Lou Reed makes surprise appearance at playback celebrating his Transformer album

Lou Reed astounded a small group of 100 fan who had gathered to celebrate his 1972 album Transformer by making a personal appearance to listen to the album in its entirety.

The event, set up by website high50.com, took place on March 4 at New York's Soho House. Reed also took part in a discussion about the album's content and its wider cultural significance.

Earlier in the evening, photographer Mick Rock, who shot Reed for Transformer's album cover, read excerpts from his new book - Transformer.

The high50.com New York event follows a number of similar 'listening clubs' held across Soho House’s UK branches over the past 18 months, which have included vinyl playbacks of records such as Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon and David Bowie's The Rise And Fall of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars.