Lou Reed

He is often seen in the company of fellow artist Laurie Anderson. Others that have recorded with the Sex Pistols include;. It reached #10 in the UK singles chart. The surviving members of the Sex Pistols have performed reunion gigs in 1996 and 2002, and embarked on a US tour in 2003. In 2004, a remix of his song, "Satellite of Love" (called "Satellite of Love '04") was released. Opinions differ widely on McLaren's actual responsibility for the band's artistic and cultural relevance. In 2003, he released a 2-CD set, The Raven, based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Conversely, it can also be argued that the Sex Pistols were a manufactured pop act, insofar as their look and sound was in part an innovation of Malcolm McLaren's.

In 2001 he was the victim of a hoax claiming he had died of a heroin overdose. Their chord progressions and pounding, primal bass lines can still be heard in the music of bands such as Rancid, The Libertines, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and other revivalists. In 1997 over thirty artists covered "Perfect Day" for the BBC's "Children in Need" appeal. It can be argued that the Sex Pistols are the most influential band ever in punk rock. Reed continued on those dark notes with Magic and Loss, an album about mortality. Whereas previous challenges to the class system had come mainly from within, such as the public school and Oxbridge dominated satire boom of the 1960s or the socially realist theatre of the 1950s, the Pistols communicated directly with a much wider audience and, to some extent, the resulting shock waves can still be felt. Touchingly affectionate and painfully confessional, often witty, Reed's vocals blister when singing of alleged medical errors and Valerie Solanas' 1968 assassination attempt on Warhol. The Sex Pistols remain influential, however, both for the musical style they were pivotal in helping to define, and in terms of their influence on the British cultural landscape, helping to change the cultural climate.

When one-time Velvet Underground patron and producer Andy Warhol died after a routine surgery, Reed closed a 25-year hiatus to collaborate with fellow ex-VU John Cale on Songs for Drella, a Warhol biography in minimalist pop music. Cook and Jones continued to work in the music business, often as session musicians, and also as the more 'conventional' rock band The Professionals. Reed fired an angry salvo at his hometown's political problems on the hit album New York, denouncing crime, high rents, Jesse Jackson, even Pope John Paul II and Kurt Waldheim. Lydon has publically dismissed this film, stating that it has little to do with the reality of what actually happened. He married Sylvia Morales (later divorced). A fictionalised account of Vicious's relationship with Spungen was later recounted in the 1986 film Sid and Nancy (dir. Alex Cox). In the early 1980s, Reed gave up the drugs and depravity, both in his work and in his private life, to address more serious concerns, notably on his acclaimed comeback album The Blue Mask. Vicious continued to gig as a 'solo performer', recording an album of live tracks that many consider to be substandard. He was shortly afterwards arrested for the murder of his girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, in New York, and died of a heroin overdose before coming to trial.

His albums of the late 1970s are often regarded as a mixed affair by rock critics, owing at least partly to the addictions that were then overtaking Reed. Rotten, now using his given name Lydon, went on to form the group Public Image Ltd with his old friend Jah Wobble (John Wordle). Though admitting that the liner notes' list of instruments used is fictitious and parodistic, Reed maintains that MMM was and is a serious album. The remainder of the group soldiered on for a short time, with Edward Tudor-Pole temporarily replacing Rotten, trading on their reputation and gimmicks, such as recording with notorious British criminal Ronnie Biggs, and Vicious releasing a version of "My Way", but after the release of the movie The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, they finally split. The rock journalist Lester Bangs declared it genius. The two-week American jaunt was an exhausting, badly-planned, dispiriting experience for all concerned (Vicious was beaten by the bodyguards hired to protect him, Rotten had a fierce head cold, and the band's performances were plagued by bad sound and physically hostile audiences), and on the final date at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco on January 14, the disillusioned Rotten quit, famously asking "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?" from the stage before walking off. Some regarded it as an attempt to break his record company contract. (Elvis Costello and the Attractions went on in their stead).

In 1975, he produced the double studio album of pure feedback Metal Machine Music. Originally they were scheduled to begin the tour in December 1977, beginning with a performance on Saturday Night Live but due to the members' minor scrapes with the law, they were unable to receive passports in time. Reed's persona was also far advanced, preferring black leather and S&M-like gear even in the hippie-infested 1960s. Early in 1978 an American tour was booked by McLaren. In his chosen material Reed followed, and updated, such authors as Allen Ginsberg and Jean Genet. Years later the promoter of the evening show confessed that the Pistols never cashed his cheque. "Perfect Day" is an elegiac paean to Reed's addiction to heroin, later included on the soundtrack to Trainspotting. The atmosphere in the evening show was counter to the negative publicity that had been generated towards the band by the tabloid press; before the show, Johnny Rotten mingled with the crowd wearing his pith helmet, and the good humour of the matinee (which was a benefit played for free) lingered on.

"Walk on the Wild Side" is a wry and graphic salute to the misfits, male hustlers and transvestites at Andy Warhol's Factory. Those waiting outside for the second show were given turkey sandwiches from the remains of the meal laid on for the strikers' families. Popular music would not catch up to him until the punks in the mid- to late-1970s, but even then his songs were unique: whether drenched in feedback or gently melodic, Reed usually sang about the disturbing, if not sordid, things other lyricists left out. Tickets for the latter were furtively sold for a secret venue, announced shortly before the gig as a tactic to avoid the attentions of local councillors and the like, who had cancelled many of the Pistols' other shows. Reed's chosen subject matter was far ahead of its time. They played two shows, a matinee and an evening show. This, one of the more depressing albums ever made, includes "Caroline Says II" (violence), "The Kids" (prostitution and drug addiction), "The Bed" (suicide) and, unsurprisingly, "Sad Song.". Despite the band's state of disintegration by this time, the gig was considered by some as a vindication of their anti-establishment stance when they were, for once, united with what might be viewed as their true constituency, the dispossessed English working class.

He followed this with Berlin, which tells something like a love story of two junkies in the city of the same name. The Sex Pistols' final UK performance was at Ivanhoe's in Huddersfield on Christmas Day 1977, a benefit for the families of striking firemen. In 1972 Reed, now a solo artist, released the glam rock album Transformer, produced by David Bowie. Again the band faced controversy when a record shop in Manchester was threatened with prosecution for displaying the album's 'obscene' cover, although the case was overturned when defending QC John Mortimer produced expert witnesses who were able to demonstrate that the word "bollocks" was a legitimate old English term originally used to refer to a priest, and that although the word is also slang for testicles, in this context it meant 'nonsense'. Though internally unstable (breaking up in 1970) and never commercially viable, the VU's reputation as the ultimate, most influential underground band has remained intact. The album included singles "Pretty Vacant" (released on July 2, 1977), an ode to apathy, and "Holidays in the Sun" (released on October 15, 1977). Reed moved to New York City, working as a songwriter for Pickwick Records, and co-formed The Velvet Underground as lead guitarist/vocalist/lyricist. The promise of the band's early singles was eventually fulfilled by the group's first album Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols, released on October 28, 1977.

Reed said later his goals were "to bring the sensitivities of the novel to rock music," or to write the Great American Novel in a record album. Arguably all good fun and a great publicity stunt, but matters took a distinctly uglier turn when young punk followers of the Sex Pistols became victims of physical attacks in the street by 'pro-royalists', and Rotten himself was assaulted by a razor wielding gang of 'Teddy Boys' in Finsbury Park who, it seems, didn't see the funny side of the Pistols' antics. Reed also developed a taste for free jazz and experimental music. As usual, the event ended in chaos; the boat was raided by the police, and Mclaren, The Pistols and most of their entourage were arrested and taken into custody. Reed attended Syracuse University where he met poet Delmore Schwartz, who Reed credits for his simple poetic vernacular and the encouragement to become a writer. Meanwhile, The Sex Pistols decided to celebrate the Jubilee, along with the success of their record, by chartering a boat, upon which they sailed down the Thames, past Westminster and the Houses of Parliament, performing their live set. Reed was a fan of rock and rhythm and blues, playing in several high school rock bands, and had recorded a doo wop-style single as a member of The Shades. Nevertheless, in the week of Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee, the record officially reached number two in some UK charts (although the number-two spot was, tellingly, left blank in several listings, and many believe, with evidence, that the record actually reached number one, and that the charts were rigged to prevent such a spectacle).

Reed was born in Freeport, Long Island, New York. Coming at a time when deference to royalty was still a predominant trait in both the establishment and the country as a whole the record was quickly banned from airplay by the staid BBC, whose Radio 1 dominated music broadcasting. He lives in New York City. The group's second single, eventually released by Virgin on May 27, 1977, was God Save the Queen, a stinging attack on the British Royal Family, and by extension the institutions of Britain, delivered in Rotten's trademark sneer. Lewis Allen Reed, known as Lou Reed (born March 2, 1942), is a rock'n'roll singer-songwriter with a lasting musical influence on punk and alternative rock. Reed has toured and recorded almost continuously since 1965. According to Jon Savage's biography of the Sex Pistols, England's Dreaming, at live performances his amplifier was often turned down, and most of the bass parts on the band's later recordings were actually played by guitarist Steve Jones or Matlock, who (according to Lydon's autobiography Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs) had been drafted in as a session musician. Rockin' on Broadway (The Time/Brent/Shad Story) (2000, includes first recordings with The Jades [1958] and solo [1962]). He was quickly replaced by Rotten's friend and "ultimate Sex Pistols fan" Sid Vicious (real name John Simon Ritchie) of The Flowers of Romance, famously endorsed as a member by McLaren for his looks and "punk attitude" despite his very limited musical abilities.

September Songs (The Music Of Kurt Weill) (1997). Matlock himself now claims to have quit voluntarily. Till The Night Is Gone: A Tribute To Doc Pomus (1995). According to legend he was sacked because he "liked The Beatles" - although in a 2002 television interview Steve Jones claimed the real reason was that he was "always washing his feet". Bright Red, Laurie Anderson (1994). In February 1977 bass player and principal songwriter Glen Matlock parted company with the band. Sweet Relief: A Benefit For Victoria Williams (1993). A shambolic tour of the UK followed, with the majority of the concerts dogged by a hostile press and cancelled by local authorities, and many of the rest ending in states of semi-riot.

Le Bataclan '72 with John Cale & Nico (2004). After a short and disastrous period spent with the A&M record label, The Pistols were picked up by the (at that time) independent Virgin Records. Songs for Drella with John Cale (1990). Although the programme was only seen in the London ITV region (and although Matlock had, unnoticed, been the first to utter the word, fuck), the ensuing furore occupied the tabloid newspapers for days and the band were shortly after dropped by the label. Animal Serenade (2004). However, on December 1, 1976 the group and their close circle of followers, the Bromley Contingent, created a storm of publicity in the UK when, goaded by interviewer Bill Grundy, guitarist Steve Jones used the word "fuck" on Thames Television's early evening television programme Today, as well as calling Grundy a "rotter" after he made a rather inept attempt at 'chatting up' Siouxsie of Siouxsie and the Banshees. Extended Versions (2003). The Sex Pistols were, despite common misconception and as evidenced by their live recordings of the time, a tight and ferocious live band, easily as musically skilled as their non-punk contemporaries.

American Poet (2001). The Pistols' first single, "Anarchy in the UK", released on November 26, 1976, served as a statement of intent -- full of wit, anger and visceral energy. Perfect Night: Live in London (1998). Following a showcase gig as part of London's first punk festival at the 100 Club in Oxford Street, the band was signed (for a large advance) to the major label EMI. Live in Concert (1997). McLaren also claimed that he wanted the Sex Pistols to be "the new Bay City Rollers". Live in Italy (1984). All of these figures were doyens of the New York City punk, and later new wave music, scene.

Live: Take No Prisoners (1978). Under McLaren's guidance, the band was initially influenced in part by the simple, chord-based style of The New York Dolls and The Ramones (McLaren had given guitarist Jones the Les Paul guitar used by NY Doll Sylvain Sylvain, and the torn-shirt, spiked-hair look of Richard Hell, bass player for Television. Lou Reed Live (1975). The name, no doubt, was intended to bring to mind the male sex organ, but McLaren has stated that he wanted the band to be "sexy assassins" (in later years band members frequently accused McLaren both of cheating them financially, and of claiming credit for things that were not his idea). Rock 'n' Roll Animal (1974). McLaren became the new group's manager. The Raven (2003). Nightingale left the band shortly afterwards, and the remaining members recruited bass player Glen Matlock and vocalist Johnny Rotten, who were among the clientele of the 'SEX' boutique in Kings Road, Chelsea. This shop (previously known as Let It Rock) was owned by the fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, and Situationist-inspired impresario Malcolm McLaren, who had briefly been the manager of The New York Dolls.

Ecstacy (2000). The group was formed in August 1975 by Paul Cook, Steve Jones and Wally Nightingale. Set the Twilight Reeling (1996). Whilst The Clash were both more articulate and politically motivated, and The Buzzcocks had more astute pop sensibilities, no other group better exemplified the punk movement's spirit and inherent contradictions. Magic and Loss (1992). Despite their short existence, the Sex Pistols were perhaps the quintessential British punk rock band. New York (1989). 24 Hour Party People Michael Winterbottom, 2002.

Mistrial (1986). Andrew Mcleigh, 1999). New Sensations (1984). Sid's Gang dir. Legendary Hearts (1983). Alex Cox, 1986). The Blue Mask (1982). Sid and Nancy (dir.

Growing Up in Public (1980). The Punk Rock Movie (Don Letts, 1979) (independent documentary footage shot at the time). The Bells (1979). DOA (Lech Kowalski, 1981) (includes footage shot during the Pistols' 1978 US tour). Street Hassle (1978). The Filth and The Fury (Julien Temple, 2000) (The Pistols' version of events). Rock 'n' Roll Heart (1976). The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (Julien Temple, 1978) (McLaren's version of the Pistols story).

Coney Island Baby (1976). Jubilee (Derek Jarman, 1978). Metal Machine Music (1975). Sex Pistols Number One (Derek Jarman, 1976) (a short of footage shot at early gigs). Sally Can't Dance (1974). Vicious: Too Fast to Live - Alan Parker. Berlin (1973). .: Sex Pistols and the Shape of Rock - David Nolan.

Transformer (1972). I Swear I Was There . Lou Reed (1972). Destroy: Sex Pistols 1977 - Dennis Morris. The Quine Tapes (live 1969, 2001). God Save the Sex Pistols: A Collector's Guide to the Priests Of Punk - Gavin Walsh. Peel Slowly and See (box set, 1995). Please Kill Me - Legs McNeal.