January 17, 2021, by Tosh Berman

 

January 17, 2021

Joe Meek and Phil Spector were only 10 years apart in regards to age. Not only did they murdered women, but also for no reason, except for their insanity. One can't avoid or put off their actions, but at the same time, one has to deal with their brilliance in their field of making or capturing music in a room. That room eventually becomes a recording. Therefore, when I hear Meek and Spector's recordings, I also think of their space and how they used that room to make magic. 

Joe was more of a science geek than a musician like Phil. One can make a reasonable argument that Spector is a better songwriter and music maker than Meek. On the other hand, Joe's approach to music is more sexual or sensual than Spector. Phil captured numerous passions that are cinematic and bold. Meek captures the essence of being an outsider and queer in a mainstream music world. Of course, the music landscape is a floating world of passions spent and explored, so nothing fits in or is contained in a box. A work of art often overcomes categories and restrictions and becomes a different medium. The quirky personalities and murderous rage adds a side story or brings out a more nuanced narration. Nevertheless, I adore the aural magic produced by Phil Spector and Joe Meek. 

My father, Wallace Berman, was never far away from a turntable or jukebox in life. He was devoted to the Righteous Brothers' recording of "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling," co-written and produced by Phil Spector. Rarely he titled his artwork, but he did so with that song title. The work is also a portrait of Spector. Phil came by the studio and purchased the work from my dad. After that, it disappeared. I'm not sure if he still had the artwork in his collection, or he may have sold it. I'm hoping that it's not lost in the collection of Charles Kane. Wallace would run into Phil at various music clubs, and at one place, Phil introduces Lenny Bruce to him. Dad was a fan of Bruce's works, and Phil was a very close friend of the comedian. I believed he paid for his funeral. 

If nothing else, the Beatles was a gravity pull for various individuals floating around the music business. Spector got pulled into the Fab Four planet. As Meek in the early 60s, he rejected The Beatles as a possible recording act.  The Beatles were very much the future, and Meek and Spector came from another not distant planet, where they called the shots, not the recording artists. It must have been odd for Spector to share production duties with Lennon, Harrison, and I guess all three (Paul stepped out) with the "Let It Be" album. Instead of an employer, he became an employee.  And Meek would never allow himself to be under the powers of the music business industry. Their temperament can never serve both of them, yet they saw the record-buying public as the true judge of their talent. They didn't make 'art' records; they made hits. And when a hit was not a hit, then their world crumbled. Meek on pills, manic behavior, and insanity killed his landlady, and Spector either shot or allowed a woman to die on his property.  Both could have been avoided if they sought what ills them, but alas, the landscape they lived and worked in was such a world where one couldn't easily find help. 

One of the last times I saw Phil was at an opening at Wallace's solo exhibition that took place several months after his death. Phil showed up with a bodyguard and told people he can have them beaten up by just the snap of his fingers. There was no reason why Spector would go up to a total stranger and tell them this. It was more weird than scary. My friend approached Phil to chat, not knowing him. Phil thought my friend was me, and when he told him that he wasn't Tosh, then Phil demanded that he bring Tosh over to him. My friend came to me and said to me that Phil wanted to speak to me, and I went over to him and said, "HI." He looked at me for long seconds and then said to me, "How do I know you're Tosh?" Not being aware of what took place that evening, I was totally not prepared for this moment. I think I said to him, "I'm not sure if I can prove I'm Tosh." After that, I have no memory of what he said or how the evening ended for him or me.  

 When I'm in London, I go to Joe's studio, where he lived and worked. Also, the location of the killing. There is a black plaque on the wall on the building, but no mention of the landlady Violet Shenton, nor that he died from suicide. Gold Star Studios is where I consider is Phil's real home. Unfortunately, the studio was burned down in 1984 and was replaced by a strip mall. Phil Spector and Joe Meek never met, but there is a story that Spector called Meek, and Joe refused to either accept the call or hung upon him. Either way, they are two stars on the same ship. Spector died sometime yesterday, but in actuality, ever since he ended up in prison for murder, he was already dead at that point. Meek was also on his last legs in the music business. The world went by those two, yet, the essence of their recordings are still powerful and influential. I have a collection of Meek's work, both on vinyl and CD, and Phil's same goes. Oddly enough, my favorite Phil is his first band, The Teddy Bears. Even on that first recording that he made as a teenager, he sounded doomed. Meek was obsessed with death and the after-life. For whatever reasons, both of them made a decision early in life to head toward a direction that would lead them to works of genius but left them shattered and broken. I imagine it must be painful for Violet and Lana Clarkson's friends and family to come upon the names of Meek and Spector in the media and elsewhere.  I play the recordings by these two giants, but I never forget Violet and Lana.