His “Walk on the Wild Side” is the song that plays every time our phone rings – that’s how much we like hearing it. Back in the Andy Warhol days, we thought Lou’s band “The Velvet Underground” sounded like a bunch of guys banging pots and pans, but we likes some of his later work. Lou died today in New York at the age of 71. No cause of death was given, but he had a liver transplant six months ago. (Above, Lou with Patti Smith)
We’re longtime fans of Lou Reed (“Walk on the Wild Side” is the ringtone for our phone) so we were happy to hear that he survived his liver transplant last month. His wife, performance artist Laurie Anderson, just talked about the surgery in a UK paper. Former Velvet Underground singer Reed, 71, had mysteriously canceled all his April appearances and Laurie said he was “dying” before the transplant was done in a Cleveland hospital. Reed has always been open about his long battles with alcohol and drugs. Which, of course, brings up the ethical dilemma: do people who self-indulgently destroy their own livers deserve to compete for the scarce liver transplants with sick children and adults who did nothing wrong? And where does fame fit into all of this?
Photo Credit: Buzz Foto
Lou Reed is pictured here having breakfast with one of the loves of his life, his rat terrier Lollabelle. Lou and his partner, performance artist Laurie Anderson, are so crazy about their terrier that they create music to tantalize her canine ears and now they’re putting on a concert just for dogs in Australia! Reed and Anderson are headlining the Vivid Live festival in June and all their music will be high pitched and designed for doggy pleasure. Dog owners are advised to bring their pets to the event on leashes only. Can you imagine dogs in the audience singing and howling along to the high notes? We love it!
Photo Credit: Splash News
Here’s something we were surprised to learn about Lou Reed: When he was a teenager he was given what was described as “electroconvulsive therapy” in response to his homosexual behavior. Although the shock therapy affected his memory, he was able to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Syracuse University. What’s more, he pursued women after that and was married twice- most recently, in 2008, to his longtime love, performance artist Laurie Anderson.