Lou Reed was a big influence in my life. I feel the need to do a small, respectful nod to a man who had quite a lot of influence throughout my life. Whenever I hear certain songs, it takes me right back to very key moments – very definitely several of his songs would have to be put on the soundtrack of my life – might even make it onto one of my top 6 when I get invited to do Desert Island Discs…..
Velvet Underground was played almost constantly by my core group of friends the first year of university. Nico was endlessly warbling in the background about despair mostly, with occasional flashes of hope on a stick as we all lay around pretending to be miserable (well I was pretending anyway, I don’t know about anyone else).
But.
The huge one for me was/is “Perfect Day” – the first song played at our wedding. The first dance and the first steps we took publicly together into our new official married life.
Hey ho.
We managed for a while to agree with the sentiment, even though in reality we were unaware the song was mainly about drugs.
It’s a very powerful memory for me, whenever I hear it it takes me right back to that cold, crisp blue day in December in Hammersmith nearly twenty five years ago…
Good grief.
Time eh?
Scary stuff.
Still, I do feel that I owe him a Thank You, for giving me some precious moments and strong memories and as a result (not directly you understand) my three beautiful children.
“What the actual f**k” said my daughter “did you really have that as the first song at your wedding? It’s the most depressing song I’ve ever heard”…..oh, so maybe that’s where we went wrong then…
