A Head Full of Wishes is a site for Galaxie 500, Luna, Damon & Naomi, Dean & Britta and Dean Wareham. With news, articles and lists of releases and past and future shows.
20 years without Sterling Morrison
It's been twenty years since we lost Velvet Underground guitarist and tugboat captain Sterling Morrison.
Time to dig out some VU, or Luna's Bewitched, and raise a glass...
We had met Sterling on the Velvet Underground European tour in 1993 [...]
Getting the call to open for the Velvet Underground was weird. I thought I might have been dreaming. But weeks later I found myself in a dressing room at the Edinburgh Playhouse, listening to Lou Reed, John Cale, Moe Tucker and Sterling Morrison run through Venus in Furs.
We had already recorded a demo of “Friendly Advice” with producer Victor Van Vugt, which we played every night on that tour, and Sterling Morrison told us that was his favorite track. We asked if he’d like to play guitar on our next album, and we were all surprised when he said yes. So far as we knew, Sterling hadn’t played on anyone’s record since about 1971. He was a lovely and unassuming guy, and when he passed away just two years later, I put on my headphones and listened to his transcendent guitar solo in "Friendly Advice," and I cried.
