Der var Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison og Maureen Tucker og Doug Yule, der erstattede John Cale (og til allersidst var en slags enmandsudgave af bandet). Men der var også helt i starten et sjette medlem af The Velvet Underground, nemlig den skotsk-amerikanske percussionist Angus MacLise. Der var en lille portrætartikel om ham i Los Angeles Times tilbage i 2011 og den slutter sådan:

The reason he quit the Velvet Underground (and was replaced by Maureen Tucker) is telling: Like Maynard G. Krebs, he feigned artistic purity. On the eve of the Velvets’ first paying gig, Bockris said that MacLise asked, “Do you mean we have to show up at a certain time — and start playing — and then end?'” When the answer came back “yes,” he quit the band.

“Angus was too idealistic for Lou Reed,” said Gerard Malanga.