In 1999, Nick Cave, Chrissie Hynde and John Cale were brought together by the BBC’s popular series ‘The Songwriters Circle’ for a miraculous acoustic performance at London’s Subterania Club. The trio performed renditions of their own hit songs; Chrissie Hynde ran through four Pretenders tracks, John Cale performed five songs from his 1974 album, Fear, while Nick Cave chose four songs from a selection of Bad Seeds albums.
The evening saw Cave and Cale trade between acoustic guitar and piano for the intimate, stripped back renditions of their well-loved songs. The awe-inspiring performance was capped off when the trio joined forces for a finale cover of a classic Velvet Underground song. Amid the applause, Hynde took to the microphone to ask the crowd: “If you were us, wouldn’t you want to feel like you were in The Velvet Underground just that one time?” Before the impromptu band launch into, “Im Waiting For The Man” led by John Cale on the piano. The three singers each cover a verse of Lou Reed’s famous vocal from the 1967 hit song. Cave and Cale share the piano duties, while Hynde holds down the rhythm on the acoustic guitar. Enjoy the incredible performance below!
John Cale, Nick Cave & Chrissie Hynde | “Im Waiting For The Man”
At the height of the counter-culture era, the Velvets took inspiration from beat poetry, free jazz, minimalism, and classic rock 'n' roll to tell stories detailing the glamour and darkness of downtown New York life. Listen to This Is The Velvet Underground on Spotify:
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