- Born
- 2 March 1942New York City, USA
- Died
- 27 October 2013Southampton, New York, USA · aged 71
Lou Reed
His songs gave a voice to drag queens, hustlers and outsiders – and he lived for years with a trans woman, Rachel.
Lou Reed grew up in Brooklyn and on Long Island. As a teenager he received electroshock therapy; Reed later said it was meant to cure his homosexual feelings, although his family disputed this. He studied English at Syracuse University and worked as a songwriter for a record company.
In 1965 he founded the Velvet Underground with John Cale. With Andy Warhol as their patron, the band made music about drugs, sadomasochism and the night – commercially unsuccessful, but hugely influential. Their songs spoke of people who lived on the margins.
His solo album “Transformer” (1972), produced by David Bowie, contained “Walk on the Wild Side”, a song about Warhol’s circle, including the trans actresses Candy Darling and Holly Woodlawn. It became his biggest hit. From the mid-1970s Reed lived for several years with Rachel Humphreys, a trans woman, who is honoured on his album “Coney Island Baby”. He spoke at different times of relationships with both men and women.
Later in life he married twice, the second time the artist Laurie Anderson. He died at his home on Long Island in 2013, aged 71.