Whilst he enjoyed cult status with The Velvet Underground in the 60s, it wasn't until his second solo album, Transformer, that Lou Reed made the commercial breakthrough. Aided and abetted by his mentor and rival David Bowie, Walk on the Wild Side told the story of the emergence of a delinquent sub-culture of the 70s, this wasn't just about sexual freedom but sexual deviance and experimentation. Transformer was the perfect title for a 70s album, a change agent that referenced the emergence of out and proud sexualities and also the emergence of hybrid music. Not only did Lou Reed nail the 70s ballad on it, and not once but twice with Satellite of Love and Perfect day, he wrote a type of song that had never been heard before in Walk on the Wild Side and it was his masterpiece. Musically it incorporated doo-wop, blues, jazz and Motown. Lyrically, he sounded like the best beat poet you ever heard, telling a macabre tale of characters from the underworld. Starting with the unforgettable and untouchable lines Holly came from Miami F.L.A., hitch-hiked her way across the U.S.A, plucked her eyebrows on the way, shaved her legs and then he was a she, she said hey babe, take a walk on the wild side. The song was peerless in the deviancy that the 70s advocated and suffered for. As a story of hedonism it takes some beating.