Rebellion always starts somewhere, and in the music world of the transgressive teen, whether it be the 1960s or the 2020s, the Velvet Underground represent ground zero.
Crystallising the idea of the bohemian, urban, narcissistic art school gang, around a psychedelic rock and roll band - a stylistic idea that evolved in the rarefied environs of Andy Warhol's Factory - the Velvets were the first major American rock group with a mixed gender line-up. They never smiled in photographs, wore sunglasses indoors, and in the process invented the archetype. They were avant-garde nihilists, writing about drug abuse, prostitution, paranoia and sado-masochistic sex at a time when the rest of the world was singing about peace and love. In that sense they invented punk. It could even be argued that they invented modern New York. And then some.
Drawing on interviews and material relating to all major players including Lou Reed, John Cale, Moe Tucker, Andy Warhol, Jon Savage, Nico, David Bowie, Mary Harron and many more, award-winning journalist Dylan Jones breaks down the band's whirlwind of subversion and, in a story rich in drama and detail, with an irresistible narrative pull, proves why the Velvet Underground remain the original kings and queens of edge.
Size: 166 x 241mm (Hardback with dust jacket)
Pages: 388
Publisher: White Rabbit
