Sterling Morrison was the longest serving member of the Velvet Underground, and yet after the V.U. broke up, he disappeared out of the music scene for some time.

Sterling first met Lou Reed at university, and after meeting up again by chance with Lou and his new flatmate and musical partner John Cale on a subway train, he joined the Velvet Underground, and stayed a member for all the albums.

After the band finished, he moved to Capitol City in 1971, and worked on his Ph.D in medieval studies. There he remained for ten years, before going to Houston to work on tugboats, becoming a captain and picking up a doctorate along the way.

Sterling was notorious for his interview techniques, apparently if you asked him one question, he would spew forth answers for hours, and always spoke the truth, even if it were only his truth at that moment in time. Musically, he was integral to the Velvet's style, adding a jagged edge to the chaos. In 1992, he joined Moe Tucker's band, and they toured three or four times together.

Tragically, not long after the Velvets reunion tour, Sterling Morrison passed away, the day after his 53rd birthday, in New York. He'd been ill for a short while with non-Hodgkins lymphona.

Tributes to Sterling were a plenty. He was a much loved character, and was just starting to get back into the music scene before his death. He was notorious for refusing to cash in on his past musical history, the only Velvets song he would play during a set was "Cool It Down".

I think, once more, I shall leave you with Sterling's own words...

"I don't know about you, but I'm Catholic, I'm going to heaven."