Lulu is a musical collaboration between Lou Reed and Metallica.

It is inspired by German expressionist writer Frank Wedekind’s plays Earth Spirit and Pandora’s Box, which tell the story of a young abused dancer’s life and relationships, and are now collectively known as the Lulu plays. Since their publication in the early 1900s, the plays have been the inspiration for a silent film (Pandora’s Box, 1929), an opera, and countless other creative endeavors. The plays challenged the sexual and moral standards of their day and have remained highly controversial. Originally the lyrics and musical landscape for Lulu were sketched out by Lou for a theatrical production in Berlin. After Lou performed with Metallica at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concerts in New York in 2009 they all knew they wanted to make more music together. The Lulu project began in May 2011 at HQ studios in Northern California, with Lou’s lyrics as the starting point.