The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground and Nico in 1966 Clockwise from top left: Lou Reed, Sterling Morrison, John Cale, Moe Tucker and Nico
Background information
Also known as	The Warlocks The Falling Spikes
Origin	New York City, New York, U.S.
Genres	Art rock proto-punk experimental rock
Years active	1964–1973 1990 1992–1993 1996
Labels	Verve Atlantic Polydor MGM Mercury Cotillion
Spinoff of	Theatre of Eternal Music
Past members	Lou Reed John Cale Sterling Morrison Angus MacLise Moe Tucker Doug Yule Billy Yule Walter Powers Willie Alexander
Website	velvetundergroundmusic.com

The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. It originally comprised singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. In 1965, MacLise was replaced by Moe Tucker, who played on most of the band's recordings. Though their integration of rock and the avant-garde resulted in little commercial success, they became one of the most influential bands in rock, underground, experimental, and alternative music. Their provocative subject matter, musical experiments, and nihilistic attitude was also instrumental in the development of punk rock, new wave and several other genres.

Connections

• Member John Cale was one of the producers of the Modern Lovers self-titled album.
• David Byrne covered The Velvet Underground song "Candy Says" at a special performance to celebrate the 20th anniversary of CBGB in 1993.
• David Byrne has written The Velvet Underground as a musical inspiration numerous times over the years