Marky Ramone has stated that he “has to believe” late producer Phil Spector’s claim that he was innocent in the 2003 murder of actor Lana Clarkson.
Spector, who died in prison of Covid-19 in 2021, aged 81, was found guilty and sentenced to 19 years to life in 2009 after the initial 2007 case ended in a mistrial.
Born Marc Steven Bell, the musician – who replaced drummer Tommy Ramone in the Ramones in 1978 – claimed that Spector told him “the real story and everything that happened”.
“It sounded like he was innocent, with all due respect to the actress, Lana Clarkson,” he told the i Paper. “But that’s his story. Do I know if it’s true or not? I don’t know. I have to believe what he told me. Why would he lie to me?”
When it was pointed out that Spector was found guilty, Bell responded: “Well, justice prevailed, and that’s the way it goes. In LA they didn’t get OJ Simpson. They didn’t get Robert Blake. They had, in my opinion, to get Phil to make an example.”
American football player and actor Simpson was found not guilty in 1995 of the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
Actor Robert Blake was acquitted of the murder of his second wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, in 2005 but found liable in civil court for her wrongful death and ordered to pay Bakley's family $30m (£25m).
Ramones worked with Spector in 1980 to record their fifth album, End of a Century, with the producer’s techniques famously causing enormous tension among the band’s members.
Bell confirmed that Spector brought his guns to the studio – he notoriously held a gun to Leonard Cohen’s neck in another session – but denied a longstanding rumour that he held the band hostage.
“[Spector] had guns with him,” he said. “But he never pointed a gun at us in the studio.”
Bell’s claim is at odds with his late bandmates, including Dee Dee who wrote in his autobiography that Spector once pointed a gun at his head and forced him and the band back into his piano room.
Bell remained close with Spector after they finished recording End of a Century, attending parties he hosted and spending time with him in LA. He also went to support Spector in court, during the trial in which he was found guilty of murdering Clarkson at his LA mansion.
Ramones formed in Queens, New York, in 1974 and are widely regarded as one of the most influential punk bands, with their self-titled debut attracting critical raves.
They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. All four original members – Joey, Dee Dee, Johnny and Tommy – had died by 2014.
Bell is touring the UK as Marky Ramone from 21 January.
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