Fans gathered to pay tribute to Lou Reed at a memorial service in New York yesterday afternoon (November 14).
Those wishing to pay their respects to the late Velvet Underground singer attended the event at the Paul Milstein Pool & Terrace at the Lincoln Center, Rolling Stone reports.
The memorial had previously been advertised on Reed’s Facebook page as “a gathering open to the public – no speeches, no live performances, just Lou’s voice, guitar music & songs – playing the recordings selected by his family and friends.”
Reed’s songs were played through loudspeakers at the three-hour event, with the title track from his 1982 album ‘The Blue Mask’ the first to be played. Compositions from both his work with the Velvet Underground and his solo career were on the playlist, including ‘Heroin’, ‘I’m Waiting For The Man’, ‘Sunday Morning’, ‘Pale Blue Eyes’ and ‘Sally Can’t Dance’.
Other tracks played included ‘Sister Ray’, ‘Walk On The Wild Side’ and ‘All Tomorrow’s Parties’ before it culminated with an extract from Reed’s controversial 1975 album ‘Metal Machine Music’. His wife, Laurie Anderson, is said to have been among those who were in attendance.
Lou Reed died from liver failure on October 27, following a transplant operation in May. His death leaves John Cale and drummer Moe Tucker as the only surviving members of The Velvet Underground.
Last week it was revealed that Reed left his estate to his wife and sister. The singer left his Manhattan penthouse, his home in East Hampton, New York and the majority of his estate to his wife, musician Laurie Anderson. The couple married in 2008 and had no children. Anderson recently paid tribute to her husband, saying “he died while looking at the trees”.
In addition to Anderson, Reed’s sister is said to have inherited about a quarter of his estate and a further $500,000 to look after their elderly mother. Meanwhile, licensing and copyrights for Reed’s music will be looked after by his business manager and accountant.