Brit Awards spark controversy with tribute to Phil Spector

Albertina Lloyd
·Contributor
·2-min read
Phil Spector is shown at a hearing in Superior Court Tuesday, July 29, 2008, in Los Angeles. Phil Spector's new defense team lost a series of pretrial motions Tuesday July 29, 2008, but the judge promised to reconsider some of his rulings if it becomes necessary during the music producer's second murder trial. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
Wall Of Sound producer Phil Spector died in prison after being convicted of murder in 2009. (AP)

The Brit Awards have paid tribute to the late music producer Phil Spector who died in prison earlier this year after being found guilty of murder.

According to The Sun there will be no In Memoriam section during the Brit Awards 2021 live show, but organisers have included the convicted killer in the obituaries section published on their official website ahead of the ceremony.

Spector — who worked with The Beatles, Tina Turner and Leonard Cohen among others — died in January at the age of 81 following complications from COVID-19.

Read more: Brit Awards 2021 winners will receive two-part trophy

The Brit Awards website states it pays tribute to "some of the many artists, musicians, industry figures and other creative talents who were sadly lost to us over the past 15 months, but whose legacy in shaping our musical heritage and popular culture will always endure".

Watch: Jailed ex-music producer Phil Spector dies

The Brits obituary to Spector reads: "American record producer, songwriter and pioneer of the iconic 'Wall of Sound', who will equally be remembered for his conviction for murder of the actress Lana Clarkson. Spector collaborated with many of the greats including The Beatles individually and as a band — producing Let it Be and Imagine - The Righteous Brothers, Leonard Cohen and The Ronettes, and also wrote numerous era-defining songs.

UNITED STATES - JANUARY 01: (AUSTRALIA OUT) Photo of Ike & Tina TURNER and Tina TURNER and Ike TURNER and Phil SPECTOR; with Ike Turner & Tina Turner - posed, behind mixing desk (Photo by GAB Archive/Redferns)
Phil Spector in the studio with Ike and Tina Turner. (Getty Images)

Spector shot and killed 40-year-old actress Lana Clarkson in 2003 but escaped conviction until 2009.

At the time of his death he was serving a 19 year prison sentence for second degree murder at the California Health Care Facility in Stockton.

John Lennon once called Spector "the greatest record producer ever".

ALHAMBRA, CA - NOVEMBER 20: Legendary record producer Phil Spector leaves Alhambra Superior Court after his arraignment on one count of murder November 20, 2003 in Alhambra, California. Spector is charged with murdering B-movie starlet Lana Clarkson at his hilltop mansion Februay 3, pleaded innocent. Spector, the 1960s recording-studio wizard who created the ``wall of sound'' style of recording and worked with such stars as The Beatles, The Ronettes and Ike and Tina Turner, pleaded innocent at the arraignment. (Photo by Ringo H.W. Chiu/Getty Images)
Record producer Phil Spector leaves Alhambra Superior Court after his arraignment on one count of murder November 20, 2003 (Ringo H.W. Chiu/Getty Images)

Al Pacino played Spector in a 2013 HBO biopic about the producer with Dame Helen Mirren as his lawyer.

Other stars of the music industry remembered in the Brit Awards tributes section include chart-topping singers Kenny Rogers, Little Richard, Bill Withers, Millie and Dame Vera Lynn.

This year's Brit Awards will take place on Tuesday, 11 May at the O2 Arena in London, broadcast on ITV1 from 8pm.

Read more: Coldplay to open Brit Awards with special performance

There will be an audience of 4,000 people at this year’s ceremony as part of the Government’s live events pilot scheme.

Comedian Jack Whitehall is to host for the fourth time in a row and Coldplay will open the show with a performance from a platform on the River Thames.

Watch: Brit Awards to go ahead with live audience of 4,000

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