Lou Reed 1942-2013

Hello Ben, With Lou Reed passing last week I thought of something possibly interesting for your blog. There are a few photos of Lou Reed, photographed by Mick Rock around 73 or 74, wearing some great pieces of LET IT ROCK clothing.

I’m not sure if Reed used to come to London back then, or if he possibly met Vivienne and Malcolm through the New York Dolls when they exhibited LET IT ROCK clothing at the National Boutique Show which was held at the McAlpin Hotel (opposite Macy’s) in New York in the early 1970s. Anyway, what I personally love, is that some of the photos of Lou Reed were then used by another photographer called Bobby Grossman who had been commissioned by Kellogg’s to promote their products to the German market by showing the newly emerging New York punk-scene crowd (including David Byrne of Talking Heads, Debbie Harry & David Johansen of the New York Dolls) eating the cereal. And we end up with Andy Warhol holding a packet of Kellogg’s with Lou Reed on the box cover wearing Vivienne and Malcolm’s LET IT ROCK top. I presume it’s the one and only time Vivienne Westwood has ended up on a packet of breakfast cereal?! 😉