Why Phil Spector is haunted

Had Phil Spector consulted an astrologer last year, the legendary music producer could perhaps have avoided two bad days in a row.

And we aren't talking about the one REM had yesterday.

Los Angeles police officers investigating actress Lana Clarkson's death have concluded it was neither accident nor suicide. There is evidence, they say, that Spector shot her.

This comes a day after Sir Paul McCartney's announcement that he had stripped the Beatles 1970 album, Let It Be free of Spector's embellishments.

Spector, 62, whose 'wall of sound' recording technique transformed 1960s pop music, was arrested February 3 for the investigation of Clarkson's murder after her body was found in the foyer of his hilltop mansion in Alhambra, California. He was released after posting $1 million bail.

In an interview with Esquire magazine in July, Spector suggested that 40-year-old Clarkson, an actress and hostess at the House of Blues, might have shot herself. In March, the sheriff's investigators discounted suicide.

A member of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, Spector has worked with the Beatles, Ramones, Shirelles and Ronettes.

Residential aggression

Landlords had better watch out for Bianca Jagger. And not for obvious reasons.

Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger's former wife has slapped a $20 million lawsuit on her landlord because her rent-stabilised Park Avenue apartment, located in a 20-story building between 60th and 61st streets, has water leaks and mould contamination. The mould, a New York Times article quoted her as saying, was 'poisonous.'

Jagger, 58, also seeks to get the building owner, manager, architects, engineers and contractors to pay for their alleged negligence, according to court papers filed Wednesday in State Supreme Court in Manhattan. She wants them to pay for what she describes as her 'constructive eviction' from the building.

Another tenant in the same building said there was water leakage in his apartment, which had been fixed. The tenant, who did not want to be named, said Jagger had lived in the building for a long time.

But no landlord is known to take anything lying down. Katz Park Avenue Corp, which owns the building, has filed a suit against Jagger for non-payment of the $4,000 monthly rent. That case, adjourned earlier this month, will be heard again on October 6.

Nicaragua-born Bianca and Mick Jagger, who were married in 1971, were divorced eight years later. The former Mrs Jagger, who has been living in New York for many years, is a regular on the city's social circuit and charities calendar.

Perhaps charity must begin at home all over again. 

This is no limp kiss

Fred Durst had only a moment of hesitation before locking lips with sexy Oscar award-winner Halle Berry (Monster's Ball).

Durst, lead vocalist of nu-metal band Limp Bizkit, was filming for a video of his band's cover version of The Who's Behind blue eyes, from Bizkit's new album, Results May Vary.

'There was this moment where I'm getting ready to kiss her and I thought it might feel weird, but it really felt right and I think it read that way on film,' he told MTV.com. 'It's very convincing, very real and I think we both had a good time doing it.'

The song also appears in Berry's new movie Gothika, a horror flick also starring Penelope Cruz.

Limp probably best describes how Durst's bandmates felt watching him. Now who gets to eat the Bizkit?

Fan fury

Who would have thought Creed frontman Scott Stapp's fans would turn foes?

Some of them, miffed at Stapp's alleged inebriation at a Chicago concert last December, attempted to sue him. Only to be rebuffed by a judge, who threw out their $2-million lawsuit.

Stapp had denied the charge, and Creed attorney Rob McNeely says the band is happy with the decision. It may be too early to gloat, because the judge has only dismissed the suit 'with prejudice,' which means the fans can amend their complaint.

One of them, Philip Berenz, told the Orlando Sentinel the battle was 'by no means' over. Now, he says, they will argue that Creed touts its image as being family-friendly and high quality, but failed to deliver that to fans.

Can Stapp accept that with arms wide open?