The Velvet Underground

Though The Velvet Underground were critically and commercially unsuccessful in their time, in ensuing decades they have become a constant touchstone in art rock, punk, post-punk, indie, avant pop, and alternative rock.

In the 1970s and 80s, Lou Reed, John Cale and Nico produced a number of works that travelled a path between art and pop. In 1993, the original band members of Reed, Cale, Morrison, and Tucker briefly reunited for live appearances. Afterwards, Reed, Cale, and briefly Tucker, continued to produce music that followed the idiosyncratic path begun in New York in the mid-1960s.

The influence of the band and its members, mediated and promoted through famous fans such as David Bowie and Brian Eno, seems only to have expanded since the late 1960s. In 1996, The Velvet Underground were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, demonstrating how far the band had travelled in 30 years from an avant-garde cult to mainstream recognition of their key contributions to popular music.

In these collected essays, Pattie and Albiez present the first academic book-length collection on The Velvet Underground. The book covers a range of topics, including the band’s relationship to US literature, youth and cultural movements of the 1960s and beyond, and European culture. It examines these contexts from the 1960s through to the present day.