the Velvet Underground, American band of the 1960s whose primal guitar sound and urban noir lyrics, influenced by avant-garde art and modern literature, inspired the punk and alternative rock movements of the 1970s and ’80s. The principal members were Lou Reed (original name Lewis Allan Reed; b. March 2, 1942, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. d. October 27, 2013, Southampton, New York), John Cale (b. March 9, 1942, Garnant, Wales), Sterling Morrison (in full Holmes Sterling Morrison; b. August 29, 1942, Westbury, New York d. August 30, 1995, Poughkeepsie, New York), Maureen (“Moe”) Tucker (b. August 26, 1944, Levittown, Long Island, New York),