Lou Reed's widow Laurie Anderson and Bono have penned tribute essays about the late rocker for the new issue of Rolling Stone magazine.

The former Velvet Underground frontman, who lost his battle with liver disease at the end of last month (Oct13), features on the cover of the publication, wearing his famous dark glasses, and the issue is filled with celebrity recollections, anecdotes about and tributes to him, culled from interviews conducted by senior writer David Fricke.

Anderson and U2 frontman Bono opted to give the magazine their thoughts after Reed's passing and agreed to write essays about the rock icon.

Bono writes, "He was thoughtful, meditative and extremely disciplined. Before the hepatitis that he caught as a drug user returned, Lou was in top physical condition. Tai chi was what he credited for his lithe physicality and clear complexion. This is how I will remember him, a still figure in the eye of a metallic hurricane, an artist pulling strange shapes out of the formless void that is pop culture, a songwriter pulling melodies out of the dissonance of what (poet) Yeats called 'this filthy modern tide' and, yes, pop's truly great poker face - with so much comedy dancing around those piercing eyes. The universe is not laughing today."

And the late star's widow adds, "Lou and I played music together, became best friends and then soul mates, traveled, listened to and criticized each other's work, studied things together (butterfly hunting, meditation, kayaking). We loved our life in the West Village (New York) and our friends; and in all, we did the best we could do."

She also reveals she met her late husband in Munich, Germany in 1992, when he asked her to "read something with his band" at the city's Kristallnacht festival.

She adds, "I liked him right away, but I was surprised he didn't have an English accent. For some reason I thought the Velvet Underground were British, and I had only a vague idea what they did... I was from a different world.

"As it turned out, Lou and I didn't live far from each other in New York, and after the festival Lou suggested getting together. I think he liked it when I said, 'Yes! Absolutely! I'm on tour, but when I get back - let's see, about four months from now - let's definitely get together.' This went on for a while, and finally he asked if I wanted to go to the Audio Engineering Society Convention. I said I was going anyway and would meet him in Microphones.

"We spent a happy afternoon looking at amps and cables and shop-talking electronics. I had no idea this was meant to be a date, but when we went for coffee after that, he said, 'Would you like to see a movie... and then after that, dinner? And then we can take a walk?' From then on we were never really apart."