THE HIT MAN

Five ingredients of the Spector legend, explained

THE WALL OF SOUND:

“It was a combination of sound leakage, and the echo,” says Carol Kaye. “And they started playing around with that sound because they liked it. (Gold Star Studios owner)Dave Gold ran the echo through the women’s rest room. You couldn’t flush the lavatory during a take…”

THE GUNS:

“George (Brand) was licensed to carry, and so was Phil. There were guns, but they never came out in the studio,” says Marky Ramone. “He never pointed them at anybody.”

THE BODYGUARD:

“Phil had this guy called George, who sort of…kept track of things for him,” says Dan Richter. “He was probably there to keep Phil out of trouble. You have to understand, Phil could be quite colourful.”

THE MANSION:

“Once you went through those gates, they were locked,” says Marky Ramone. “It was funny, because every time we’d see the dead moths on the wire, that got electrocuted.”

THE BEVERAGE:

“He drank Manichewitz table wine, which was a Jewish holiday wine which people would drink on occasion, but he would have it in the studio,” says Marky Ramone.

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Pic credit: PA Photos