The Velvet Underground in the context of "Underground music"

Punk rock (or simply punk) is a subgenre of rock music that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the overproduction and corporate nature of mainstream rock music. Typically producing short, fast-paced songs with rough stripped-down vocals and instrumentation and an anti-establishment theme, artists embrace a DIY ethic with many bands self-producing and distributing recordings through independent labels.

During the early 1970s, the term "punk rock" was originally used by some American rock critics to describe mid-1960s garage bands. Subsequent developments such as glam and pub rock in the UK, alongside the Velvet Underground and the New York Dolls from New York have been cited as key influences. By the mid-1970s, the term "punk rock" had become associated with several regional underground music scenes, including the MC5 and the Stooges in Detroit; Television, Patti Smith, Suicide, the Dictators, Richard Hell and the Voidoids, and the Ramones in New York City; Rocket from the Tombs, Electric Eels and Dead Boys in Ohio; the Saints and Radio Birdman in Australia; and the Sex Pistols, the Clash, the Damned and the Buzzcocks in England. By late 1976, punk had become a major cultural phenomenon in the UK, giving rise to a punk subculture that expressed youthful rebellion through distinctive styles of clothing, such as T-shirts with deliberately offensive graphics, leather jackets, studded or spiked bands, jewelry, bondage clothing and safety pins.

Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942 – October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Although not commercially successful during its existence, the Velvet Underground came to be regarded as one of the most influential bands in the history of underground and alternative rock music. Reed's distinctive deadpan voice, poetic and transgressive lyrics, and experimental guitar playing were trademarks throughout his long career.

Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, and Angus MacLise formed the Velvet Underground in 1965. After building a reputation in the avant garde music scene, the Velvet Underground gained the attention of Andy Warhol, who became the band's manager. The Velvet Underground became something of a fixture at The Factory, Warhol's art studio, and served as his "house band" for various projects. The band released its first album, now with drummer Moe Tucker and featuring German singer Nico, in 1967, and parted ways with Warhol shortly thereafter. Following several lineup changes and three more little-heard albums, Reed quit the band in 1970.

Andy Warhol (/ˈwɔːrhɒl/ ; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American artist, filmmaker, and impresario. Drawing on imagery from advertising, mass media, and celebrity culture, he transformed everyday consumer goods and familiar icons—such as Campbell's soup cans, Marilyn Monroe, and Brillo Pad boxes—into renowned artworks, establishing himself as a leading figure in the pop art movement. Warhol is widely regarded as the most important American artist of the second half of the 20th century.

Born to working-class Rusyn immigrant parents in Pittsburgh, Warhol began his career as a successful commercial illustrator in New York before turning to fine art, where his embrace of mechanical reproduction, silkscreen printing, and serial repetition challenged traditional boundaries between high and low culture. His studio, the Factory, became a hub for avant-garde experimentation, bringing together drag queens, poets, bohemians, musicians, and wealthy patrons. He directed numerous underground films—such as Chelsea Girls (1966), Lonesome Cowboys (1968), and Blue Movie (1969)—featuring a shifting group of personalities known as Warhol superstars, and he is often credited with popularizing the expression "15 minutes of fame." Warhol also managed the influential rock band the Velvet Underground, who performed at his multimedia happenings, the Exploding Plastic Inevitable (1966–67). He expressed his queer identity through many of his artworks and films at a time when homosexuality in the United States was heavily stigmatized and legally constrained.

John Davies Cale OBE (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styles in rock, drone, classical, avant-garde and electronic music.

John Cale studied music at Goldsmiths College before moving in 1963 to New York City, where he performed as part of the Theatre of Eternal Music and formed the Velvet Underground. Since leaving the band in 1968, Cale has released seventeen solo studio albums, including Paris 1919 (1973), Fear (1974) and Music for a New Society (1982). Cale has worked as a record producer on albums by artists including Nico, the Stooges, the Modern Lovers and Patti Smith.