Rachel Humphreys (L) was a trans girl and Lou Reed’s (R) associate, within the mid-Seventies (X: @theaidsmemorial)
It’s unattainable to think about the Velvet Underground with out interested by Lou Reed, however so a lot of Reed’s followers are unaware of the life he led behind closed doorways together with his trans girlfriend Rachel Humphreys.
On 1 September 2024, Trump superfan and MAGA activist Mila Pleasure tweeted the frankly ridiculous commentary: “Keep in mind the Seventies and Eighties when nobody was autistic, gluten illiberal, or transgender. So what occurred?”
As trans individuals have at all times existed and at all times will, this declare was simply debunked. One significantly in style rebuttal was shared by a person referred to as @DylanTweetin, who merely shared a photograph of “Lou Reed & his trans girlfriend” taken by legendary music photographer Mick Rock for Melody Maker journal in 1977.
Many individuals replied to say they hadn’t heard of Rachel Humphreys, so we felt like this was pretty much as good a time as any to share some details about this trailblazing, necessary girl – who was excess of simply “Lou Reed’s trans girlfriend.”
Humphreys additionally deserved significantly better remedy from the musician, and an extended (and happier) life.
How did Lou Reed and Rachel Humphreys meet?
Reed and Humphreys met in 1974 in New York. Humphreys was a drag queen on the 82 Membership whereas Reed was feeling sad together with his profession having not but gained as a lot recognition and success as he would have favored.
Reed – who was bisexual – as soon as described their first assembly in an interview with Bambi Journal, saying: “It was in a late-night membership in Greenwich Village. I’d been up for days as traditional and all the things was at that super-real, glowing stage. I walked in there and there was this superb individual, this unbelievable head, type of vibrating out of all of it.”
He mentioned that Humphreys was “sporting this superb make-up and costume and was clearly in a special world to anybody else within the place”, making her all of the extra alluring and fascinating to him.
However, whereas she was fascinating to him, it appeared that he wasn’t all that spectacular to her: “Rachel was fully disinterested in who I used to be and what I did. Nothing may impress her. She’d hardly heard my music and didn’t prefer it all that a lot when she did. Rachel is aware of tips on how to do it for me. Nobody else ever did earlier than. Rachel’s one thing else.”
This sense was a part of a pure development which led to Humphreys later inspiring Reed’s songwriting throughout their relationship.
How did Rachel Humphreys affect Lou Reed’s music?
Specifically, Humphreys impressed Reed’s sixth album Coney Island Child, which was launched in 1975, with one line within the title monitor devoted to Humphreys: “I’d prefer to ship this one out to Lou and Rachel, and all the children at P.S 192. Man, I’d swear, I’d give the entire thing up for you.”
It’s unclear how lengthy precisely Humphreys and Reed had been collectively – round three to 4 years – however by 1978 they had been undoubtedly over.
Throughout that interval although, they had been inseparable. They lived collectively in New York with their dachshunds, Duke and Baron, aside from when Reed was touring. In that case, Humphreys would accompany him on the street as a hairdresser – she had beforehand attended cosmetology faculty – and act as tour supervisor for him.
In 1977, the couple determined to throw an anniversary occasion which some buddies thought was successfully an off-the-cuff marriage ceremony ceremony. Regardless of this, their relationship was on the rocks as a result of Humphreys was starting to contemplate gender reassignment surgical procedure – Reed was against this.
In a biography on Reed, written by Aidan Levy, a buddy of Humphreys is quoted as saying: “There could be a dialogue about intercourse change operations, and each time Rachel could be scheduled to try this—that’s what Lou needed, so far as Rachel would say—then Lou would again off and say, ‘Nicely why are you doing that? I like you due to the way in which you’re’.”
The identical buddy mentioned these conversations made Humphreys really feel depressed and suicidal and sure contributed to her gender dysphoria. Associates of the pair mentioned their relationship was “mutually abusive”, each bodily and emotionally.
These points had been by no means resolved so Humphreys and Reed finally cut up up in 1978. The singer married Sylvia Morales simply two years later.
What occurred to Rachel Humphreys?
Not a lot is understood about Humphreys’ life after she and Reed parted methods, regardless of the actual fact music journalists and popular culture followers consider her to be an necessary determine in Reed’s life, to not point out instrumental in his rise to stardom.
Humphreys died in 1990, 12 years after the break up, on the age of 37. Her official explanation for demise is unknown however she was reported to have handed at St. Clare’s Hospital, which specialised in treating AIDS sufferers.
Humphreys was buried in Potter’s Area on Hart Island, together with many others who additionally died throughout the AIDS epidemic.
Reed not often talked about Humphreys once more after they broke up, although she was clearly a key a part of his artistry within the 70s. She is nothing greater than a footnote now, talked about briefly in biographies and articles about his legendary music, with out anybody realising how necessary she actually was to him and to rock and roll usually.
With out his “trans girlfriend”, would Lou Reed be as vital as he’s?