Lou Reed’s favourite David Bowie song: “He outdid himself”
The friendship between Lou Reed and David Bowie felt like cosmic stars aligning. After a chance meeting at a show in New York, they ran into each other again and again until the two experimental music icons fell into what felt like an inevitable friendship, born out of mutual admiration for one another’s work. It was an enduring connection that lasted the rest of their lives, meaning they witnessed just about every era of one another’s career. But the moment when Bowie impressed Reed most is a surprising one.
Loving each other’s music was the core of Bowie and Reed’s friendship. It began almost nervously as the two shifted around one another, feeling shy and bashful, as if their meeting was the start of some grand courtship. Tony Zanetta said of their meeting, “Lou was the really smart-alecky, sarcastic New York guy. But I think he and David were pretty cautious of each other. It was almost like the beginning of a romance. They were kind of sizing each other up.” But once the dance of the first meeting was done, they quickly bonded, complimenting one another’s work and sharing their musical likes, dislikes and inspirations.
Both were on the brink of transformational periods, on the cusp of something big. Reed was done with The Velvet Underground, and after the release of his debut solo record, he worked on the sophomore release that would reestablish his name as a true rock force. Bowie was about to step into the shoes of Ziggy Stardust for what would be perhaps his more iconic and beloved era, bringing about success on a whole new level.
Maybe they saw that in each other and turned to one another for support, or perhaps it was simply that they recognised part of themselves in the other, finding a kindred spirit in their niche of art-fueled rock and roll. Either way, they ventured into this exciting new chapter together as Bowie contributed vocals to Transformer, and then later recorded several Velvet Underground covers around the release of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.
Even though Reed was lucky enough to have a front row seat to Bowie’s career, seeing him through all his various chapters, sounds and shapes, it was these early moments that impressed him most. In particular, it was a moment in the studio, recording for Transformer, that blew him away.
Bowie’s contribution to the album is understated but vital. He played acoustic guitar on ‘Wagon Wheel’, ‘Perfect Day’ and ‘Walk on the Wild Side’, contributed keyboards across the record and is regularly heard delivering his instantly recognisable drawl on backing vocals. In some places, his voice is subtle, but in others, it’s impossible to miss. On ‘Satellite of Love’, it comes through so powerfully that it almost steals the limelight as even Reed was astonished by the energy Bowie brought to the song, despite it only being some background details.
“David is no slouch,” he said. “We’re doing ‘Satellite Of Love’, and we were doing the real background part at the end, and the guys were really admiring David and going, ‘Holy shit, what a part that is.’ He outdid himself.”
