DavidH wrote:Thanks so much, Taxine - I love reading anything I can about Sterling. He was such an enigma, as well as apparently being a great guy. I can't believe it's already been 21 years since he passed away.
I went to Europe for the 1993 VU Reunion. My first city was Amsterdam and as soon as I checked into my hotel, I went to the downtown train station to buy as many Euro magazines with the Velvets on the cover I could find. On the tram back to my hotel, who gets on at the next stop but Sterling! I was in shock, but got up and walked over to him and asked if he was Sterling. He looked shocked that he was recognized, but told me to sit with him and we had a lovely chat until his stop came up. I told him I had flown from New Orleans to follow the tour and he seemed shocked. I said with a grin that I and the 20 or so people I knew who were also coming from the States, didn't want to take a chance that the tour would not get to the US as planned. He grinned and said that was probably a good decision. We chatted for about 30 minutes, mostly me just fawning over him and me regretting that I didn't have a camera, because, after all this was pre-smartphone days. I grabbed the only thing I thought of as he was leaving the tram, and handed him my Amsterdam Tour Book and got him to autograph it for me. He was probably one of the nicest, most unassuming rock stars I ever met. The cosmic karma was really flowing that day because after this I actually stumbled upon the rest of the band having coffee at a canal cafe' and that is where I got to meet the rest of the band, get their autographs (yes in my tour book) and got my photo with my hero Lou Reed! My friend Eric came to Europe fully prepared with a bag of original albums which he got signed!!! and a camera, thank god, which is why I got my shot with Lou. Highlight of my life; other than the birth of my son.
