstock off a vintage Les Paul or something!"
Read eonmusic's interview with Adrian Smith from Tuesday 18th August, where he chats about 'Monsters of River & Rock, songwriting, studio sessions, 'Somewhere in Time', A.S.a.P and more, at www.eonmusic.co.uk.
Monsters Of River & Rock: My Life As Iron Maiden's Compulsive Angler is the new memoir from Adrian Smith, to be released on September 3 via Virgin Books. Adrian tells us a bit about his forthcoming book in this new video:
“Back at the hotel, I sat back, glass of wine in hand, and studied the tour itinerary... Let’s see, Hartford, Connecticut... big carp in the Connecticut river... Montreal, smallmouth bass in the St Lawrence... Winnipeg, always fancied having a go for those big catfish in the Red river... and so on. The endless road and winding river...”
Adrian Smith, the legendary lead guitarist of 100-million-album-selling band Iron Maiden, is well known in the Maiden community as a fisherman, and a former cover star of coarse-fishing bible the Angler's Mail (biggest chub of the season, August 2009). In his first, very personal, riverside memoir, Monsters Of River & Rock, Smith takes us with him on his incredible journey, through the highs and lows of life on tour, and on the river-bank, as his fishing gear travels with him across the world.
Adrian got hooked on fishing as a child growing up in East London, plundering ponds and bomb craters on the Hackney Marshes for newts and sticklebacks and catching perch from the Grand Union Canal whilst on outings with his father. Things began to get more exotic when the young angling enthusiast grew up to become lead guitarist in one of the most successful rock bands in history, and started travelling the world playing to many millions of fans. But once a fisherman, always a fisherman. The gear went with him, the fish got bigger, the adventures more extreme.
Welcome to the world of Adrian Smith, as he clocks in to his day job furthering the geographical boundaries of hard rock, and clocks off to explore far-flung rivers, seas, waterways, lakes and pools on his fearless quest for fishing nirvana. His adventures range from his first sturgeon, a whopping 100-pounder from Canada’s swirling Fraser River that nearly wiped him out mid-Maiden tour, to a close shave with a large shark off the Virgin Islands whilst wading waist-deep for bonefish. Not to mention an enviable list of specimen coarse fish from the UK.
Charming, funny, and moving in equal measure, Monsters Of River & Rock is the ultimate fishing-fantasy armchair read, and is also the story of a rock star in a fast-moving world who seeks peace and tranquillity at the water’s edge - wherever he is.
Adrian Smith was born in Hackney, East London, on 27th February 1957. He joined Iron Maiden at the end of 1980. Adrian is the band member who has collaborated on the most side projects outside of Iron Maiden, as well as writing and recording a series of albums in the early '90s, before rejoining the band. Iron Maiden have sold 100 million albums, and tour the world playing to millions of fans. Onstage, Adrian uses Jackson and Gibson guitars. Offstage, he is an avid tennis player, however his main hobby is fishing. He takes his rod and gear out on tour with him wherever he goes. This is his first book.
