Lou Reed was a great songwriter because he was such an "emotional" man, his widow Laurie Anderson has claimed.

Lou Reed

Lou Reed

The former Velvet Underground frontman died in October 2013 at the age of 71 leaving behind a legacy of revered music from his time with the band and his five-decade spanning solo career including songs such as 'I'm Waiting for the Man', 'Venus In Furs', 'Perfect Day' and 'Walk on the Wild Side'.

Avant-garde artist Laurie, 70, first met Reed in 1992 and was married to him from 2008 until his death in 2013 and looking back on his discography she believes his talent for composition came from him being open with his feelings.

In an interview with The Times newspaper, she said: "He was one of the few men I've ever met who could cry. Men don't cry, it's not allowed. But he was terribly emotional. Think of what he wrote - you don't write that if you don't feel it."

Laurie has been looking back on Reed's work for new book 'Do Angels Need Haircuts?' which is based on a recording of his performance of he made on March 10, 1971 at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery in New York City just before he embarked on his solo career at the age of 28.

Laurie.

Seeing how Reed constantly evolved as a musician his former wife is certain he would have embraced the new technology available to artists now and would have worked a lot with Virtual Reality.

She said: "VR takes my breath away. That's another thing I know Lou would have really loved, VR. He would be so into this, he's missing out."


Tagged in