Biography:
Lou Reed and
Sterling Morrison were friends from Syracuse University. At some point
during Reed's employment as an in house songwriter at Pickwick, John
Cale was brought in as part of a fictional band who would perform
some of Reed's songs. A bond was struck and Reed soon moved to Manhattan
to work on some music with Cale. Reed was reunited with Morrison by
chance on the subway and they rekindled their friendship, which led
to Morrison making it a trio. They recorded a four-song demo, which
included versions of "Venus in Furs" and "Heroin" and was heavily
circulated in England. Enough so that John Cale flew to the U.K. to
try and hook some things up for the band when an offer was made at
home in New York. Shortly after adapting the name The Velvet Underground
from an erotic novel, the band was approached by a fledging band promoter
named Al Aronowitz. He offered the V.U. an opening spot with Aronowitz's
other band, the Myddle Class. Since the trio decided they needed a
drummer for this crucial gig, they remembered an old Syracuse buddy
Jim Tucker and his sister Maureen who played the drums. After a quick
audition for Reed at her parent's house, Maureen was in. Seeing what
the band could do live, Aronowitz decided to book the band a permanent
gig at Cafe Bizarre in Greenwich Village to tighten them up a bit.
One too many versions of "The Black Angel's Death Song" caused the
Velvets to be fired from the Cafe. Two days before they got the pink
slip they had a visit at the Cafe from a group of underground art
scene characters. Andy Warhol was brought to one of the gigs by Factory
filmmaker Paul Morrisey who thought it would be a good idea for the
Factory to have an in house rock band at their disposal. With new
amps and a new rehearsal spot at the Factory, the V.U. were finally
on their way it seemed. Andy then suggested that one time model and
new Factory superstar, Nico, be brought in to sing with the Velvets.
The band balked at the idea but a deal is a deal and it was now The
Velvet Underground and Nico with Lou singing his songs and Nico doing
her specially written numbers and playing tambourine when she wasn't
singing. Reed and Cale could feel the reigns of the band being taken
from them but they decided to go with the flow and see what would
happen. Warhol had been filming a lot of things going on around the
Factory. He once filmed the V.U. rehearsing when the NYPD bust in
on a noise complaint and the resulting footage was titled "The Velvet
Underground and Nico: A Symphony of Sound". The films were also projected
on a wall behind the band for some early performances. The idea was
later expanded to include films, a light show, fetish dancers, and
the Velvet Underground and Nico providing the music. Paul Morrisey
came up with the name "the Exploding Plastic Inevitable" and they
were soon doing performances across the country. Then Andy got the
band signed to the Verve label, a subsidiary of MGM.
Band
Members:
Lou Reed - Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Piano, Harmonica
John Cale- Vocals, Viola, Bass, Organ
Sterling Morrison - Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Bass
Moe Tucker - Drums
Nico - Vocals
Albums:
The Velvet Underground & Nico - 1967 (MGM/Verve)
White Light/White Heat - 1968 (MGM)
The Velvet Underground - 1969 (MGM)
Loaded - 1970 (Atlantic)
Squeeze - 1972 (Polydor)
Live at Max's Kansas City - 1972 (Cotillion)
1969 - Live With Lou Reed, Vol. 1 - 1969 (Mercury)
1969 - Live With Lou Reed, Vol 2 - 1969 (Mercury)
V.U. - 1984 (Verve)
Another View - 1986 (Verve)
Live MCMXCIII - 1993 (Sire)
Live MCMXCIII [2 Discs] - 1993 (Sire)
Peel Slowly and See - 1995 (A&M) Box Set
Links:
Unofficial
Velvet Underground Web Site
The Velvet Underground
Web Page
Lou Reed & The Velvet
Underground
Interview with
Doug Yule
Velvet
Underground at ArtistDirect
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