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Lou Reed Mourned Outside Hotel Chelsea

By Gustavo Solis | October 28, 2013 4:43pm
 A Lou Reed memorial outside of the Chelsea Hotel on West 23rd Street Monday.
A Lou Reed memorial outside of the Chelsea Hotel on West 23rd Street Monday.
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DNAinfo/Gustavo Solis

CHELSEA — A memorial dedicated to Lou Reed, the lead singer of the Velvet Underground, popped up outside the Hotel Chelsea on Monday.

Dedicated fans and curious tourists stopped by to take pictures and pay their respects to one of the most influential rock singers one day after his death.

"We grew up with Lou Reed, really," said Kevin Wilson of New Zealand. "If it hadn't been for Lou, we wouldn't have had punk music."

The memorial at the famed 222 W. 23rd St. hotel — which partly inspired Reed's song "Chelsea Girls" — had several bunches of flowers and lit candles, along with small pieces of paper with "RIP Lou" written on them.

Wilson said Reed's "Kansas City" was the first vinyl he ever bought.

"It's sad — he had cleaned himself up," Wilson said of the 71-year-old rock legend, who struggled with addiction.

New Yorkers were also mourning Reed in the East Village.

"I am a great fan of his. He was the original s--tkicker from New York," said Giorgio Voltaire, 47, an East Village resident. "He represents old New York."

Roderick Romero, who described himself as a friend of Reed's, said he was "a genuine poet and created an entire subculture of music.

"He was the loudspeaker of New York," Romero said. "He wrote street stories."