The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground were among the New York avant-garde who closed the gap between the popular and the fine art movements of the twentieth century. With Andy Warhol at the helm, the band became a focal point for the high- and low-brow media of the 1960s with a unique mixture of sound experimentation, performance art, and pop sensibility. This assembly of rare objects, artworks, and texts is the first book of its kind to document the formative years of the band Time Out magazine named the most influential New York City musicians of all time.
From previously unseen photographs of the band's first live performance in New York to Andy Warhol's cover and poster designs, Lou Reed's and John Cale's handwritten music and lyrics, underground press clippings, and controversial reviews - and including photographs by Paul Morrissey, Adam Ritchie, Billy Name, Lisa Law, and Jonathan Richman - the materials here comprise a comprehensive survey of the life and work of the first rock group ever to transcend the genre and embrace underground popular culture.
Including a conversation recorded especially for the book between Lou Reed and Maureen Tucker, contributions from band members Doug Yule and Sterling Morrison, a preface by Vaclav Havel, as well as texts by Lester Bangs, Richard Meltzer, Lance Loud, Rob Norris, John Wilcock, and Salvatore Mercuri among others, this beautifully illustrated book is the first to present a definitive picture of the band's genesis and development in the extraordinary New York scene of the 1960s.

Johan Kugelberg is a noted writer and a prolific curator based in New York City. He curated c/o The Velvet Underground, the successful exhibition of Velvet Underground artifacts at the Glenn Horowitz Gallery in 2007, and contributes regularly to music, fashion, and culture magazines. He is also the author for Rizzoli of Vintage Rock T-Shirts and Born in the Bronx, and the catalog that accompanied the Velvet Underground exhibition.

Lou Reed is one of the greatest artists of recent times. Founder, singer, songwriter, and guitarist for the Velvet Underground, and profoundly successful as a solo artist, writer, poet, and painter following the band’s demise, Lou Reed’s work in all media has received passionate acclaim, and his name will forever be connected with the best of the avant-garde.