The Lou Reed song inspired directly by Andy Warhol
Aside from Tai chi, one of the greatest influences on the life of Lou Reed came in the form of pop art progenitor Andy Warhol. The silver-haired silkscreen master was a cornerstone of New York’s vibrant art scene during the 1960s, so it did not take long before Lou Reed crossed his path. Although the pair are most famed for their collaboration on The Velvet Underground, the influence of soup-appreciator Warhol lasted well into Reed’s solo career, too.
Arising from the mysterious landscape of Warhol’s Factory, The Velvet Underground were soon adopted by the pop artist. Although the musical talents of bandleaders Lou Reed and John Cale could have easily driven the band on their own, without the influence of Warhol, the group certainly would not have reached the legendary status that they are now hailed for. On the band’s masterpiece of a debut album, for instance, it was Warhol who suggested the band collaborate with Nico, a partnership which gave the album an unforgettable edge. Plus, let’s not forget that iconic banana on the cover.
Despite the product of Reed and Warhol’s partnership being utterly brilliant, the relationship between the two was far from harmonious. After all, both artists were noted for their polemic, often problematic personalities, so you can imagine the butting of heads that must have echoed through the concrete jungle of New York City when the pair came to blows. Soon after the release of the Velvets’ first album, the artistic differences between the two became too much to bear, and the professional relationship came to an end.
Although the pair had long since parted ways by the time Lou Reed finally left The Velvet Underground in 1970, Warhol never seemed to lose his influence over the songwriter. Embarking upon a solo career, Lou once again found himself drawing upon the influence of Andy Warhol. Transformer was not Reed’s first solo effort, but it was the album to affirm his ability to create phenomenal material on his own, away from collaborators like John Cale.
The opening track of Transformer, ‘Vicious’ immediately sets the scene for the flawless album to follow. Awash with moody vocals and that signature Lou Reed sense of humour, the idea for the track actually came from the mind of Andy Warhol. As Lou told Rolling Stone in 1989 that, during a meeting with Warhol, “He said, ‘Why don’t you write a song called Vicious?'”
As it turns out, though, Warhol came up with more than just the title, plucking the song’s defining lyric out of thin air. As Reed explains, “I said, ‘Well, Andy, what kind of vicious?’, ‘Oh, you know, vicious like I hit you with a flower.’ And I wrote it down, literally – I kept a notebook in those days.”
As if the names of Lou Reed and Andy Warhol were not legendary enough, ‘Vicious’ also received production treatment from none other than Ziggy Stardust, with David Bowie and Mick Ronson taking on production duties for the entirety of the album. Reed’s solo career produced 22 studio albums over the years, but Transformer remains among his most popular works, and it was ‘Vicious’ that kicked it all off.
