Sir Salman Rushdie has shared intriguing details about his late friend, the legendary singer Lou Reed, revealing that Reed initially envisioned his iconic song “Walk On The Wild Side” for a musical adaptation of Nelson Algren’s novel.
During an appearance on BBC Radio 4’s “Desert Island Discs,” the 78-year-old author expressed his admiration for Reed and reflected on their friendship. “It’s kind of extraordinary to be able to say that I was friends with Lou Reed because when I was at college, I kind of worshipped The Velvet Underground. And the idea that I would end up with Lou Reed’s phone number never occurred to me,” he stated.
Rushdie elaborated on the origins of “Walk On The Wild Side,” explaining that the song was initially intended to be the title track of a musical based on Algren’s novel. However, when the musical project fell through, Reed reworked the lyrics, shifting the focus from the novel’s characters to figures from the Warhol Factory, while retaining the original music.
Reed, the frontman of The Velvet Underground, passed away in 2013, leaving a legacy that continues to influence music today.
Choosing the track as one of his Desert Island Discs alongside classics like Bob Dylan’s “Blowin in the Wind” and The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” Rushdie reflected on a near-miss encounter with Algren himself. He recounted how he was on his way to Algren’s housewarming party when tragedy struck, resulting in Algren’s unexpected death from a heart attack just before Rushdie could arrive. “So I never met Nelson Algren, but almost,” he reminisced.
In a notable period for Rushdie, he recently released “The Eleventh Hour,” a collection of stories set in various locations, marking his first fiction work in nearly three years. Despite a brutal attack in 2022 that left him blind in one eye, the Indian-British author continues to thrive, enriching the literary landscape with his profound storytelling.
Rushdie’s works, which include the Booker Prize-winning “Midnight’s Children” and “The Satanic Verses,” have cemented his status as a formidable literary figure. His resilience and dedication to his craft serve as an inspiration to many, embodying the enduring power of storytelling even in the face of adversity.