The Velvet Forum

Hi everyone,

I've recently puzzling over the various bits of VU film that circulate and, helped by Olandem's site, have knocked together the following little page that attempts to catalogue precisely what circulates and where it can be got:

Link

As you'll see, there are a lot of questions on the page; anyone who can answer them would earn my gratitude.

I think most of people here saw documentary Lou Reed Rock'n'Roll Heart. Does someone noticed that fantastic color footage of VU and Nico? It starts by footage of some concert announcement board with female voice talking about VU and after that you can see Nico with her wide open eyes and John Cale in background. Does anyone know what it is? I think it could be from LA66. I remember I read article from some LA news where journalist mentioned that Velvets were on local TV.

Ondrej

Hmm... could it be the Psychiatrist's Convention footage?

Here's some more questions for you experts:

1. Is the Rarovideo release of Moe In Bondage complete? Does it show the two screens simultaneously or separately?

2. Is Hedy ever gonna be released on DVD?

3. Is there any difference in the VU content (either audio or video) between Walden/Diaries Notes & Sketches and Scenes From The Life Of Andy Warhol?

4. Does the Chelsea Girls DVD contain the full 33 minutes of VU music, or are parts obscured as per the original projection instructions?

hi Mark - the "498 3rd Ave" film was shown on German TV in the mid-1990s. I have it on VHS, but there is no VU to be seen anywhere in it. It's the most frustrating thing - while the VU go wild on the audio track, the camera slowly pans around about 150 degrees to show a party, people dancing, drinking etc, but the VU never come into view! It's as if they were playing just off-camera. And then just to rub it in, Merce Cunningham starts talking about his dance troupe over the top of the VU performance, which slowly fades down. A friend of mine subsequently contacted the film's director, but he said that he has no unused VU footage from the event.....There are also photos taken by Billy Name on that day - they show Lou with their "U-HAUL" truck. One of them was used on the cover of the "Foggy Notion" boot 45 in the mid 1970s
Stills from the "Sunday Morning" film were first published in NY Rocker magazine as part of their "VU special" in 1980. (I thought that footage dated from 1965, but my memory could be faulty...)