Phil Spector death: Ronnie Spector breaks silence on death of ‘lousy husband’ and convicted murderer

Former music producer died in jail, having been convicted of murdering actor Lana Clarkson in 2003

Ronnie Spector has broken her silence on the death of her former husband, convicted murderer and former music producer Phil Spector, who has died.

Spector, who was serving a life sentence for murdering the actor Lana Clarkson in 2003, died in prison on 16 January. He was 81.

Ronnie Spector, who was married to the Grammy Award-winner from 1968 until 1974, remembered him as “a brilliant producer but a lousy husband”.

“It’s a sad day for music and a sad day for me,” Spector wrote on her Instagram. “When I was working with Phil Spector, watching him create in the recording studio, I knew I was working with the very best. He was in complete control, directing everyone. So much to love about those days.”

She continued: “Meeting him and falling in love was like a fairytale. The magical music we were able to make together, was inspired by our love. I loved him madly, and gave my heart and soul to him. As I said many times while he was alive, he was a brilliant producer, but a lousy husband.”

Spector added that her former husband was “not able to live and function outside of the recording studio”, and that “darkness set in, [and] many lives were damaged”.

In her 1990 memoir, Be My Baby, Spector wrote that she was subjected to years of psychological abuse by her former husband, who kept her imprisoned in his California mansion and forbade her from making music or leaving the house without a bodyguard present. Spector famously fled the mansion, and their marriage, while barefoot, as her husband had stolen all of her shoes to prevent her from leaving.

She also claimed that he repeatedly threatened to kill her, and that she forfeited all future record earnings in their 1974 divorce settlement due to his threats.

Phil Spector rose to fame working with Ronnie Spector’s former pop group The Ronettes, and served as a producer on albums by acts including The Beatles, The Crystals and The Ramones.

He was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in 2003 after Clarkson was found shot dead in his California home. Four women testified against Spector in court, all of whom recalled being threatened with a gun by the producer after they rejected his advances.

In the wake of Spector’s death, singer Darlene Love reflected on the “controlling” producer, comparing their relationship to “a bad marriage”.