Metallica’s Lars Ulrich: Lou Reed Was ‘Really Hurt’ by Response to ‘Lulu’
Metallica played a few shows with Iggy Pop last month in Mexico City, and in between rocking faces off, 'Tallica drummer Lars Ulrich sat down for a conversation with the godfather of punk. At one point, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers began discussing another legend, the late Lou Reed.
When speaking about Lulu, the collaborative album between Metallica and Reed, Ulrich recounts how the artists connected on a super deep level, but also remarks on how Reed was extremely hurt by the negative criticism directed toward the album.
Ulrich tells Pop about Reed, "It was hard for him because he was so proud of that record. He felt we had some sort of spiritual connection with him, and he kept talking about that, how we were finally the right band to back him up, how he’d been looking for decades for somebody with the power and so on. Then the record came out, and as you may know, some of the critics were not particularly … kind to this record ... And he was, I mean, he was really hurt."
He adds, "We’re pretty thick-skinned. We’ve been through ups and downs for years, and if we like something we’d done and we enjoy the experience, that’s what matters to us. But I think he was really saddened by the response to [Lulu] and I felt … it was weird. The roles changed at the end where I became almost more maternal to him, and had to like sort of comfort him through this very difficult month when the record came out and it just got f---ing slammed."
Ulrich also recalled the last time he saw Reed. "Metallica played some concerts at The Fillmore [in San Francisco] for a celebration, I think it was our 30th anniversary, and he came out and sang three or four of those songs with us. That was the last time I saw him, unfortunately. I didn’t know he was as sick as he was … so it really threw me when he passed."
Besides speaking about Reed, Ulrich and Pop discuss Andy Warhol, Pop's initial impression on hearing "Seek and Destroy," and so much more. Check out the whole interview both transcribed and on video here.
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See Our Exclusive Gallery of Metallica and Iggy Pop in Mexico City