METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich has paid his respects to Lou Reed, the singer, songwriter and former THE VELVET UNDERGROUND frontman who died on Sunday (October 27) at the age of 71 from complications due to liver disease. Although Reed got a liver transplant last spring, the affliction could not be beaten despite continued treatment and Reed returned to Long Island to spend his final days at home.
METALLICA collaborated with Reed in 2011 on the album "Lulu", which was a commercial failure and widely panned by fans and critics.
Nevertheless, the disc was the last recorded work released by Reed, and the members ofMETALLICA may have been the last musicians to work with him in the studio.
Speaking to Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian, Ulrich said: "[Reed and METALLICA] had communicated about a month ago when we were going to come by New York to play the Apollo, and Lou was going to come to the show and hang out. He didn't make it because his health took a turn for the worse, so I knew things were not good, but I didn't know it was that serious. So I was half shocked and half crushed — shocked that he went so quickly and crushed over the loss.
"We were both outsiders, we both never felt comfortable going down the same path that everyone else was doing. METALLICA's always been autonomous, and Lou Reed is the godfather of being an outsider, being autonomous, marching to his own drum, making every project different from the previous one and never feeling like he had a responsibility to anybody other than himself. We shared kinship over that. And we brought him something that he didn't have, or maybe hadn't experienced so much, which in his own words were 'energy' and 'weight' and 'size' and whatever it is that happens when we start playing. He was so into what we brought him. And, of course, he brought us this incredible piece of work that he had already written, 'Lulu', and about her escapades and sexual endeavours. We brought something to each other, and we shared a common lack of ability to fit in with our surroundings.
"The hard rock community, they can be pretty harsh, so I'm pretty thick-skinned. And so when the hard rock community turned its back on the record, I wasn't surprised. A lot of people were saying, 'Oh, Lou Reed doesn't sing.' Yeah, no shit. What do you think he's been doing for the last 40 years? Did you expect him to sound like Robert Plant? That's not what he does. In the hard rock community I was not particularly surprised. But I was surprised that some more intellectual writers were pretty harsh to it.
"I'll always remember his fragility. I felt in some way that I connected to his fragility, and identified with it. He was very open, he would say, 'Lars, I love you,' and text me a heart. It was so beautiful. The way he was so unfiltered is what I will remember most, and his fragility, and how I've never met anybody who, no matter what he was saying, he was always speaking his truth. It never felt cerebral, it always felt like it came from some other place somewhere. When people talk, it comes from their brain; I don't know where his words came from, but they came from somewhere else. Emotional, physical, everything — it really resonated with me. I wanted to give him strength, and I think METALLICA gave him strength. His being was so beautiful once that guard went away, and it was childlike."
MOTÖRHEAD mainman Lemmy Kilmister has released the following statement:
"I have to sadly let you know that MOTÖRHEAD has had to postpone the forthcoming European tour until early next year, 2014.
"We have made the decision because I am not quite ready to hit the road yet, and am working my way back to full fitness and rude health. Don't worry — I'm not about to start promoting veganism and alcohol-free beverages, but it is fair to say that I personally have been reconfiguring areas of my life to make sure I can come back fitter and stronger than ever.
"It disappointed me tremendously to have to say I wasn't quite ready to hit the road yet, but not nearly as much as it would've disappointed me to go out, play some average shows and watch my health give way long before the tour was over! When people come to see aMOTÖRHEAD tour, they expect a MOTÖRHEAD show, and that is exactly what you will get as soon as I am fit and ready to rumble.
"Your patience and understanding is appreciated...and know that I'm getting stronger and stronger every day, so watch out next spring Europe and we will see you then.
"Thank you all."
Lemmy recently spoke to U.K.'s Classic Rock magazine about his health issues that have caused the band to cancel a number of European festival appearances this past summer — including shows in France, Germany and Russia. The dates were called off when doctors discovered an unspecified haematoma, a pool of leaked blood gathered in Lemmy's muscles. The legendary rocker is also suffering from Type 2 diabetes, diagnosed more than a decade ago, and has had a defibrillator fitted earlier this year to iron out the uneven bumps in his heart.
"I don't mind you asking about my health," Lemmy told the magazine. "I've been poorly. There's no point lying about it or trying to deny it. I've never done that. It's all part of life's rich tapestry, isn't it? I understand you've got to ask. And I'm feeling better."
According to Lemmy, people are telling him to slow down — that living life at breakneck speed is beginning to take its toll.
"It was the same when people were telling me to stop smoking," Lemmy said. "'You've got to stop smoking, Lem,' they kept saying." "Fuck you. I don't like people telling me what to do, even if they might be right."
Lemmy did, however, stop smoking cigarettes a year ago. "I was having breakfast one morning, coughing and hacking my way through a cigarette and I stopped and thought: 'What am I doing here?'" he explained.
Although it's been reported that Lemmy used to drink a bottle of Jack Daniel's a day, he claims that those days are behind him.
"I stopped drinking Jack Daniel's and Coke because the sugar in the Coke wasn't good for my diabetes," he said. "I don't drink much [anymore]."
Lemmy takes two pills every day for his diabetes, which has affected the circulation in his legs. As a result, his legs stiffen and ache if he walks too far and his back hurts if he stands for too long. "But I can still stand at that mic every night and play my songs," he said. "I wouldn't know about the defibrillator if it wasn't for that fucking lump in my chest," he said. "I'm getting better. By the time this article is out, and the tour comes around, I'll be all right. I'll be ready."
When told that some people have suggested that MOTÖRHEAD's upcoming album,"Aftershock", might be the band's last, Lemmy replied: "Really? Who said that? I've never said that. Phil [Campbell, MOTÖRHEAD guitarist] has never said it. Mikkey [Dee,MOTÖRHEAD drummer] has never said it. We plan to go on. Maybe, if we can't tour any more, we'll just make albums. We'll be like THE BEATLES after 1966."
Lemmy, who turns 68 years old in December, told Classic Rock he didn't expect to still be here at 30,
"I don't do regrets," he said. "Regrets are pointless. It's too late for regrets. You've already
done it, haven't you? You've lived your life. No point wishing you could change it.
"There are a couple of things I might have done differently, but nothing major; nothing that would have made that much of a difference.
"I'm pretty happy with the way things have turned out. I like to think I've brought a lot
of joy to a lor of people all over the world. I'm true to myself and I'm straight with people."
Asked if his illness this year has made him more aware of his own mortality, Lemmy said: "Death is an inevitability, isn't it? You become more aware of that when you get to my age. I don't worry about it. I'm ready for it. When I go, I want to go doing what I do best. If I died tomorrow, I couldn't complain. It's been good."
