Lou, we miss You - In memory of Lou Reed (1942-2013)
My cousin and Godfather, who was already a young adult when I was born, had plenty of vinyls at home: lots of Italian music (even progressive rock bands, like the PFM or, in extenso, Premiata Forneria Marconi) and many English, American and German music, including Velvet Underground. At my Aunts and Uncle's home, I absorbed a lot of music since my infancy, and Lou Reed is part of my musical landscape since then.
At my parents's home, the turntable we had was broken and I do not have any memories of it, so the radio was my only source of various music: classic, jazz, blues, pop, rock, punk, electronic... It was a chance that the RAI's politics on music were, at that time, more progressist, truly diverse and much less commercial than they are now, even if they are still better than the BBC, as the "cancel culture" is not trendy in Italy. We have many other problems (for example, the government's pressure on journalists who want to do their job properly) but, at least, not this one.
My siblings recorded many classic, jazz and rock music on cassettes and every Sunday afternoon, while my Dearest Father followed Tutto il calcio minuto per minuto on his radiolina, I listened to our cassettes. There were artists and songs I listened to every single weekend (Morrissey, The Smiths, The Beatles, Deep Purple) and others I listened to regularly, and Lou Reed was among them, along with The Housemartins, Madness and Led Zeppelin and many others.
The very first Lou Reed's song I heard at my cousin's home as a toddler, and later used to sing during my early teens (without knowing the whole lyrics, but getting the general idea of what it was about from the radio dj's résumé) was Walk on the Wild Side, from Transformer (1972), the album produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson.
A great live version is here: Lou Reed, Walk on the Wild Side, live at the Capitol Theatre, Passaic, NJ, 25 September 1984.
This song (that I sing from time to time in Paris at the karaoke and at Le Piano qui chante nigths) is also the A-side of a single released on the same year; its B-side is Perfect Day, another song I do love.
The third and last song I wish to remember, as my modest tribute to Lou Reed on the 13th anniversary of his death, is Satellite of Love, by sharing both Lou's original version and Morrissey's 2011 cover:
Lou Reed, Satellite of Love, from the album Transformer (1972).
Morrissey, Satellite of Love, live cover, Nobel Prize Concert at the Spektrum, Oslo, 11 December 2013. Between two songs of his (People are the Same Everywhere and Irish Blood, English Heart) Morrissey chose to sing Satellite of Love as a heartfelt tribute to Lou Reed, who had recently died.
I have always loved how Morrissey changes some words and lines in his own songs and also in the songs he loves to cover, and this is no exception.
Below, the portrait of Lou Reed that inspired my drawing; I will add the photograph of my artwork tomorrow: the electric light is not very good for taking a picture.
Vera da Pozzo
Somewhere in the North of Italy
27th October 2026
(C) Vera da Pozzo
(C) Italy is Mine
(C) Italy is Mine and It owes Me a Living
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