News

December 19, 1996
John Cale, Nulle Part Ailleurs TV show, Canal +, 8:10 PM, France
Interesting live rendition of 'Dancing Undercover'.

December 13, 1996
Lou Reed / David Bowie
Lou Reed will be joining as special guest at David Bowie's 50th birthday January 9 benefit concert at Madison Square Garden with profits going to Save The Children. More info.

December 11, 1996
John Cale, filmed by Patrick Savey, Paris Première TV, December 16, 1996, 11:00 PM
The show filmed in France during the 'Séquentielles de Lyon' in 1995 will be broadcasted on french cable TV. John Cale plays piano and guitar. The setlist includes: Wedding Anniversary, Carmen Miranda, Cordoba, Set Me Free... (Source: Les Inrockuptibles no. 83). Re-broadcasted on Dec. 17, 2:55 PM.

December 10, 1996
L'école John Cale, by Barbarian, Libération, no. 4839, December 10, 1996, p. 36, France
Interview with John Cale about 'Walking On Locusts', production, opera, autobiographical memoirs, success and work.

December 9, 1996
'Time Rocker' tracklist
Here's the titles to Lou's songs in Time Rocker (courtesy of Sal Mercuri): Alone at Last, Blood of the Lamb, Vanishing Act, Cremation, Mongo and Longo, A Witness to Life, Gossip Song, Future Farmers of America, Putting on a New Skin, Reverse Diminuendo, Turning Time Around, Into the Divine, Why Do You Talk, I Don't Need This, Talking Book, On the Run.

December 9, 1996
Les concerts de la semaine, Rock, John Cale, by Laurence K. Romance, Libération, no. 4838, December 9, 1996, p. 40, France
Annoucement of John Cale's Bataclan show in Paris.
"Toujours principalement connu comme membre du Velvet Underground, John Cale n'en a pas moins accompli ces 25 dernières années un travail d'une rare diversité, comme producteur de premiers albums fondateurs (Stooges, Patti Smith), ou en solo, tout au long d'une carrière riche en chansons mémorables. Qu'il ait choisi de mettre en avant son coté académique ou chaotique, Cale mérite qu'on aille voir ce qu'il fait, spécialement quand il a un bon album a promouvoir, tel le récent Walking On Locusts."

December 6, 1996
More info about 'Time Rocker' (see below)
The dress rehearsal of this Bob Wilson show was performed in Hamburg, June 1996. It's a very convoluted rendering of the H.G. Welles novel 'The Time Machine'. The music comes from a band and the singing from the actors on stage. There are also taped guitar parts by Lou Reed. He wrote over a dozen new songs for the show and also included 'On the Run' and 'Cremation'. Thanks to Sal Mercuri for those info.

December 5, 1996
Fragments of a Rainy Season, MCM TV, France
Part of the 'Fragments of a Rainy Season' video (shot live in Brussels during the 1992 european tour) was broadcasted twice this week (Dec. 2, 8:30 PM and Dec. 3, 11:00 PM) on MCM TV channel. Tracklist : On A Wedding Anniversary / Lie Still, Sleep Becalmed / Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night / Carmen Miranda / Cordoba / Ship Of Fools / Leaving It Up To You / The Ballad Of Cable Hogue / Chines Envoy / Fear / Dying On The Vine / Heartbreak Hotel / Styles It Takes. No extra stuff compared to the official video (Paris 1919, Close Watch and Hallelujah were not broadcasted).

December 4, 1996
La semaine concerts, John Cale, Les Inrockuptibles, no. 82, December 4-10, 1996, France
Annoucement of John Cale's french dates: Théatre Sébastopol, Lille (Dec. 7), L'Olympic, Nantes (9), Bataclan, Paris (10), La Laiterie, Strasbourg (11).
"Après quelques années passées sous terre, John Cale a traversé la décennie 70 sur du velours, visitant sa folie sans l'ombre d'une faute de goût. Libéré de sa camisole de force, il s'est mis a cartonner tous azimuts, de BO de films d'auteurs français en productions opportunistes (des Happy Mondays à Lio), mais capables en certaines occasions (rares) de fulgurances de l'acabit de Music for a new society ou de Words for the dying.
Même si son nouvel album - aux velléités rock - n'est ni pire ni meilleur que les précédents, on ira à la rencontre de ce dandy inscrit au club des artistes dont le culte est entretenu sur la foi de concerts régulièrement impressionants."

November 30, 1996
Moe Tucker's tour
Maureen is working on booking a Southern tour for February / March 1997. Here are shows that are confirmed.

Feb 26	Hunter-Gatherer	Columbia, SC
Feb 27	?	somewhere in Savannah
Feb 28	Cow Haus	Tallahasee, Fl
March 1	Milk Bar	Jacksonville, Fl
March 3	Sapphire Supper Club	Orlando, Fl
March 8	Masquerade	Tampa, Fl
March 10	Inn Zone	Douglas, Ga
March 11	40 Watt	Athens, Ga
March 12	The Point	Atlanta, Ga
March 13	Red Lion	Augusta, Ga
March 14	Handlebar	Greenville, SC
?	?	somewhere in Charleston, SC

November 29, 1996
Lou Reed & John Cale, 'Songs For Drella', MCM TV, 11 h PM, November 29, 1996, Europe
New broadcast. No extra stuff compared to the official video.

November 28, 1996
Loaded (Fully Loaded Edition) : The Rhino Records info (courtesy of John Hagelston)
Rhino "Unloads" 2-CD Rarities Collection Of Seminal '60s Rock Quartet's Final Studio Recordings!
(No, Not The Beatles -- The Velvet Underground)
LOS ANGELES -- Rhino Records, the music industry's leading archival label, is proud to announce the definitive reissue of The Velvet Underground's Loaded.
This final studio release from one of rock's most influential bands has been supplemented with more than an hour of rare and never-before-heard outtakes, demos, and alternate mixes -- including an entire alternate version of the classic album and several additional unreleased tracks.
Loaded may not be the Velvet's best album (their debut probably gets that nod), but let's put it this way: if God wrote a sequel to the Bible that wasn't quite up to the original, would you still read it? Yes, you would. Loaded (Fully Loaded Edition) is powered by such anthems as "Sweet Jane" and "Rock & Roll" and became the band's most commercially and critically successful effort. Like Abbey Road, Loaded was a swan song sung in highly polished pop. Set for release February 18, 1997, the double-CD will be available at retail with a suggested list price of $19.98 and from RhinoDirect at 1-800-432-0020.
Loaded (Fully Loaded Edition) includes new liner notes by Rolling Stone Senior Editor David Fricke as well as rare photos. The original 1970 release (for Atlantic's Cotillion subsidiary) was a source of debate among fans for years -- principle songwriter Lou Reed left the band between the recording and release of the album's 10 tracks and disavowed the way they were mixed in his wake. Loaded has been remastered from the original tapes by Lou's right-hand engineer, Bob Ludwig.
The New York-based quartet of Reed, John Cale (supplanted in 1968 by Doug Yule), the late Sterling Morrison, and Maureen "Moe" Tucker broadened rock's sonic pallette and opened up its lyrical outlook to the realities of modern urban life. Virtually every band that ever played alternative rock -- from the Stooges to R.E.M. and Sonic Youth -- owes an incalculable debt to The Velvet Underground. The band remains among rock's most revered acts and was a 1995 inductee into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

November 27, 1996
Bob Wilson & Lou Reed, Avant-première, Les Inrockuptibles, no. 81, November 27, 1996, France
Preview of Wilson's 'Time Rocker' show with Lou Reed's collaboration on music. The show will appear in Paris in January 1997.

November 22, 1996
'Velvet Redux Live MCMXCIII', MCM TV, November 21, 1996, Europe
The tracklist of this film broacasted last night included : Sweet Jane, I Heard Her Call My Name, Femme Fatale, I'm Sticking With You, Rock 'N' Roll, I'll Be Your Mirror, I'm Waiting For The Man, Heroin, Pale Blue Eyes. No extra stuff compared to the official video.

November 21, 1996
Fully Loaded
According to Rhino Records, Loaded (Fully Loaded Edition, 2 CDs) will be released on February 18, 1997.

November 19, 1996
More info about 'Trente ans de Rock et de Folk' french TV documentary (see below)
The VU-related stuff included was very limited... Lou Reed appears twice briefly (about two seconds!). Don't worry if you missed this documentary.

November 17, 1996
'Velvet Redux Live MCMXCIII', MCM TV, November 21, 1996, Europe
The european musical TV channel will broadcast one hour of the Velvet Underground show filmed at the Olympia Theater in 1993.

November 14, 1996
Lou Reed, 'Satellite Of Love', live, 'Nulle Part Ailleurs' TV show, Canal +, France
The previously unreleased encore performed live by Lou Reed during french TV show (May 5, 1996) was broadcasted tonight. It's an excellent accoustic rendering of 'Satellite Of Love'.

November 6, 1996
Les Inrockuptibles, ten years, hundred albums
Two VU-related albums appear in the list of 'best' albums released between 1986 and 1996 published by the french cultural magazine for their 10th anniversary: John Cale's 'Words for the dying' (no.63) and Cale/Reed's 'Songs for Drella' (no.100).

November 4, 1996
Moe says
"I played in ny with a band called Magnet. Our show went very well and we had a good time. Lou came to see us, which really surprised me because he doesnt go to those kinds of places (small, dumpy r and r clubs). It was sweet of him to come, I thought. I had recorded an album with them (I played drums) and they wanted to do a show in the hopes of getting some attention, so I said I would do it with them. The lineup is me on drums; the drummer from my band (John Sluggett) on bass; the "leader" is Mark Goodman; guitarist is Dan Brenner. We will probably do a short tour in the spring. My guitarist (Sonny) is coming here this week to help me get my ass in gear and get cracking with touring plans. I'm hoping to do a fair amount of touring in the US this spring. Other then that, I'm just laying around being lazy!"

November 3, 1996
Loaded (Fully Loaded Edition)
The info about this release was confirmed (see below). It should appear in April with about an hour of rare and previously unreleased outtakes, demos and alternative mixes. The L.A.Times reports today that the CD set will include the entire original edition of 1970's Loaded, with all the other stuff appearing on a separate disk.

October 29, 1996
More info about the MCM Lou Reed concert
The concert broacasted this night was the well-known 'Songs For Drella' film. No extra stuff.

October 26, 1996
Les trente ans de "Rock et Folk", Canal +, Nov. 1, 1996, 10:05 PM, France
Lou Reed will appear in this 50 minutes documentary by Philippe Manoeuvre and Eric Dahan, broadcasted for 30th anniversary of french magazine 'Rock & Folk'. New broadcastings on Nov. 13 at 3:20 PM and Nov. 18 at 0:05 AM.

October 26, 1996
'Walking On Locusts' review by Nick Kent, Libération, no. 4801, Oct. 26-27, 1966, France
Interesting Cale's new album review (in french) by the legendary rock critic. The album is curiously titled 'Dancing On Insects'...

October 23, 1996
Lou Reed concert, MCM, Oct. 29, 1996, 11h PM
A Lou Reed concert will be broadcasted on european musical cable TV channel. No more info for now...

October 23, 1996
'Bébête Underground', Bruno Juffin, Les Inrockuptibles, no. 76, October 23-29, 1996, France
John Cale's 'Walking On Locusts' review (in french) with a nice shot by Renaud Monfourny.

October 10, 1996
'What Goes On' fanzine issue 5
After 6 years of wait (!!!), issue 5 appears in September 1996. It is focused on Velvet Underground live performances from 1965 to 1993, with lots of show and record reviews.

October 8, 1996
Loaded plus
Rhino Records plan to release the album LOADED which will contain a pristine digital dupe of the original LP and a whole mess of alternate versions from the same sessions -- most of which have ever appeared before anywhere. The Rhino LOADED is set for a March 1997 release and hopefully it won't be bumped for later.

October 2, 1996
'The Velvet Underground & Nico' vinyl french reissue
A new edition of the Velvet Underground first LP appears. It's a special limited pressing, only available in french 'fnac' stores. Classic cover without peelable banana...

September 27, 1996
Moe Tucker news
According to 57 Records, Moe was in the studio recently with the Atlanta, Ga. band '#1 Family Mover'. The band had replaced the word "motherf***er" with "Maureen Tucker" on the song "Passport". Phil Hadaway, who engineered and played on 'Dogs Under Stress', was in the studio with the band and told Moe about the change. Moe liked the use of her name in the song and agreed to sing and play percussion on a couple of tracks. The album is due out February 3rd on Shotput Records.

September 26, 1996
New Jonathan Richman album is out! 'Surrender To Jonathan!', Vapor Records/WEA 9362-46296-2, Germany
It's great! Get it!

September 25, 1996
John Cale news
John Cale was celebrated the September 24th release of his new album, 'Walking on Locusts', with appearances on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic on Tuesday, September 24th and NBC's Tonight Show on Wednesday, September 25th. Cale performed "Some Friends" on KCRW and "Dancing Undercover" on NBC. Immediately following the shows, he'll be heading out on tour.

September 21, 1996
New John Cale album is out : 'Walking On Locusts', Hanibal/Rykodisc 1395
Maureen Tucker is credited as kit player. More info on the John Cale front page and the Rykodisc Label site.

September 18, 1996
Lester Bangs' Psychotic Reactions and Carburetor Dung french edition
The french translation (by Jean-Paul Mourlon) of the Lester Bangs legendary book is now available. Tristan ISBN: 2-907681-11-7.

September 15, 1996
The Moe Tucker Web Page is available!
Click here! Full discography with Moe's comments, bibliography, concerts... and Moe's stuff available to all.

September 12, 1996
Moe Tucker news
Moe produced (in July) an album for a group called 'Paul K and the Weathermen'. The album will be released in January and is called 'Love is a Gas'. She also played drums (last March) on an album for a group called 'Magnet'. They are looking for a label. Don't know what the album will be called.

September 9, 1996
Lou Reed french TV appearance : November 1, 1996, Canal +
Lou Reed should appear in a special broadcast for 30th anniversary of french magazine 'Rock & Folk'. This show will be presented by Philippe Manoeuvre. More info coming soon...

September 4, 1996
New Jonathan Richman Album : 'Surrender To Jonathan Richman', Vapour/WEA
Should be out on September 13, 1996, first release for a major label (Vapour is Neil Young's label). What's the relation with the Velvet Underground? Hey!

1. Jonathan was regular attender at the VU's Boston Tea Party sets and often socialized with the band.
2. Some Modern Lovers' early sessions were produced by John Cale
3. He made one of the best VU cover ever : listen to his version of 'Foggy Notion' live at the Long Branch Saloon, Brooklyn Berkeley California in 1973.
4. Jonathan and Moe recorded a legendary duet in 1980.
5. Listen to his fantastic 'Velvet Underground' song (including some 'Sister Ray'!) on the 1991 'I, Jonathan' album.
6. He wrote liner notes for Moe's 'Life In Exile...' Rev-Ola reissue.
7. And finally VU fans are often Jojo fans.

September 4, 1996
New John Cale album : 'Walking On Locusts', Ryko/Harmonia Mundi
This album will be released on September 23, 1996. More info can be found on the John Cale front page.

August 19, 1996
The Doug Yule VU photo book is now available !!
Click here to see a sample of the never-published photographs included in that volume. For more info send e-mail to fiercepup@erols.com or write to Fierce Pup Productions, PO Box 5275 North Bergen N.J. 07047 U.S.A.

July, 1996
New Lou Reed bootleg CD : 'Orpheum', Moonraker 107/08, Italy
Try to get this new double bootleg CD, it sounds really good. It's a live recording made during Lou's last tour, in Boston Orpheum Theater, March 30th, 1996.

June 1996
Unbelievable 'easy listenning' (!) VU cover : 'The Velvet Underground Medley' by The Mike Flowers Pops
VU covers are usually not very interesting, but this one (a medley with 'All Tomorrow's Parties', 'Venus In Furs' and 'White Light/White Heat') is terrific. It can be found on the first Mike Flowers Pops album 'A Groovy Place' (London 828 743.2).