John Ross Bowie on Four Chords and a Gun, his stage play about the Ramones and Phil Spector

In his new play, Four Chords and a Gun, actor and playwright John Ross Bowie tells the story of one of rock 'n' roll's strangest head-on collisions: when punk pioneers the Ramones worked with notorious star producer Phil Spector to make their 1980 album, End of The Century.

Spector is now a convicted murderer, but in the late '70s he was considered an eccentric genius. He was behind massive hits for the Ronettes, the Crystals and the Righteous Brothers — but he hadn't had a hit in years when the Ramones arrived on his doorstep, looking to finally crack the top ten. What happened next is chronicled in Bowie's new play.

Bowie, who is best known for his roles in The Big Bang Theory and Speechless, sat down with Tom Power in the q studio to tell us more. Four Chords and a Gun is playing now in Toronto and continuing on to Chicago later this year.

— Produced by ​Chris Trowbridge