"Andy's Chest" is a song written by

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

, inspired by the 1968

attempted assassination of Andy Warhol On June 3, 1968, the artist and filmmaker Andy Warhol was shot by the radical feminist writer Valerie Solanas at The Factory in New York City. Prior to the incident, Solanas was a bit player in the Factory scene. She wrote and self-published t ...

. In June 1968,

radical feminist Radical feminism is a perspective within feminism that calls for a radical re-ordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic contexts, while recognizing that women's experiences are also affected by other ...

writer

Valerie Solanas Valerie Jean Solanas (April 9, 1936 – April 25, 1988) was an American radical feminist known for her attempt to murder the artist Andy Warhol in 1968. Solanas appeared in the Warhol film '' I, a Man'' (1967) and self-published the '' SCU ...

shot artist and filmmaker

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...

and

Mario Amaya Mario Amaya (October 6, 1933 – June 29, 1986) was an American art critic, museum director and magazine editor, and (1972–1976) director of the New York Cultural Center and (1976–1979) the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Virginia. He ...

, art critic and curator, at Warhol's studio,

The Factory The Factory was Andy Warhol's art studio in Manhattan, New York City, which had four locations between 1963 and 1987. The Factory became famous for its parties in the 1960s. It was the hip hangout spot for artists, musicians, celebrities, and ...

The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...

, of which Reed was the frontman, initially recorded the song in 1969, but this version went unreleased at the time. It was later re-recorded for Reed's solo release ''

Transformer In electrical engineering, a transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple Electrical network, circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces ...

'', co-produced by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

and

Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musici ...

. The Velvet Underground recording of the song, eventually released on '' VU'' in 1985, is an upbeat pop track. The arrangement that appears on ''Transformer'' has a slower tempo and features

Herbie Flowers Brian Keith "Herbie" Flowers (19 May 1938 – 5 September 2024) was an English musician specialising in bass guitar, double bass and tuba. He was a member of groups including Blue Mink, T. Rex and Sky and was also a prolific session musician. ...

on bass and Bowie on backing vocals. This song is a tribute to Warhol, who was Reed's mentor and lifelong friend. Warhol had supported the Velvet Underground through financing, promotion, bookings, and designing the band's debut album cover. Eventually resenting Warhol's degree of control (Warhol had inserted

Nico Christa Päffgen (; 16 October 1938 – 18 July 1988), known by her stage name Nico, was a German singer, songwriter, actress, and model. Nico had roles in several films, including Federico Fellini's '' La Dolce Vita'' (1960) and Andy Warhol's ...

into the band's line-up infuriating Reed and band member

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styles across rock, dr ...

), the band broke with Nico, Warhol and the whole NY art scene in which they had become entrenched to pursue a rock tour and planning of their second album: '' White Light/White Heat''. Warhol was shot by Solanas immediately after the split and only narrowly survived. "Andy's Chest" was written in sympathy and in thanks to Warhol. The title points to the substantial scar across Warhol's chest (the shot went through both lungs, spleen, stomach, liver, and esophagus), while the song lyrics refer to Warhol's studio

and the artists who populated it.

Reception

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' said the Velvet Underground version was a "slightly gauche tryout of a song that will return in a sharper and better-produced form on subsequent Lou Reed solo albums".

Personnel

: lead vocals, rhythm guitar *

: backing vocals *

: lead guitars *

: bass * John Halsey: drums

References

{{authority control 1969 songs Songs written by Lou Reed Lou Reed songs Song recordings produced by David Bowie Cultural depictions of Andy Warhol Cultural depictions of Valerie Solanas The Velvet Underground songs

Reception

Personnel

See also

References