In honor of Lou Reed‘s¹ 80th birthday on Wednesday, today we are listening to the 1997 cover of his song “Perfect Day”. It was done by a tidal wave of world-class performers who came together for this ad for the BBC. Yes, it’s an ad. But dang, it’s a good version of the 1972 song off the “Transformer” album². It was so good, it was released as a single in its own right.
Wikipedia has a little bit of the backstory on how the Perfect Day BBC ad came together. Below is wikipedia’s list of who the performers are, with the line dividers indicating new verses. I’m sure they all sang the song the whole way through, and what ended up on screen is just a snippet of their work. But oh, just to be a part of the song.³
Performers
Lou Reed
Bono
Skye Edwards (from Morcheeba)
—
David Bowie
Suzanne Vega
Elton John
(Andrew Davis)
—
Boyzone
Lesley Garrett
(Lou Reed)
Burning Spear
Bono
Thomas Allen
(Brodsky Quartet)
—
Heather Small (from M People)
Emmylou Harris
Tammy Wynette
Shane MacGowan
(Sheona White) (tenor horn player)
—
Dr. John
David Bowie
Robert Cray
Huey Morgan (from Fun Lovin’ Criminals)
—
Ian Broudie (from The Lightning Seeds)
Gabrielle
Dr. John
Evan Dando (from the Lemonheads)
Emmylou Harris
—
(Courtney Pine) (soprano saxophone player)
(BBC Symphony Orchestra)
(Andrew Davis)
(Bono)
—
Brett Anderson (from Suede)
Visual Ministry Choir
Joan Armatrading
Laurie Anderson
Heather Small
—
Tom Jones
Heather Small
Lou Reed
¹ As of this writing, his site seems to be down. But the man and his music lives on in our soul.
² Perhaps his most famous album, as it has “Walk on the Wild Side” on it, but his output from 1989 to 1996 (“New York”, “Songs for Drella”, “Magic and Loss” and “Set the Twilight Reeling”) is my favorite phase. “Street Hassle” (1978) is usually panned by critics, but that one is a great one, too. So is “Berlin”, beautiful “Berlin”. While I couldn’t prove it, I’d like to think that Reed at least was attuned to the ideas that Maurice Blanchot wrote about regarding “The Name Berlin” (1964): “For everyone, Berlin is the problem of division…. In Berlin, two systems… confront each other. From still another point of view, it is a metaphysical problem: Berlin is not only Berlin, but also the symbol of the division of the world, and even more: a ‘point in the universe,’ the place where reflection on the both necessary and impossible unity imposes itself on each and every one who lives there, and who, while living there, has not only the experience of a domicile, but also that of the absence of a domicile” (emphasis added).
³ That’s also today’s life lesson. Sing your heart out, no matter how it’s cut in final.