PHIL SPECTOR, the hugely influential record producer famous for his work with The Beatles and The Righteous Brothers during the 1960s, was charged yesterday with first-degree murder in connection with the death of a woman.

The charge came after he was arrested at his home in the Los Angeles suburb of Alhambra yesterday.

Police found a woman in her 20s, who has not yet been publicly identified, shot dead in the foyer of Mr Spector’s mock castle. The 62-year-old record producer was near by. The weapon involved in the shooting was also found.

Mr Spector was taken into custody for questioning and later charged. He was said last night to be in the process of posting bail, which was set at $1 million (£600,000). He was expected to appear in court for arraignment later this week.

A police spokeswoman said that the identity of the victim was being withheld until her family had been told and said only that she was white.

Last night it emerged that police believed the woman had arrived at the house with Mr Spector in his black Mercedes car, which was parked outside the house. A police spokesman said that officers had been called to the ten-bedroom “Pyrenes Castle” at 5am.

Mr Spector, who became the first behind-the-scenes pop music producer to become a household name, has been famous in the music business for some time for his erratic behaviour. By the age of 30, his career had effectively ended and there were rumours of drugs, guard dogs and bodyguards at his home. The Bronx-born producer did not help his reputation by wearing a gun at his hip and, for a short time, a huge cross around his neck.

Nevertheless, Mr Spector’s influence on popular music is incalculable. He pioneered the use of overdubbing technology, which invoved splitting a tape into several tracks, then using each track to record a separate instrument. The result was an overwhelming sound, which could not be broken down by the listener into individual components. It soon became known as the “Wall of Sound”.

He produced a string of 1960s hits, including Ike and Tina Turner’s River Deep, Mountain High, the Crystals’ Da Doo Ron Ron and Then He Kissed Me and the Ronettes’ Be My Baby. He married Ronnie Bennett, a member of the Ronettes. They divorced in 1974. He has five children.

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