The 1977 album that warned Blondie off ever working with Phil Spector: “He was completely whacked”

Blondie avoided working with Phil Spector after an unsettling meeting in which he played them Leonard Cohen’s 1977 album *Death of a Ladies’ Man* at extreme volume. The encounter reinforced Debbie Harry and Chris Stein’s view that Spector’s theatrical production style and behaviour were a poor fit for the band as they considered producers for “Heart of Glass”.

Stein recalled that Spector seemed intoxicated and that his distorted playback made the music difficult to hear. Harry also later alleged that Spector waved a gun during the meeting and pushed it against her boot or legs. Spector produced and co-wrote Cohen’s album, known for its dense orchestration and reverb; he was later convicted in connection with Lana Clarkson’s death and sentenced to 19 years in prison, where he died in 2021.