"Satellite of Love" | ||||
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Single by Lou Reed | ||||
from the album Transformer | ||||
A-side | "Vicious" (Europe) | |||
B-side | "Walk and Talk It" (North America and Australia) | |||
Released | February 1973 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:42 | |||
Label | RCA Victor | |||
Songwriter(s) | Lou Reed | |||
Producer(s) | ||||
Lou Reed singles chronology | ||||
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Official audio | ||||
"Satellite of Love" on YouTube |
"Satellite of Love" is a song by American musician Lou Reed. It is the second single from his 1972 album Transformer . At the time of its release, it achieved minor US chart success (No. 119), though it later became a staple of his concerts and compilation albums.
"Satellite of Love" was composed in 1970 while Reed was still a member of the Velvet Underground. Fellow member Doug Yule, in a 2005 interview, recalled Reed's first mentioning the song to him in the summer of 1970 while they were riding in the back of a limousine with Steve Sesnick: "Steve was there going on about "how we needed airplay", and Lou said "I have this song 'Satellite of Love', and he mentioned the satellite that had just gone up which was a big deal in the news at the time, cause the space race was happening, and Steve Sesnick said 'Yeah, yeah – that'll do it!'" [3] While the band had soon recorded a demo track in the summer of 1970 during the sessions for Loaded , it did not make the final album.
The song is about a man who observes a satellite launch on television, and contemplates what Reed describes as feelings of "the worst kind of jealousy" about his unfaithful girlfriend. [4] The chorus is:
David Bowie, who produced the album with Mick Ronson, provided background vocals, especially for the final chorus. Reed wrote later: "He has a melodic sense that's just well above anyone else in rock & roll. Most people could not sing some of his melodies. He can really go for a high note. Take 'Satellite of Love', on my Transformer album. There's a part at the very end where his voice goes all the way up. It's fabulous." [5]
The existence of the original Velvet Underground version was unknown until the release of the box set Peel Slowly and See in 1995. It also appears on the 1997 Rhino Records 2-CD version of the Loaded album.
In addition to being more up-tempo, the band's version contains a significant change in the lyrics. The lines:
were originally recorded as:
Reflecting on the original lyrics, Reed said, "Jesus. Best left forgotten. Obviously, I didn't want to use real names yet. I probably wanted to make sure I wasn't using a name that really meant something to me." [4]
The song topped the Far Out 's top ten list of Lou Reed's songs. [6] Cash Box called it "another strange effort that should attract a varied crowd of record buyers" and "stands a great commercial shot at scoring many chart points." [7] Record World called it a "cosmic composition" and said that "David Bowie's genius is there in the production." [8]
"Satellite of Love '04"
Chart (2004) | Peak position |
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Netherlands (Single Top 100) [9] | 100 |
UK Singles (OCC) [10] | 10 |
"Satellite of Love" | ||||
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Single by Morrissey | ||||
Released | 2 December 2013 | |||
Length | 3:46 | |||
Label | Parlophone | |||
Songwriter(s) | Lou Reed | |||
Producer(s) | David Millward, Mick Ronson | |||
Morrissey singles chronology | ||||
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Morrissey's live cover of the song was digitally released on 2 December 2013 as a tribute to Reed, following his death in 2013. The song was recorded on 25 November 2011 in at the Chelsea Ballroom of Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas in Nevada. [11] [12] [13] The 7" and 12" vinyl version and a three-track digital version were also released on January 28, 2014. [14] All three versions of the single were supported by additional live tracks, including a rendition of the Smiths' song "Vicar in a Tutu", a cover of Buzzcocks' song "You Say You Don't Love Me" and his 1992 song "You're Gonna Need Someone on Your Side". [14] [15] The cover topped the U.S. Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart. [16]
12"
A-side
B-side
7"
A-side
B-side
Digital download
Chart (2014) | Peak position |
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US Billboard Hot Singles Sales [16] | 1 |
U2 performed the song for the 1992 Zoo TV Tour featuring Lou Reed via a giant screen. Tyler Golsen of the Far Out Magazine listed the live performance as one of "seven of the best Lou Reed covers of all time." [17] .
The Eurythmics did a version which first appeared on a demo cassette in 1983 [18] , and was then later included as bonus track on the 2005 special edition of Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) .
The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness was a benefit concert held on Easter Monday, 20 April 1992, at Wembley Stadium in London, England, for an audience of 72,000. The concert was produced for television by Ray Burdis, directed by David Mallet and broadcast live on television and radio to 76 countries around the world, with an audience of up to one billion. The concert was a tribute to Queen's lead vocalist, Freddie Mercury, who died of an AIDS-related illness on 24 November 1991.
Lewis Allan Reed was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band The Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Although not commercially successful during its existence, the Velvet Underground came to be regarded as one of the most influential bands in the history of underground and alternative rock music. Reed's distinctive deadpan voice, poetic and transgressive lyrics, and experimental guitar playing were trademarks throughout his long career.
Michael Ronson was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musician who recorded five studio albums with Bowie followed by four with Ian Hunter, and also worked as a sideman in touring bands with Van Morrison and Bob Dylan. A classically trained musician, Ronson was known for his melodic approach to guitar playing.
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) is the second studio album by British pop duo Eurythmics, released on 4 January 1983 by RCA Records. Along with the title track, which reached number two on the UK Singles Chart and number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 that year, the album also features the singles "This Is the House", "The Walk", and "Love Is a Stranger".
Your Arsenal is the third studio album by English singer Morrissey, released on 27 July 1992 by record label EMI.
"Perfect Day" is a song written by American musician Lou Reed in 1972. It was originally featured on Transformer, Reed's second post-Velvet Underground solo album, and as B-side of his major hit, "Walk on the Wild Side". Its fame was given a boost in the 1990s when it was featured in the 1996 film Trainspotting and after a star-studded version was released as a BBC charity single in 1997, reaching number one in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Norway. Reed re-recorded the song for his 2003 album The Raven.
Transformer is the second solo studio album by American recording artist Lou Reed. Produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson, the album was released on November 8, 1972 by RCA Records. It is considered an influential landmark of the glam rock genre, anchored by Reed's most successful single, "Walk on the Wild Side", which touched on controversial topics of sexual orientation, gender identity, prostitution and drug use. Although Reed's self-titled debut solo album had been unsuccessful, Bowie had been an early fan of Reed's former band the Velvet Underground and used his fame to promote Reed, who had not yet achieved mainstream success.
Beethoven Was Deaf is a live album by Morrissey, recorded around the time of the tour for Your Arsenal.
"Walk on the Wild Side" is a song by American rock musician Lou Reed from his second solo studio album, Transformer (1972). It was produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson and released as a double A-side with "Perfect Day". Known as a counterculture anthem, the song received wide radio coverage and became Reed's biggest hit and signature song while touching on topics considered taboo at the time, such as transgender people, drugs, male prostitution, and oral sex.
"The Man Who Sold the World" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. The title track of Bowie's third studio album, it was released in November 1970 in the US and in April 1971 in the UK by Mercury Records. Produced by Tony Visconti, it was recorded at Trident and Advision Studios in London in May 1970, towards the end of the album's sessions; Bowie recorded his vocal on the final day of mixing for the album, reflecting his generally dismissive attitude during the sessions. Musically, it is based around a "circular" guitar riff from Mick Ronson. Its lyrics are cryptic and evocative, being inspired by numerous poems including the 1899 "Antigonish" by William Hughes Mearns. Bowie's vocals are heavily "phased" throughout and have been described as "haunting".
All the Young Dudes is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Mott the Hoople, released in 1972. It was their initial album for the CBS Records label, after three years with Island Records in the UK and Atlantic Records in the United States and Canada.
"John, I'm Only Dancing" is a song by the English musician David Bowie, originally released as a non-album single on 1 September 1972. It is a glam rock and R&B song with lyrics that describe a situation in which the narrator informs his lover not to worry about the girl he is with because he is "only dancing" with her. Although ambiguous, many commentators interpreted it as concerning a gay relationship. Recorded in London in June 1972, it was promoted with a low-budget promotional video directed by Mick Rock. It reached number 12 in the UK; RCA refused to release it in America due to its suggestive lyrical content.
"All the Young Dudes" is a song written by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, originally recorded and released as a single by the English rock band Mott the Hoople in 1972 by Columbia Records. Bowie produced the song, which he had given to the band after they rejected his "Suffragette City". Bowie would subsequently record the song himself. Regarded as an anthem of glam rock, the song has received acclaim and was a commercial success. In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked "All the Young Dudes" number 166 in its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It is also one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
"Queen Bitch" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was originally released on his 1971 album Hunky Dory before appearing as the B-side of the single "Rebel Rebel" in the United Kingdom in early 1974. Co-produced by Bowie and Ken Scott, the lineup consisted of the musicians who would later become known as the Spiders from Mars: Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey.
"Ziggy Stardust" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie from his 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Co-produced by Bowie and Ken Scott, he recorded it at Trident Studios in London in November 1971 with his backing band the Spiders from Mars—comprising Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey. Lyrically, the song is about Ziggy Stardust, a bisexual alien rock star who acts as a messenger for extraterrestrial beings. The character was influenced by English singer Vince Taylor, as well as the Legendary Stardust Cowboy and Kansai Yamamoto. Although Ziggy is introduced earlier on the album, this song is its centrepiece, presenting the rise and fall of the star in a very human-like manner. Musically, it is a glam rock song, like its parent album, and is based around a Ronson guitar riff.
Lou Reed Live is a live album by Lou Reed, released in 1975. It was recorded at the same concert as Rock 'n' Roll Animal ; on December 21, 1973, at Howard Stein's Academy of Music in New York. It features three songs from Transformer, one song from The Velvet Underground & Nico and two songs from Berlin. Between this album and the remastered Rock 'n' Roll Animal, the entire show has been released, albeit in a different order than the original concert setlist.
Boxed is a box set by the British pop duo Eurythmics. It was released on 14 November 2005 by RCA Records and contains eight digitally remastered albums including 43 bonus tracks.
"White Light/White Heat" is a song recorded by the American rock band the Velvet Underground. It was released as a single in late November 1967 with the B-side "Here She Comes Now". The following year it appeared as the title track on their second studio album of the same name.
The Best of Lou Reed & The Velvet Underground is a compilation of some of Lou Reed's and some of The Velvet Underground's songs. It was released in 1995, but not in the U.S.
"Andy's Chest" is a song written by Lou Reed, inspired by the 1968 attempted assassination of Andy Warhol. In June 1968, radical feminist writer Valerie Solanas shot artist and filmmaker Andy Warhol and Mario Amaya, art critic and curator, at Warhol's studio, The Factory. The Velvet Underground, of which Reed was the frontman, initially recorded the song in 1969, but this version went unreleased at the time. It was later re-recorded for Reed's solo release Transformer, co-produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson.