John Cale was born in Wales but moved to London and then New York to study music. He joined The Velvet Underground in 1965 and played a key part in the distinctive sound and experimental ethos of their first two albums. In particular, he introduced the droning violas that made songs such as "Venus In Furs" so groundbreaking. After White Light/White Heat, Cale left the band, due to musical differences with Lou Reed. Cale wanted to continue to experiment, whereas Reed wanted to write simpler pop songs, as evidenced on the two Velvet Underground albums involving Reed without Cale: The Velvet Underground and Loaded.
In the 70s, Cale launched a solo career and produced albums for other artists, including Nico, The Stooges, The Modern Lovers, Patti Smith. His solo albums covered very different styles, from the orchestral folk of Paris 1919 (1973) to the raucous punk of Sabotage/Live (1979).
Through the 80s, 90s and 00s Cale has continued to experiment with music and release the results, to little commercial success but with a small group of committed fans. In particular, two collaborative efforts in 1990 brought excellent results: one with Brian Eno called Wrong Way Up, and another with former bandmate Lou Reed, called Songs For Drella.
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![Inside the Dream Syndicate, Vol. I: Day of Niagara [1965]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51AAJ9BMQML._CR3,0,293,293_SS26_.jpg "Inside the Dream Syndicate, Vol. I: Day of Niagara [1965]"){kind=small}
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