Nico

Nico

Nico in 1966 from The Velvet Underground and Nico promotional artwork.
Background information
Birth name Christa Päffgen
Born 16 October 1938(1938-10-16)
Origin Cologne, Germany
Died 18 July 1988(1988-07-18) (aged 49)
Ibiza, Spain
Genres Protopunk, Avant-Garde, Experimental, Folk Rock
Occupations Composer, Singer, Fashion Model, Actress
Instruments Vocals, Harmonium, Harpsichord, Piano, Tambourine
Years active 1963–1988
Associated acts The Velvet Underground, John Cale, Lou Reed, Kevin Ayers, John Cooper Clarke, The Invisible Girls, Blue Orchids, Bob Dylan

Nico (born Christa Päffgen, 16 October 1938 – 18 July 1988)[1] was a German composer, singer, fashion model, actress, and Warhol Superstar. She is known for both her vocal collaboration on The Velvet Underground's debut album, The Velvet Underground and Nico, and her work as a solo artist from the late 1960s through the early 1980s. She also had roles in a handful of films, including Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita (1960), and Andy Warhol's Chelsea Girls (1966). She was related to Hermann Päffgen, who founded the Päffgen brewery in 1883 in Cologne.

She died in July 1988, as a result of injuries sustained in a bicycling accident.[1]

Contents

Career

Early life

Standing 5' 10", with chiseled features and porcelain skin, Nico rose to prominence as a fashion model as a teenager. After leaving school at the age of thirteen she began selling lingerie and was soon spotted by fashion insiders. A year later, her mother found her work as a model in Berlin.

Her adopted name, 'Nico', which she used for most of her life, was given to her by photographer Herbert Tobias,[2] who was photographing her on a modeling job. He named her this after his ex-boyfriend, filmmaker Nikos Papatakis. She soon moved to Paris and began working for Vogue, Tempo, Vie Nuove, Mascotte Spettacolo, Camera, Elle, and other fashion magazines in the late 1950s. She was briefly hired by Coco Chanel. As well as her native German, she spoke four languages: English, Italian, Spanish, and French.

Before breakthrough

After appearing in several television advertisements, Nico got a small role in Alberto Lattuada's film La Tempesta (1958). She also appeared in Rudolph Maté's For the First Time, with Mario Lanza, later that year.

In 1959 she was invited to the set of Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita, where she attracted the attention of the acclaimed director, who gave her a minor role in the film as herself. By this time, she had moved to New York to take acting classes with Lee Strasberg.

Nico in Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita.

She appears as the cover model on jazz pianist Bill Evans' 1962 album, Moon Beams.[3] After splitting her time between New York and Paris, she got the lead role in Jacques Poitrenaud's Strip-Tease (1963). She recorded the title track, which was written by Serge Gainsbourg but not released until 2001, when it was included in the compilation Le Cinéma de Serge Gainsbourg.

In 1962 Nico gave birth to her son, Christian Aaron "Ari" Päffgen, commonly held to have been fathered by French actor Alain Delon.[4] Delon always denied his paternity. The child was raised mostly by Delon's mother and her husband and eventually was adopted by them, taking their surname Boulogne.[5]

Beginning of musical career

In 1965 Nico met Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones and recorded her first single, "I'm Not Sayin'"/"The Last Mile", for Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate label, produced by Jimmy Page. Actor Ben Carruthers introduced her to Bob Dylan in Paris that summer. It is said that Dylan wrote the song "I'll Keep It with Mine" for her shortly afterward, which she would record on her first album Chelsea Girl in 1967.[1]

After being introduced by Brian Jones, she began working in New York with Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey on their experimental films, including Chelsea Girls, The Closet, Sunset and Imitation of Christ.

The Velvet Underground and Nico

When Warhol began managing The Velvet Underground he proposed that the group take on Nico as a "chanteuse." They consented reluctantly, for both personal and musical reasons.[6] The group became the centerpiece of Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable, a multimedia performance featuring music, light, film and dance.

Nico sang lead vocals on three songs ("Femme Fatale", "All Tomorrow's Parties", and "I'll Be Your Mirror") and backing vocals on another ("Sunday Morning") on the band's debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967).[1]

Nico's tenure in the Velvet Underground was marked by personal and musical difficulties. Violist and bassist John Cale has written that Nico's long preparations in the dressing room and pre-performance good luck ritual (burning a candle) would often hold up a performance, which especially irritated band member Lou Reed. Nico's partial deafness also would sometimes cause her to veer off key, for which she was ridiculed by other band members.[7]

Solo career

1960s

Immediately following her musical work with The Velvet Underground, Nico began work as a solo artist. For her debut album, 1967's Chelsea Girl, she recorded songs by Bob Dylan, Tim Hardin and Jackson Browne, among others. Velvet Underground members Lou Reed, John Cale and Sterling Morrison also contributed material, with Nico, Reed and Cale co-writing one song, "It Was a Pleasure Then."[8] Chelsea Girl is a traditional chamber-folk album that influenced the style of artists such as Leonard Cohen, with strings and flute arrangements by producer Tom Wilson. Nico was not satisfied with the album and had little say in production matters.

For The Marble Index, released in 1969, Nico wrote the lyrics and music. Accompaniment mainly centered around Nico's harmonium while John Cale added an array of folk and classical instruments, and produced the album. Nico's harmonium became her signature instrument for the rest of her career. The album combines classical music with a European folk.

Nico playing harmonium, Hyde Park concert 1974

1970s

Nico released two more solo albums in the 1970s, Desertshore and The End. Nico wrote the music, sang, and played the harmonium. Cale produced and played most of the other instruments on both albums. The End featured Brian Eno on synthesizer. She appeared at the Rainbow Theatre, in London, with Cale, Eno, and Ayers. The album June 1, 1974 was the result of this concert. Nico performed a version of the Doors' "The End" at this concert, which was the catalyst for The End later that year.

On 13 December 1974, Nico opened for Tangerine Dream's infamous concert at Reims Cathedral in Reims, France. The promoter had so greatly oversold tickets for the show that members of the audience couldn't move or reach the outside, eventually resulting in some fans urinating inside the cathedral hall.[9] The Roman Catholic Church denounced these actions, ordered the rededication of the cathedral and banned future performances on church property.

Nico and Island Records allegedly had many disputes during this time, and in 1975 the label dropped her from their roster.

1980s

Nico returned to New York in late 1979 where her comeback concert at CBGB in early 1980 was glowingly reviewed in The New York Times. She began playing regularly at the Mudd Club and other venues with Jim Tisdall accompanying her on harp and Gittler guitar. They played together on a sold-out tour of twelve cities in the East and Midwest.

Nico recorded her next studio album, Drama of Exile, in 1981.[1] It was a departure from her earlier work with John Cale, featuring a mixture of rock and Middle Eastern arrangements. She recorded her final solo album, Camera Obscura, in 1985, with The Faction (James Young and Graham Dids). Produced by John Cale, it featured Nico's version of the Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart song "My Funny Valentine".

A number of Nico's performances towards the end of her life were recorded and released, including 1982's Heroine, Live In Tokyo, and her final concert, Fata Morgana, recorded on 6 June 1988. The double live album Behind the Iron Curtain was recorded during a tour of Eastern Europe, before the fall of the Berlin Wall, and made from recordings of concerts in Warsaw, Prague, Budapest and other cities, and was released before her death in 1988.

Philippe Garrel films

Between 1970 and 1979, Nico made about seven films with French director Philippe Garrel. She met Garrel in 1969 and contributed the song "The Falconer" to his film Le Lit de la Vierge. Soon after, she was living with Garrel and became a central figure in his cinematic and personal circles. Nico's first acting appearance with Garrel occurred in his 1972 film, La Cicatrice Intérieure. Nico also supplied the music for this film and collaborated closely with the director. She also appeared in the Garrel films Anathor (1972); the silent Jean Seberg biopic, Les Hautes Solitudes, released in 1974; Un ange passe (1975); Le Berceau de cristal (1976), starring Pierre Clémenti, Nico and Anita Pallenberg; and Voyage au jardin des morts (1978). His 1991 film J'entends Plus la Guitare is dedicated to Nico.

Personal life

Nico's grave in Berlin

Nico was a heroin addict for over 15 years. In the book Songs They Never Play on the Radio, James Young, a member of Nico's band in the 1980s, recalls many examples of Nico's fiendish behaviour due to addiction. But just before her death she had managed to kick the habit and had embarked on a regimen of exercise and healthy eating. Despite her musical talents and singing, she was deaf in one ear, which made it difficult for her to understand what others were saying.[10] She was also said to have been a vegetarian, as well as a self-proclaimed nihilist.[11] Nico saw herself as part of a tradition of bohemian artists, which she traced back to the Romanticism of the early 19th century. She led a nomadic life, living in different countries. Apart from Germany, where she grew up, and Ibiza, where she died, Nico lived in Italy and France in the 1950s, spent most of the 1960s in the US, and lived in London in the early 1960s and again later in the 1980s, when she lived intermittently between London and Manchester.

Nico was also well-versed in languages; due to traveling, she spoke four languages (English, French, Italian, Spanish) fluently, in addition to her native German.

Death

On 18 July 1988, while on holiday with her son in Ibiza, Spain, Nico had a minor heart attack while riding a bicycle and hit her head as she fell. A passing taxi driver found her unconscious and had difficulty getting her admitted to local hospitals. She was incorrectly diagnosed as suffering from heat-exposure and died at eight o'clock that evening. X-rays later revealed a severe cerebral hemorrhage as the cause of death.[12]

Nico was buried in her mother's plot in Grunewald Forest Cemetery in Berlin, Germany. A few friends played a tape of "Mütterlein", a song from Desertshore, at her funeral.

Legacy

Nico has influenced many musicians, including Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, Stevie Nicks, Patti Smith, Morrissey, Björk, Coil, Jocelyn Pook, Fabienne Shine (who covered "All Tomorrow's Parties"), Dead Can Dance as well as numerous contemporary goth bands.

Late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith cited her as a major inspiration and was said to have listened to The Marble Index for months. Smith performed covers of some of her songs - most notably "Chelsea Girls" and "These Days", both of which he performed live at Satyricon in Portland, Oregon in October 1999.

Two of her songs from Chelsea Girl, "The Fairest of the Seasons" and "These Days", both written by Jackson Browne, are featured in Wes Anderson's film The Royal Tenenbaums.

Nico, 1974

Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon named his daughter 'Nico Blue' partly after Nico. Blind Melon's album Nico was released after Hoon's death.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a movie written by John Cameron Mitchell, mentions Nico as an influential artist in its song, "Midnight Radio". The song is written by Stephen Trask.

The Cult recorded the song "Nico", which celebrates the life of the singer, on their 2001 album Beyond Good And Evil.

For her 2002 album, Kissin' Time, Marianne Faithfull recorded "A Song for Nico", cowritten with Dave Stewart.

Nico was portrayed by Christina Fulton in the 1991 biopic The Doors. She was later portrayed by Meredith Ostrom in the 2006 film, Factory Girl, which chronicles the life of fellow "Warhol Superstar", Edie Sedgwick.

Natasha Khan (Bat for Lashes) has quoted Nico as an influence in particular Desertshore. During 2007 she would start concerts with "Le Petit Chevalier" from that record.[13]

Singer-songwriter Patrick Wolf has been influenced by Nico, and released cover versions of "Afraid" and "Ari's Song" as b-sides on EPs.

Rock band Anberlin named one of their songs after her: "Dance, Dance Christa Päffgen" on their album "Never Take Friendship Personal". The song also makes reference to her death, and her drug use.

Austin based band Shearwater dedicated their album Palo Santo to the memory of Nico. The opening song ("La Dame Et La Licorne") depicts Nico's death at Ibiza, Spain.

Windsor for the Derby, another Austin based band, released an instrumental track in 2000 on their Young God Release "Difference and Repetition." A live versionof the song can be found on a limited edition 7-inch.

Low, an American indie rock group from Duluth, Minnesota, has a song titled "Those Girls (Song For Nico)". It is included on the box set A Lifetime of Temporary Relief: 10 Years of B-Sides and Rarities, released in 2004.[14][15]

Two Nico tribute concerts took place in Europe in the autumn of 2008 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Nico's birth and the 20th anniversary of her death. On 11 October 2008, John Cale, James Dean Bradfield (of the Manic Street Preachers), Fyfe Dangerfield of the Guillemots and others appeared on stage at the Royal Festival Hall in London. On 17 October 2008 at the Volksbuehne in Berlin, Nico's ex-boyfriend Lutz Ulbrich presented another tribute concert, which featured Marianne Rosenberg, Soap & Skin, Marianne Enzensberger and James Young, the keyboardist from The Faction, Nico's last band. Nico's son, Ari Boulogne (sometimes called Ari Päffgen), made a brief appearance on stage at the close.

Discography

Studio albums

Year Title
1967 The Velvet Underground & Nico
1967 Chelsea Girl
1969 The Marble Index
1970 Desertshore
1974 The End
1981 Drama of Exile (released in two versions)
1985 Camera Obscura

[1]

Live albums

Year Title
1974 June 1, 1974
1983 Do or Die: Nico in Europe
1985 Nico Live in Pécs
1986 Live Heroes
1986 Behind the Iron Curtain
1987 Nico in Tokyo
1988 Fata Morgana (Nico's Last Concert)
1989 Hanging Gardens
1994 Heroine
1997 Chelsea Girl / Live
2003 Femme Fatale: The Aura Anthology (Drama of Exile expanded, plus live disc)
2007 All Tomorrow's Parties (live double album)

[1]

Compilation albums

Year Title
1998 Nico: The Classic Years
2002 Innocent & Vain — An Introduction to Nico
2003 Femme Fatale — The Aura Anthology (Re-issue of Drama of Exile with bonus tracks plus Live at Chelsea Town Hall 9.8.85)
2007 The Frozen Borderline - 1968–1970 (Re-issue of The Marble Index and Desertshore with bonus tracks)

[1]

Singles

Year Title
1965 "I'm Not Sayin'" / "The Last Mile"
1981 "Vegas" / "Saeta" - Flicknife Records FLS 206

[1]

Bibliography

Films and plays

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 696-697. ISBN 1-84195-017-3. 
  2. ↑ Prague Post: Life among the ruins; Poignant moments of love and loneliness in postwar Europe
  3. ↑ Johnson, D. B. Night Lights December 16, 2007
  4. ↑ Movies.nytimes.com
  5. ↑ Berlinonline.de
  6. ↑ Harvard, J., The Velvet Underground and Nico. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2004 ISBN 0-8264-1550-4, 9780826415509, 152 pages
  7. ↑ John Cale, What's Welsh for Zen.
  8. ↑ Gross, Joe. "Nico: Biography". Rolling Stone via Internet Archive. http://web.archive.org/web/20080622105119/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/nico/biography. Retrieved 11 June 2010. 
  9. ↑ Orange Appeal - 25 years of ambient pioneers Tangerine Dream
  10. ↑ How the dramatic Nico became a music iconoclast Times Online, 26 September 2008 (retrieved 5 July 2009)
  11. ↑ IMDB Biography: Nico (I) (retrieved 5 July 2009).
  12. ↑ Nico: A Short Biography; Dr. Jochen Prümper (retrieved 5 July 2009).
  13. ↑ "Bats for Lashes - Live at Maxwells NJ". Punkcast. 2007-07-24. http://punkcast.com/1183/index.html. Retrieved 12 December 2007. 
  14. ↑ "Low Song Backgrounds - Chairkickers Google Group". unknown. 2 July 2008. http://groups.google.com/group/chairkickers/web/song-backgrounds. Retrieved 3 February 2008. 
  15. ↑ "Low Discography - Lifetime boxset". unknown. 3 February 2009. http://www.chairkickers.com/discography/lifetime_boxset.html. Retrieved 3 February 2009. 

External links

Nico
Studio albums
The Velvet Underground & Nico  · Chelsea Girl  · The Marble Index  · Desertshore  · The End  · Drama of Exile  · Camera Obscura
Live albums
June 1, 1974  · Do or Die: Diary 1982  · Live Heroes  · Behind the Iron Curtain  · Nico's Last Concert: Fata Morgana
Compilation albums
Reich Der Träume  · Innocent and Vain: an Introduction to Nico  · Walpurgis-Nacht  · The Frozen Borderline – 1968–1970