Last night, Warren played a song during our set that somehow seeped into my subconscious and I woke up singing it. 

That song: "Prominent Men", by The Velvet Underground. 

There isn't much information on the song, besides that it's a demo and was recorded in 1965. The song was later put on the Peel Slowly and See Velvet Underground five-disc box set released by Polydor (a record label under Universal) in 1995. 

The first disc (CD version) of Peel Slowly and See is comprised of demos, and only features Lou Reed, John Cale, and Sterling Morrison on the recordings. During this period, however, though not featured on any of the demos, Angus MacLise was the official drummer of the band. He would later be replaced by Moe (Maureen) Tucker. 

1. "Venus in Furs" 

2. "Prominent Men"

3. "Heroin" 

4. "I'm Waiting for the Man" 

Couldn't find a YouTube video for this one unfortunately.

5. "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams"

6. "All Tomorrow's Parties"

In other words, "Prominent Men" was maybe one of the first songs the band ever recorded. 

The year was 1964. Lou Reed, a recent graduate of Syracuse University, moved to New York City and began working as an in-house songwriter for Pickwick Records. Welsh musician John Cale had just moved to New York City to study at Goldsmiths College, earning himself a Stateside scholarship through his talent for piano and viola. Cale subsequently participated in John Cage's marathon piano experiments and became part of La Monte Young's The Dream Syndicate. Sometime during that year, Lou and John met at a party, and soon realized that they shared the same affinity for the avant garde experimental vibe that was surfacing in rock and roll. 

Their first band together, called The Primitives, was "a short-lived group assembled to issue budget-priced recordings and support an anti-dance single penned by Reed, 'The Ostrich'." (This endeavor was most likely fueled by Pickwick Records and John's access to a recording studio). The pair realized their collaboration was maybe something worth pursuing and recruited Sterling Morrison, a classmate of Lou's from Syracuse, to play guitar. Angus MacLise, John's flatmate, was brought on to play the drums. They then, as a quartet, started calling themselves "The Warlocks", and then "The Falling Spikes". One day, Tony Conrad, a friend of John's at the Dream Syndicate, showed the group a contemporary pulp paperback that caught his attention about the secret sexual subculture of the '60s. The cover bore the following: "Here is an incredible book. It will shock and amaze you. But as a documentary on the sexual corruption of our age, it is a must for every thinking adult." The title of the paperback, The Velvet Underground. MacLise, interestingly enough, suggested using the name for their band. At this point, Lou had already written "Venus in Furs" and the band unanimously agreed that the Velvet Underground fit their style.

Back to the demos. 

In July of 1965, Lou Reed, John Cale, and Sterling Morrison recorded a set of demos at their Ludlow Street Loft in New York City. Shortly after making the tape, Cale took a trip to London and attempted to give a copy of it to Marianne Faithful, hoping she'd in turn hand it over to Mick Jagger, and the rest would be history. Needless to say, that never happened. The demo tapes were more or less shelved. 

They were never heard of until Peel Slowly and See and are considered the absolute most rare sounds of a band that changed rock and roll.