Chapter one: the Vancouver beginnings
Fairbairn came up through Vancouver's studio scene — the Prism years (see our Prism feature), the production craft honed on the local records, the sound developing: the gleam and the crunch (see our Vancouver-sound feature) that would define his work.
Chapter two: the imperial run (1986–1993)
The run: AC/DC's The Razors Edge (see our features) — the thunder captured; Aerosmith's Permanent Vacation (see our features) and Pump (see our features) — the comeback crafted; **Bon* *Jovi's** Slippery When Wet (see our features) — the gloss perfected. The records sold (see our chart features) in (see our features) the tens of millions (see our features); the sound (see our features) defined (see our features) the era (see our 80s features).
Chapter three: the legacy
The legacy (see our features): the Vancouver sound (see our Vancouver-sound feature) as (see our features) the world standard (see our features), the Armoury studio (see our Armoury feature) as (see our features) the dream room (see our features), the craft (see our craft feature) as (see our features) the lesson (see our teachers feature). Fairbairn (see our features) proved (see our features) the Canadian producer (see our producers feature) could (see our features) shape (see our features) the global sound (see our export feature) — the wall of sound (see our features) built (see our features) north (see our features) of (see our features) the border (see our features). The (see our features) gloss (see our features) holds (see our features). The (see our features) crunch (see our features) endures (see our features).
Frequently asked questions
Who was Bruce Fairbairn?
A Vancouver producer — AC/DC, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi’s biggest records, the Armoury studio’s founder.
What was Fairbairn’s sound?
The gleam and the crunch — the Vancouver sound as the world standard.
What happened to Bruce Fairbairn?
He died in 1999 — the legacy secure, the Armoury studio his monument.