Lou Reed has died, aged 71.
Reed died at his home on Long Island of an ailment that stemmed from his recent liver transplant.
The New York Times reports that Dr. Charles Miller, the surgeon who performed the transplant on Reed at the Cleveland Clinic in April this year, revealed that Reed was back in Ohio last week for further treatment.
It was determined that Reed’s end-stage liver disease could no longer be treated, and he decided to return to the home he shared with his wife, Laurie Anderson. “We all agreed that we did everything we could,” Dr. Miller said.
In June, Anderson revealed news of the life-saving liver transplant but suggested that he might not “ever totally recover” from the surgery.
Reed later posted a message on Facebook, where he described himself as a “triumph of modern medicine” and announced that he is looking forward to playing live again.
Reed returned to the stage on June 20, after canceling a string of live dates “due to unavoidable complications”. He appeared at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. “The other day I was 19,” he told the crowd. “I could fall down and get back up. Now if I fall down you are talking about nine months of physical therapy. Make sure you take your vitamins.”
On Sunday, June 30, Reed was admitted to Long Island’s Southampton Hospital suffering from severe dehydration. He was released the following day.
Reed had recently been in London to promote a book of photography by Mick Rock. He had also been working with John Cale on an anniversary special edition of The Velvet Underground‘s White Light/White Heat album, which is due for release in December.
You can read tributes to Reed from David Bowie and John Cale here.
You can read Morrissey‘s statement on Reed’s death here.
You can read Patti Smith and David Byrne’s tributes here.
You can hear Neil Young, Elvis Costello and Jim James cover a Lou Reed song here.
You can read a 2002 interview with Reed from the Uncut archives here.