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Uptight & Fortuna POP! presents
PEEL SLOWLY & DANCE
An evening of music & film inspired by Lou Reed & The Velvet Underground

Saturday 17th October, 8pm-2am
The Albany
240 Great Portland Street
London
W1W 5QU

Nearest tubes: Great Portland St, Warren St, Oxford Circus
Tel : 0207 387 0221
Web: http://www.thealbanyw1w.co.uk/
Advance: £4 from We Got Tickets / £5 Door
http://www.wegottickets.com/event/322623

Lou Reed, founder member of The Velvet Underground, passed away two years ago this October. To celebrate the immeasurable influence he had on the world of music, Uptight (much-missed London club-night) & Fortuna POP! (much-cherished London indie label) have got together to present Peel Slowly & Dance! an evening of music & film celebrating the life, work & influence(s) of Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground. We will be screening a number of rare films from Warhol’s Factory and playing the music that both inspired Lou and in turn was influenced by his work with the Velvets. Get there early for a film screening at 8pm and bring your dancing shoes for some of the greatest music ever made later on. Dress code: black, whips welcome.

Formed in New York 1964, The Velvet Underground were a truly original rock band incorporating harmonic elements of Doo Wop and Bebop, the experimental drones of La Monte Young, the beat of Bo Diddley, the poetical lyricism of Bob Dylan and the sonic assault of The Who. They went on to influence everyone from the Rolling Stones to Kraftwerk – and it’s fair to say that without them the New York punk scene of Talking Heads, the Ramones, Patti Smith, etc and the US/UK indie scene that spawned The Smiths, REM, Joy Division et al would not have existed as we know it.

Although shot through with an undeniable darkness, the music of Lou Reed and the Velvets is also highly humane and compassionate. As the man himself said of the Velvets:

“If you play all the albums chronologically it covers the growth of us as people, with a tale for everybody in case they want to know what you can do to survive the scenes. You should be able to relate to them. It’s important that people don’t feel alone.”

Or, more simply:

“Despite all the amputations / You can dance to a rock n roll station / And it was alright.”

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I wish I had a thousand bucks/I wish I was the Royal Trux