Responding to the death of Lou Reed this morning David Bowie released a short but elegant statement reading: "He was a master."
Tributes have been pouring in for the Velvet Underground frontman all night from those who knew him and those who were simply touched by his music alike.
Twitter seems to be the most immediate way for musicians to connect to their fans at the moment and messages were tweeted overnight by Nile Rodgers, Mick Hucknall, Samuel L. Jackson, Irvine Welsh, Mia Farrow, Lee Ranaldo, Russell Simmons and ?uestlove.
Another friend from the early 1970s, Iggy Pop, said simply: "Devastating news…"
Reed’s Velvets co-founder John Cale initially paid tribute on his Facebook page, saying, "The world has lost a fine songwriter and poet… I’ve lost my ‘school-yard buddy’", before releasing a longer statement through Universal Music last night. Reed and Cale had a famously turbulent relationship, which partly led to the latter’s departure from The Velvet Undergound in 1968, followed by a brief reunion in the early 90s. Read his statement below:
