A “lost” concert film by director/cinematographer Ed Lachman of Lou Reed and John Cale’s ‘Songs For Drella’ album has been found – and it’s coming to streaming.
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Lachman believed that the original negatives were long lost until he unearthed them while researching Todd Haynes’ 2021 documentary film The Velvet Underground.
Now, Songs For Drella will be available to stream exclusively on MUBI in the UK and Ireland from April 17. The concert film shows former The Velvet Underground bandmates Reed and Cale perform songs from their song cycle tribute album to their former manager, Andy Warhol, who died three years prior to the joint album’s release in 1990.
Lachman – known for his chief photography roles on several of Haynes’ films including Far From Heaven and Carol as well his own directorial work (Ken Park, In The Hearts Of Africa) – is noted in press material as producing an “intimate” and “minimalist” film portrait.
“Lachman’s camerawork reflects the elemental, stripped-down qualities of the album, with close-ups beautifully conveying the deep, fractious history between Reed and Cale,” reads part of the concert film’s description.
‘”Drella’” was a nickname used for legendary pop artist Warhol by Reed and Cale (the name is a synthesis of Dracula and Cinderella). The Velvet Underground were managed by Warhol from 1966-67 and also served as the in-house band for his art collective known as “the Factory” as well as Warhol’s traveling multimedia show, the Exploding Plastic Inevitable.
The last time the Welsh multi-instrumentalist hit the road this side of the pond was for his ‘Shifty Adventures In Nookie Wood’ European tour back in October 2012.
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