Celebrities React to Lou Reed’s Death

The musician died aged 71. His former partner on The Velvet Underground shared his grief as well as other artists.

Other public figures, from music to literature, through the film, have written about the death of Lou Reed on Twitter. Iggy Pop, The Who, Peaches, Ryan Adams, Pixies, Nile Rodgers, Pat Carney (Black Keys), Miley Cyrus, actors Julianne Moore, Elijah Wood, Ricky Gervais and also the writer Irvine Welch, who thanked Lou Reed “supply “of ‘Perfect Day’ for the movie Trainspotting (based on a book of his own), are other celebrities who have mourned the death of the artist.

With just one Top 20 hit in a 40-year career, Lou Reed was still one of the most influential rock ‘n’ roll artists of all time. See below some of the celebrity tweets:

‘The news I feared the most, pales in comparison to the lump in my throat and the hollow in my stomach. Two kids have a chance meeting and 47 years later we fight and love the same way — losing either one is incomprehensible. No replacement value, no digital or virtual fill … broken now, for all time. Unlike so many with similar stories – we have the best of our fury laid out on vinyl, for the world to catch a glimpse. The laughs we shared just a few weeks ago, will forever remind me of all that was good between us.’ — John Cale.

‘Mr. LOU REED had himself a dream: Velvet the underground & change the music scene. Now he’s up & gone away. #RIP Lou Reed, an un-Perfect Day.’— Kevin Smith.

‘New York lost one of our greatest gifts today.’ — Russell Simmons.

‘A musician, artist and trailblazer who played by his own rules.’ — Paul Stanley.

‘One of the greatest artists of our time.’ — Ricky Gervais.

‘RIP Lou Reed. Thank you for your beautiful/dark lyrics/music and stance on life. You inspired me from my teenage years right up till today.’ — Motley Crue.

‘Rest in peace. Music lives forever.’ — LL Cool J.

‘R.I.P Lou Reed – VU was a big influence when weezer was being formed.’ — Weezer’s official Twitter page.

‘Cool cat. Hey babe take a walk on the wild side. Encouraging words for a young Virginia.’ — Virginia Madsen.

‘Where was I when I heard Lou Reed died? A pumpkin patch in Moorpark. A pumpkin patch. In Moorpark.’ — me, to my grandchildren’ — Patton Oswalt.

‘I met Lou Reed and told him he gave me tinnitus at a concert in 1989 that never went away and it was worth it. Dirty Blvd. Love to Lou.’ — Judd Apatow.

‘The great & amazing Lou Reed has died my condolences 2 his wife Laurie Anderson.Lou was1of a kind & this colored girl still says dededede…’ — Whoopi Goldberg.

‘Very sad to hear the news of Lou Reed’s passing. Another rocknroll legend has left us mere mortals behind. Thanks for the inspiration, Lou.’ — Darren Criss.

‘My intro to Lou Reed/Velvet Underground was Janes Addiction cover of ‘Rock n Roll’. He was a singular, unique talent. RIP Lou and thanks.’ — Tom Morello.

‘One of a kind magic street soul, who created a future and history. I’m sad.’ — Juliette Lewis.

‘Lou Reed, my friend, a genius who transcended Rock. My condolences to his family. A poet 1st, he performed like a hit-man on a mission.’ — Richard Lewis.

‘R.I.P. Lou Reed. Just met at the GQ Awards. The music of my generation. Still Relevant!’ — Samuel L. Jackson.

‘Lou Reed RIP – always inspired by him – terrible news – only knew him through his art -a great – a singular poet -‘ — John Cusack.

‘I loved Lou. I admired Lou very much. He was a very genuine person. He was always decent to me. His talent was so wonderful in my life and it gave me great pleasure and guidance. I am sure that his was a worthwhile life, and one he would have enjoyed had it continued longer. He and his wife Laurie were such a good couple.
Iggy’ – Iggy Pop

‘In mourning after the death of Lou Reed, one of the most important friends in my life. We’d better say so long, bye, bye, bye.(he walked on the wild side)’ – Patti Smith

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AlexandreG. Is just a guy who got tired of bothering his friends talking about music, and decided to create a blog to write about what he loves the most.