- Share this article on Facebook
- Share this article on Twitter
- Share this article on Flipboard
- Share this article on Email
- Show additional share options
- Share this article on Linkedin
- Share this article on Pinit
- Share this article on Reddit
- Share this article on Tumblr
- Share this article on Whatsapp
- Share this article on Print
- Share this article on Comment
Lou Reed received a life-saving liver transplant last month, his wife Laurie Anderson said in a recent interview.
“I don’t think he’ll ever totally recover from this, but he’ll certainly be back to doing [things] in a few months,” Anderson told the U.K’s The Times. “He’s already working and doing t’ai chi. I’m very happy. It’s a new life for him.”
He canceled several shows in April — including two sets at the Coachella Music Festival — to accommodate the surgery. Anderson said the former Velvet Underground frontman underwent the procedure in Cleveland, rather than in his native New York because of what she described as “dysfunctional” hospitals there.
PHOTOS: And Then There Was One… Music’s Most Successful Breakout Solo Acts
Anderson, who married Reed in 2008, said she was “awestruck” by the technology and coordination used to save her husband’s life.
“You send out two planes – one for the donor, one for the recipient – at the same time. You bring the donor in live, you take him off life support. It’s a technological feat,” she said. “I was completely awestruck. I find certain things about technology truly, deeply inspiring.”
In addition to fronting Velvet Underground, Reed, 71, has enjoyed a celebrated solo career. In March he surprised fans in New York when he showed up at an event celebrating his classic 1972 album Transformer.
Related Stories
THR Newsletters
Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day