Christa Päffgen (; 16 October 1938 – 18 July 1988),
known by her
stage name
A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...
Nico, was a German singer, songwriter, actress, and model.
Nico had roles in several films, including
Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He is known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and ...
's ''
La Dolce Vita
''La Dolce Vita'' (; Italian for 'the sweet life' or 'the good life'Kezich, 203) is a 1960 satirical comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini and written by Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, and Brunello Rondi. The film stars M ...
'' (1960) and
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...
's ''
Chelsea Girls
''Chelsea Girls'' is a 1966 American experimental underground film directed by Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey. The film was Warhol's first major commercial success after a long line of avant-garde art films (both feature-length and short). I ...
'' (1966). At the insistence of Warhol, she sang lead on three songs of
the Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...
's debut album ''
The Velvet Underground & Nico
''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' is the debut studio album by the American rock band the Velvet Underground and the German singer Nico. Released by Verve Records in March 1967, the album underperformed in sales and polarized critics upon releas ...
'' (1967). At the same time, she started a solo career and released ''
Chelsea Girl'' (1967). Her friend
Jim Morrison
James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet who was the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his charismatic persona, poetic lyrics, distinctive vo ...
suggested that she start writing her own material. She then composed songs on a
harmonium
The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...
, not traditionally a
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
instrument.
John Cale
John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styles across rock, dr ...
of the Velvet Underground became her musical arranger and produced ''
The Marble Index
''The Marble Index'' is the second studio album by the German musician Nico, released in November 1968 on Elektra Records. The avant-garde sound introduced in the album—a stark contrast with her folk pop debut, '' Chelsea Girl'' (1967)—was t ...
'' (1968), ''
Desertshore
''Desertshore'' is the third studio album by German musician Nico. It was released in December 1970 on the Reprise label and co-produced by John Cale and Joe Boyd.
Recording
''Desertshore'' was co-produced by John Cale and Joe Boyd.
"Janito ...
'' (1970), ''
The End...'' (1974) and other subsequent albums.
In the 1980s, Nico toured extensively in Europe, United States, Australia and Japan. After a concert in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
in June 1988, she went on holiday in
Ibiza
Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...
, where she died from a
cerebral haemorrhage
Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its ventricles, or into both. An ICH is a type of bleeding within the skull and one kind of stro ...
following a bicycling accident.
Early life
Nico was born Christa Päffgen in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
to Wilhelm and Margarete "Grete" Päffgen (née Schulz, 1910–1970).
Wilhelm was born into the wealthy
Päffgen Kölsch master brewer family dynasty in Cologne and was
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, while Grete came from a lower-class background and was
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
.
When Nico was two years old, she moved with her mother and grandfather to the
Spreewald
The Spree Forest or Spreewald (; , , i.e. 'the Swamps') is a large inland delta of the river Spree, and a historical cultural landscape located in the region of (Lower) Lusatia, in the state of Brandenburg, Germany, about 100 km southeas ...
forest outside
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
to escape the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
bombardments of Cologne.
Her father was conscripted into the ''
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
'' at the onset of the war, but there are several conflicting accounts as to when and how he died. According to biographer
Richard Witts in his 1995 book ''Nico: The Life and Lies of an Icon'', Wilhelm Päffgen was gravely wounded in 1942 after having been shot in the head by a French sniper. With no certainty that he would survive, his commanding officer, following standing orders, ended Päffgen's life by gunshot.
Another story is that he sustained head injuries that caused severe
brain damage
Brain injury (BI) is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors. In general, brain damage refers to significant, undiscriminating trauma-induced damage.
A common ...
, and spent the rest of his life in a
psychiatric institution
A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe mental disorders. These institutions cater to patients with c ...
. According to unproven rumours, he was variously said to have died in a
concentration camp
A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...
,
or to have faded away as a result of
shell shock
Shell shock is a term that originated during World War I to describe symptoms similar to those of combat stress reaction and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which many soldiers suffered during the war. Before PTSD was officially recogni ...
.
In 1946, Nico and her mother relocated to Berlin, where Grete worked as a
seamstress
A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician.
Notable d ...
. Nico attended school until the age of 13, and began selling lingerie in the exclusive department store
KaDeWe
The , abbreviated to KaDeWe, is a Thai owned department store in Berlin, Germany. With over of retail space and more than 380,000 articles available, it is the second-largest department store in Europe after Harrods in London. It attracts 40,000 ...
, eventually getting modelling jobs in Berlin.
At , and with chiseled features and pale skin, Nico rose to prominence as a fashion model when still a teenager.
Career
Acting and modelling (1955–1964)
Nico was discovered at 16 by photographer
Herbert Tobias
Herbert Tobias (14 December 1924 – 17 August 1982) was a German photographer who first became well known for his fashion photography during the 1950s. His portrait studies, his photographs of Russia during World War II and his homoerotic picture ...
while both were working at a KaDeWe fashion show in Berlin. He gave her the name "Nico" after a man he had fallen in love with, filmmaker
Nikos Papatakis
Nico Papatakis (; 5 July 1918 – 17 December 2010)Death certificate registered by the Paris's City Hall (France) was an Ethiopian-born Greek filmmaker, who lived in France.
Early life and career
Papatakis was born to a Greek father and Ethiop ...
, and she used it for the rest of her life. She moved to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and began working for ''
Vogue
Vogue may refer to:
Business
* ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine
** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine
** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries
** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine
** ' ...
'', ''Tempo'', ''Vie Nuove'', ''Mascotte Spettacolo'', ''Camera'', ''
Elle
Elle may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication
** Elle Style Awards
* Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition
* Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film
* ''Elle: ...
'', and other fashion magazines. Around this time, she dyed her brown hair blonde, later claiming she was inspired to do so by
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...
. At age 17, she was contracted by
Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and Businessperson, businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with populari ...
to promote their products, but she fled to New York City and abandoned the job. Through her travels, she learned to speak
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Culture, language and peoples
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
* ''English'', an Amish ter ...
,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
, and
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
.
In 1959 she had an uncredited speaking part in
Mario Lanza
Mario Lanza ( , ; born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza ; January 31, 1921 – October 7, 1959) was an American tenor and actor. He was a Hollywood film star popular in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer a ...
's last film
''For the First Time''. In the same year she was invited to the set of
Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He is known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and ...
's ''
La Dolce Vita
''La Dolce Vita'' (; Italian for 'the sweet life' or 'the good life'Kezich, 203) is a 1960 satirical comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini and written by Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli, and Brunello Rondi. The film stars M ...
'', where she attracted the attention of the acclaimed director, who gave her a minor role in the film as herself. By that time, she was living in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
and taking acting classes with
Lee Strasberg
Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American acting coach and actor. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed ...
.
After a role in the 1961
Jean Paul Belmondo
Jean-Paul Charles Belmondo (; 9 April 19336 September 2021) was a French actor. Initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s, he was a major French film star for several decades from the 1960s onward, frequently portraying police officer ...
film ''
A Man Named Rocca
''A Man Named Rocca'' (, ) is a 1961 French-Italian crime-thriller film directed by Jean Becker and starring Jean Paul Belmondo. It is based on the 1958 novel ''L'Excommunié'' by José Giovanni. Belmondo appeared in another film version of this n ...
'', she appeared as the cover model on
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
pianist
Bill Evans
William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, block chords, innovative chord voicings, a ...
' 1962 album, ''
Moon Beams
''Moon Beams'' is a 1962 album by jazz musician Bill Evans and the first trio album he recorded after the death of bassist Scott LaFaro. It introduces two important Evans originals, "Re: Person I Knew" (an anagram of the name of his then-producer ...
''. After splitting her time between New York and Paris, she got the lead role in
Jacques Poitrenaud
Jacques Poitrenaud (22 May 1922, Lille – died 2 April 2005, Paris) was a French film director and actor.
Director
*1956: '' Saint-Germain-en-Laye, cité royale'' (Short)
*1957: '' Enfants, Touraine'' (Short)
*1960: '' La revenante'' (Short) ...
's ''Strip-Tease'' (1963). She recorded the title track, which was written by
Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French singer-songwriter, actor, composer, and director. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provocative rel ...
but not released until 2001, when it was included in the compilation ''Le Cinéma de Serge Gainsbourg''.
Early singing work
In New York, Nico first met Greek filmmaker
Nico Papatakis, whose name she had adopted as her stage name several years earlier. The two lived together between 1959 and 1961. After noticing her singing around the apartment, Papatakis asked her if she had ever considered a career in music and ended up enrolling her in her first singing lessons.
In 1965, Nico met
the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
guitarist
Brian Jones
Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English musician and founder of the Rolling Stones. Initially a slide guitarist, he went on to sing backing vocals and played a wide variety of instruments on Rolling Stones r ...
and recorded her first single, "
I'm Not Sayin'
"I'm Not Sayin' is a song written by Gordon Lightfoot. It was recorded in December 1964 and released as a single A-side in 1965 and on his 1966 debut album ''Lightfoot!'' The lyrics detail the singer's promise: not that he can necessarily love th ...
", with the B-side "The Last Mile", produced by
Jimmy Page
James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician and producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin.
Page began his career as a studio session musician in Lo ...
for
Andrew Loog Oldham
Andrew Loog Oldham (born 29 January 1944) is an English record producer, talent manager, impresario and author. He was manager and producer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 to 1967, and was noted for his flamboyant style.
Early life
Oldham's f ...
's
Immediate label. Actor
Ben Carruthers
Benito F. Carruthers (August 14, 1936 – September 27, 1983) was an American film actor, most notable for his role in John Cassavetes' debut feature film ''Shadows'' (1959). His other films included '' A High Wind in Jamaica'' (1965), Robert ...
introduced her to
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
in Paris that summer. In 1967, Nico recorded his song "
I'll Keep It with Mine
"I'll Keep It with Mine" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1964, first released by folk singer Judy Collins as a single in 1965. Dylan attempted to record the song for his 1966 album ''Blonde on Blonde''.
Dylan's versions
Dylan recorded a voca ...
" for her first album, ''
Chelsea Girl''.
The Velvet Underground (1966–67)
After being introduced by Brian Jones, she began working in New York with
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...
and
Paul Morrissey
Paul Joseph Morrissey (February 23, 1938 – October 28, 2024) was an American film director, known for his early association with Andy Warhol. His most famous films include ''Flesh (1968 film), Flesh'' (1968), ''Trash (1970 film), Trash'' (197 ...
on their
experimental films
Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that does not apply standard cinematic conventions, instead adopting Non-narrative film, non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many e ...
, including ''
Chelsea Girls
''Chelsea Girls'' is a 1966 American experimental underground film directed by Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey. The film was Warhol's first major commercial success after a long line of avant-garde art films (both feature-length and short). I ...
'', ''The Closet'', ''Sunset'' and ''
Imitation of Christ
In Christian theology, the imitation of Christ is the practice of following the example of Jesus.''A concise dictionary of theology'' by Gerald O'Collins, Edward G. Farrugia 2004 , p. 115.''Imitating Jesus: an inclusive approach to New Testament ...
''. Warhol began managing
the Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...
, a New York City rock band and he proposed that the group take on Nico as a "
chanteuse
Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern Eng ...
", an idea to which they consented, reluctantly for both personal and musical reasons.
The group became the centerpiece of Warhol's ''
Exploding Plastic Inevitable
The ''Exploding Plastic Inevitable'', sometimes simply called ''Plastic Inevitable'' or ''EPI'', was a series of multimedia gesamtkunstwerk events organized by Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey in 1966 and 1967, featuring musical performances by th ...
'', a
multimedia
Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms, such as Text (literary theory), writing, Sound, audio, images, animations, or video, into a single presentation. T ...
performance featuring
music
Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
,
lighting
Lighting or illumination is the deliberate use of light to achieve practical or aesthetic effects. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources like lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight. ...
,
film
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
and
dance
Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
. Nico sang lead vocals on three songs ("
Femme Fatale
A ( , ; ), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and Seduction, seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype ...
", "
All Tomorrow's Parties
"All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released as the band's debut single in 1966. The song is from their 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''.
Inspiration for the so ...
", "
I'll Be Your Mirror
"I'll Be Your Mirror" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico. It appeared on their 1967 debut album ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. It also surfaced as a single a year earlier with "All Tomorrow's Parties" in 1966.
Lou Reed wrote the so ...
"), and backing vocal on "
Sunday Morning", on the band's debut album, ''
The Velvet Underground & Nico
''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' is the debut studio album by the American rock band the Velvet Underground and the German singer Nico. Released by Verve Records in March 1967, the album underperformed in sales and polarized critics upon releas ...
'' (1967).
Reviewer
Richard Goldstein describes Nico as "half goddess, half icicle" and writes that her Velvet Underground vocal "sounds something like a cello getting up in the morning".
Nico's tenure with the Velvet Underground was marked by personal and musical difficulties. Multi-instrumentalist
John Cale
John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styles across rock, dr ...
wrote that Nico's long dressing room preparations, and pre-performance ritual of burning a candle, often held up performances, which especially irritated songwriter
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...
. Nico's partial deafness sometimes caused her to veer off key, for which she was ridiculed by other band members. The album became a classic, ranked 13th on ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
''s
500 Greatest Albums of All Time
5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number.
Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs.
Mathematics
5 is a Fermat pri ...
,
though it was poorly received at the time of its release.
Early solo career (1967–1977)
Immediately following her musical work with the Velvet Underground, Nico began work as a solo artist, performing regularly at
The Dom in New York City. At these shows, she was accompanied by a revolving cast of guitarists, including members of the Velvet Underground,
Tim Hardin
James Timothy Hardin (December 23, 1941 – December 29, 1980) was an American folk music and blues singer-songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his own success, his songs " If I Were a Carpenter", " Reason to Believe", " Misty Roses" and " ...
,
Tim Buckley
Timothy Charles Buckley III (February 14, 1947 – June 29, 1975) was an American musician. He began his career based in folk rock, but subsequently experimented with genres such as psychedelia, jazz, the avant-garde, and funk paired with his ...
,
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
Ramblin' Jack Elliott (born Elliott Charles Adnopoz; August 1, 1931) is an American folk singer, songwriter and story teller.
Life and career
Elliott was born in 1931 in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Florence (Rieger) and Abraham Adno ...
and
Jackson Browne
Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States.
Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...
.
For her debut album, 1967's ''
Chelsea Girl'', she recorded songs by
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
,
Tim Hardin
James Timothy Hardin (December 23, 1941 – December 29, 1980) was an American folk music and blues singer-songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his own success, his songs " If I Were a Carpenter", " Reason to Believe", " Misty Roses" and " ...
, and
Jackson Browne
Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States.
Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...
, among others. Velvet Underground members
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...
,
John Cale
John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styles across rock, dr ...
and
Sterling Morrison
Holmes Sterling Morrison Jr. (August 29, 1942 – August 30, 1995) was an American guitarist, best known as one of the founding members of the rock band the Velvet Underground, usually playing electric guitar, occasionally bass guitar, and ...
contributed to the album, with Nico, Reed and Cale co-writing one song, "It Was a Pleasure Then." ''Chelsea Girl'' is a traditional chamber-folk album, with
strings
String or strings may refer to:
*String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
and flute arrangements by producer
Tom Wilson. Nico had little say in its production, and was disappointed with the result; she said in 1981: "I still cannot listen to it, because everything I wanted for that record, they took it away. I asked for drums, they said no. I asked for more guitars, they said no. And I asked for simplicity, and they covered it in flutes! ... They added strings, and— I didn't like them, but I could live with them. But the flute! The first time I heard the album, I cried and it was all because of the flute." In California, Nico spent time with
Jim Morrison
James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet who was the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his charismatic persona, poetic lyrics, distinctive vo ...
of
the Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...
, who encouraged her to write her own songs.
For ''
The Marble Index
''The Marble Index'' is the second studio album by the German musician Nico, released in November 1968 on Elektra Records. The avant-garde sound introduced in the album—a stark contrast with her folk pop debut, '' Chelsea Girl'' (1967)—was t ...
'', released in 1968, Nico wrote the lyrics and music. Nico's
harmonium
The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...
anchored the accompaniment, while John Cale added an array of folk and classical instruments, and arranged the album. The harmonium became her signature instrument for the rest of her career. The album has a classical-cum-European
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk horror
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Fo ...
sound. The album also marked a radical change in Nico's appearance and image. She once again dyed her hair, this time from blonde to red, and began dressing mostly in black, a look that would be considered a visual prototype for the
gothic rock
Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...
scene that would emerge in subsequent years.
A promotional film for the song "Evening of Light" was filmed by Francois de Menil. This video featured the now red-haired Nico and
Iggy Pop
James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...
of
the Stooges
The Stooges or Iggy and the Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, were an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexande ...
.
Returning to live performance in the early 1970s, Nico (accompanying herself on harmonium) gave concerts in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
as well as
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, where she and John Cale opened for
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...
. 1972 saw a one-off live reunion of Nico, Cale and
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...
at the
Bataclan in Paris.

Nico released two more solo albums in the 1970s, ''
Desertshore
''Desertshore'' is the third studio album by German musician Nico. It was released in December 1970 on the Reprise label and co-produced by John Cale and Joe Boyd.
Recording
''Desertshore'' was co-produced by John Cale and Joe Boyd.
"Janito ...
'' (1970) and ''
The End...'' (1974). She 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
Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...
on synthesizer and
Phil Manzanera
Phillip Geoffrey Targett-Adams (born 31 January 1951), known professionally as Phil Manzanera, is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music, and was the lead guitarist with 801 and Quiet Sun. ...
on guitar, both from
Roxy Music
Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry (lead vocals/keyboards/principal songwriter) and Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson (bass). By the time the band recorded their Roxy Music (album), first albu ...
. She appeared at the
Rainbow Theatre
The Rainbow Theatre, originally known as the Finsbury Park Astoria, then the Finsbury Park Paramount Astoria, and then the Finsbury Park Odeon, is a Grade II*-listed building in Finsbury Park, London. The theatre was built in 1930 as an "atmos ...
, in London, with Cale, Eno, and
Kevin Ayers
Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely asso ...
. The album ''
June 1, 1974
''June 1, 1974'' is a live album of songs performed at the Rainbow Theatre in London on the titular date. The album is officially attributed to all principal performers Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Brian Eno and Nico, although other well-known musi ...
'' resulted from this concert. Nico performed a version of the Doors' "The End", which was the catalyst for ''
The End...'' later that year.
Between 1970 and 1979, Nico made about seven films with French director
Philippe Garrel
Philippe Garrel (; born 6 April 1948) is a French director, cinematographer, screenwriter, film editor, and producer, associated with the French New Wave movement. His films have won him awards at Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, and ...
. 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 ''Athanor'' (1972); the
silent Jean Seberg
Jean Dorothy Seberg (; ; November 13, 1938August 30, 1979) was an American actress. She is considered an icon of the French New Wave as a result of her performance in Jean-Luc Godard's 1960 film ''Breathless''.
Seberg appeared in 34 films in ...
feature ''Les Hautes Solitudes'', released in 1974; ''Un ange passe'' (1975); ''Le Berceau de cristal'' (1976), starring
Pierre Clémenti
Pierre André Clémenti (28 September 1942 – 27 December 1999) was a French actor.
Life and career
Born in Paris to an unknown father and Rose Clémenti, a Corsican concierge whose surname he took, Clémenti had a difficult childhood and took ...
, Nico and
Anita Pallenberg
Anita Pallenberg (6 April 1942 – 13 June 2017) was an Italian-German film actress, artist, and model. A style icon and " It Girl" of the 1960s and 1970s, Pallenberg was credited as the muse of the Rolling Stones: she was the romantic partner ...
; and ''Voyage au jardin des morts'' (1978). His 1991 film ''J'entends Plus la Guitare'' is dedicated to Nico.
On 13 December 1974, Nico opened for
Tangerine Dream
Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup of the grou ...
's concert at
Reims Cathedral
Notre-Dame de Reims (; ; meaning "Our Lady of Reims"), known in English as Reims Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral in the French city of the same name, the seat of the Archdiocese of Reims. The cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and wa ...
in
Reims
Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...
, France.
Around this time, Nico became involved with Berliner musician Lutz Ulbrich, guitarist for
Ash Ra Tempel
Ash Ra Tempel was a German krautrock group led by guitarist Manuel Göttsching that was active from 1970 to 1976. Their debut album '' Ash Ra Tempel'' was released in 1971. Following the band's demise, Göttsching released music under the name A ...
. Ulbrich would accompany Nico on guitar at many of her subsequent concerts through the rest of the decade. Also in this time period, Nico let her hair return to its natural brown color but continued wearing mostly black. This would be her public image from then on. Nico and
Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...
allegedly had many disputes during this time, and in 1975 Island dropped her from their roster.
Later solo career (1978–1988)
In September 1978, Nico performed at the Canet Roc '78 festival in Spain. Also performing at this event were
Blondie,
Kevin Ayers
Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely asso ...
, and
Ultravox
Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which wa ...
. She made a vocal contribution to
Neuronium
Neuronium is a Spanish electronic music group created by Michel Huygen in 1976. The group has released over 40 albums since then on the Neuronium/Michel Huygen label.
History
Neuronium was founded in 1976 as a psychedelic rock quintet with a pe ...
's second album, ''Vuelo Químico'', as she was at the studio, by chance, while it was being recorded in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
in 1978 by Michel Huygen,
Carlos Guirao and Albert Gimenez. She read excerpts from "
Ulalume
"Ulalume" () is a poem written by Edgar Allan Poe in 1847. Much like a few of Poe's other poems (such as "The Raven", " Annabel Lee", and " Lenore"), "Ulalume" focuses on the narrator's loss of his beloved due to her death. Poe originally wrote th ...
" by
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...
. She said that the music deeply moved her, so she could not help but make a contribution. During the same year, Nico briefly toured as supporting act for
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Siouxsie and the Banshees ( ) were a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. Post-punk pioneers, they were widely influential, both over their contemporaries and later ...
, one of many
post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
bands who namechecked her. In Paris,
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer. Her 1975 debut album '' Horses'' made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fu ...
bought a new harmonium for Nico after her original was stolen.
Nico returned to New York in 1979 where her comeback concert at
CBGB
CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...
(accompanied by John Cale and Lutz Ulbrich) was reviewed positively in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. She began playing regularly at the
Squat Theatre
Squat Theatre (1977–1991) was a Hungarian theatre company from Budapest which left Hungary for Paris and then New York City, where they performed experimental theatre.
History
Living in Paris in 1977, a friend of the company, Tamas Szentjoby, ...
and other venues with Jim Tisdall accompanying her on harp and
Gittler guitar
The Gittler Guitar is an experimental designed guitar created by Allan Gittler (1928–2002). Gittler felt that sentimental design references to acoustic guitars are unnecessary in an electronically amplified guitar, and designed his instrument ...
. They played together on a sold-out tour of twelve cities in the East and Midwest. At some shows, she was accompanied on guitar by
Cheetah Chrome
Eugene Richard O'Connor (born February 18, 1955), better known by his stage name Cheetah Chrome, is an American musician who achieved fame as a guitarist for Rocket from the Tombs and the punk rock band Dead Boys.
Career Rocket From the Tomb ...
(
the Dead Boys
The Dead Boys are an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio. The band was among the first wave of punk, and regarded by many as one of the rowdiest and most violent groups of the era. They were formed by vocalist Stiv Bators, rhythm gu ...
).
In France, Nico was introduced to photographer Antoine Giacomoni. Giacomoni's photos of Nico would be used for her next album, and would eventually be featured in a book (''Nico: Photographies'', Horizon Illimite, Paris, 2002). Through Antoine Giacomoni, she met Corsican bassist Philippe Quilichini. Nico recorded her next studio album, ''
Drama of Exile
''Drama of Exile'' is the fifth studio album by German musician Nico. The album was initially released in 1981 and re-recorded in 1983 as ''The Drama of Exile''. The album featured a Middle Eastern rhythm section and was produced by Corsican ...
'', in 1981.
produced by Philippe Quilichini. Mahamad Hadi aka Mad Sheer Khan played oriental rock guitar and wrote all the oriental production. It was a departure from her earlier work with John Cale, featuring a mixture of rock and Middle Eastern arrangements. For this album, in addition to originals like "Genghis Khan" and "Sixty Forty", Nico recorded covers of the Velvet Underground's "
I'm Waiting for the Man
"I'm Waiting for the Man" is a song by American rock band the Velvet Underground. Written by Lou Reed, it was first released on their 1967 debut album, '' The Velvet Underground & Nico''. The lyrics describe a man's efforts to obtain heroin in H ...
" and
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
's "
Heroes
Heroes or Héroes may refer to:
* Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good
Film
* ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama
* ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film
Gaming
* ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...
". ''Drama of Exile'' was released twice, in two different versions, the second appearing in 1983.
[
After relocating to ]Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, England, in the early 1980s, Nico acquired a manager, Factory Records
Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus.
The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order (band), New Order, A Certain Ra ...
executive and promoter Alan Wise, and began working with a variety of backing bands for her many live performances. These bands chronologically included Blue Orchids
Blue Orchids are an English post-punk band formed in Manchester in 1979, when Martin Bramah left The Fall (band), the Fall, after playing on the band's debut album ''Live at the Witch Trials''.
Christened by Salford-based punk poet John Cooper ...
, the Bedlamites and the Faction.
In 1981, Nico released the Philippe Quilichini-produced single "Saeta"/"Vegas" on Flicknife Records. The following year saw another single, "Procession", produced by Martin Hannett
James Martin Hannett (31 May 1948 – 18 April 1991) was an English record producer, musician and an original partner/director at Tony Wilson's Factory Records. Hannett produced music by artists including Joy Division, the Durutti Column, A Cert ...
and featuring the Invisible Girls
The Invisible Girls were a British rock band, formed in Salford, Greater Manchester in 1978, to provide a musical backdrop to the recorded output of Salford punk poet John Cooper Clarke. The band's nucleus was Joy Division and New Order produc ...
. Included on the "Procession" single was a new version of the Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...
's "All Tomorrow's Parties".
Nico toured in 1982 with post-punk
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
band Blue Orchids as her backing band. At the time, her work impacted the emerging gothic rock
Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...
scene. At Salford University
The University of Salford is a Public university, public research university in Salford, Greater Manchester, Salford, Greater Manchester, England, west of Manchester city centre. The Royal Technical Institute, Salford, which opened in 1896, be ...
in 1982, she joined Bauhaus
The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...
for a performance of "I'm Waiting for the Man". That same year, Nico's supporting acts included the Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band formed in Leeds in 1980. After achieving early underground fame, the band experienced a commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s, sustaining their success until the early 1990s, when they halted th ...
and Gene Loves Jezebel
Gene Loves Jezebel are a British rock band formed in the early 1980s by twin brothers Michael Aston and Jay Aston. Initially associated with gothic rock and post-punk, their 1983 debut album ''Promise'' reached no.8 on the UK Indie Chart. Th ...
. In September 1982, Nico performed at the Deeside Leisure Centre
Deeside Leisure Centre is a sports centre located in Queensferry, Flintshire. Its facilities include Deeside Ice Rink (an Olympic-sized inline hockey rink), badminton courts, and squash courts.
The ice rink is the National Centre for Ice Spo ...
for the Futurama Festival
Futurama Festival was an annual post-punk and gothic rock festival held at venues in Leeds, Stafford and Queensferry between 1979 and 1983. A sixth edition was held in 1989. It aimed for a relaunch in 2021 but, after being postponed, was forced t ...
. The line-up for this show also included the Damned, Dead or Alive
A wanted poster (or wanted sign) is a poster distributed to let the public know of a person whom authorities wish to apprehend. They generally include a picture of the person, either a photograph when one is available or of a facial composite ...
, Southern Death Cult
Southern Death Cult were a British post-punk/gothic rock band that formed in Bradford during the early 1980s. They are now primarily known for having given their lead vocalist and parts of the name to the multi-platinum hard rock band the Cult. ...
, Danse Society and the Membranes
The Membranes are an English post-punk band formed in Blackpool, Lancashire in 1977, the initial line-up being John Robb (bass guitar), Mark Tilton (guitar), Martyn Critchley (vocals) and Martin Kelly (drums).Larkin, Colin: ''The Guinness W ...
. After the end of her work with the Blue Orchids, she hired musical arranger James Young and his band the Faction for her concerts.
The live compilations ''1982 Tour Diary'' and ''En Personne En Europe'' were released in November 1982 on the 1/2 Records cassette label in France; the ROIR
ROIR (pronounced "roar"), or Reachout International Records, is a New York City-based independent record label founded in 1979 by Neil Cooper.
Background
ROIR was founded the same year that the Sony Walkman launched, and initially, the label ex ...
cassette label reissued the former under the revised title "Do Or Die!" in 1983. These releases were followed by more live performances throughout Europe over the next few years.
She recorded her final solo album, ''Camera Obscura
A camera obscura (; ) is the natural phenomenon in which the rays of light passing through a aperture, small hole into a dark space form an image where they strike a surface, resulting in an inverted (upside down) and reversed (left to right) ...
'', in 1985, with the Faction ( James Young and Graham "Dids" Dowdall). Produced by John Cale, it featured Nico's version of the Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers wa ...
/Lorenz Hart
Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include "Blue Moon"; " The Lady Is a Tramp"; "Manhattan"; " Bewitched, Bo ...
song "My Funny Valentine
"My Funny Valentine" is a show tune from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart coming of age musical ''Babes in Arms'' in which it was introduced by teenaged star Mitzi Green. The song became a popular jazz standard, appearing on over 1300 albums performed ...
". The album's closing song was an updated version of "König", which she had previously recorded for ''La cicatrice interieure''. This was the only song on the album to feature only Nico's voice and harmonium. A music video for "My Heart Is Empty" was filmed at The Fridge in Brixton
Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...
.
The next few years saw frequent live performances by Nico, with tours of Europe, Japan and Australia (usually with the Faction or the Bedlamites). A number of Nico's performances towards the end of her life were recorded and released, including 1982's ''Heroine'', ''Nico in Tokyo'', and '' Behind the Iron Curtain''.
In March 1988, she and Young hired new guitarist Henry Olsen: together, they composed new songs to be premiered at a festival organized by Lutz Ulbrich at the Berlin Planetarium in June. Nico was then inspired by Egyptian music and Egyptian singer and diva Oum Kalthoum. Young stated that the new material was "good enough to be a springboard to a new record" with an Egyptian orchestra. The Berlin concert ended with a song from ''The End...'', "You Forget to Answer".
A duet called "Your Kisses Burn" with singer Marc Almond
Peter Mark Almond (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist of the synth-pop/ new wave duo Soft Cell. He has a distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He has had a diverse career as a ...
was her last studio recording (about a month before her death). It was released a few months after her death on Almond's album '' The Stars We Are''. The recording of the 1988 Berlin concert, was later released with the title '' Nico's Last Concert: Fata Morgana''.
Personal life
On 11 August 1962, she gave birth to her son, Christian Aaron Boulogne
Christian Aaron Boulogne (11 August 1962 – 20 May 2023), also known as Ari Boulogne and Ari Päffgen, was a French photographer, actor and writer.
Early life
Boulogne was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine on 11 August 1962. He was the son of German s ...
, whom she called Ari. She was living with Nicos Papatakis in 1962 but told him that Alain Delon
Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; 8 November 1935 – 18 August 2024) was a French actor, film producer, screenwriter, singer, and businessman. Acknowledged as a cultural and cinematic leading man of the 20th century, Delon emerged as one of ...
was the father of her child. Delon always denied it, and it has not been verified. Unable to raise her child, she left Ari to be raised by Delon's mother and his stepfather. Ari became a photographer and actor. He died of a heroin overdose, aged 60, in Paris in 2023.
Nico saw herself as part of a tradition of bohemian
Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to:
*Anything of or relating to Bohemia
Culture and arts
* Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers.
* Bohemian style, a ...
artists, which she traced back to the Romanticism
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...
of the early 19th century. She led a nomadic life, living in different countries. Apart from Germany, where she grew up, and Spain, 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 in the 1980s, when she moved between London and Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
.
In 1965 she became pregnant during a three-month affair with Brian Jones but decided to have an abortion in London that same year. This event prompted her to seek out a closer relationship with her son Ari.
Nico was a heroin addict
Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a substance use disorder characterized by cravings for opioids, continued use despite physical and/or psychological deterioration, increased tolerance with use, and withdrawal symptoms after discontinuing opioids. ...
for over 15 years. In the book ''Songs They Never Play on the Radio'', James Young, a member of her band in the 1980s, recalls many examples of her troubling behaviour due to her "overwhelming" addiction – and that Nico claimed never to have taken the drug while in the Velvets/Factory scene but only began using during her relationship with French film director Philippe Garrel
Philippe Garrel (; born 6 April 1948) is a French director, cinematographer, screenwriter, film editor, and producer, associated with the French New Wave movement. His films have won him awards at Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, and ...
in the 1970s.
The final years of her life were mainly spent in the Prestwich
Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester, north of Salford and south of Bury.
Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ...
and Salford
Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...
areas of Greater Manchester. Although she was still struggling with addiction, she became interested in music again. For a few months in the 1980s, she shared an apartment in Brixton, London, with punk poet John Cooper Clarke
John Cooper Clarke (born 25 January 1949) is an English performance poet and comedian who styled himself as a "punk poet" in the late 1970s. In the 1970s and early 1980s, he released several albums and performed on stage with punk and post-punk ...
but not as a couple.
In his autobiography, musician Cheetah Chrome
Eugene Richard O'Connor (born February 18, 1955), better known by his stage name Cheetah Chrome, is an American musician who achieved fame as a guitarist for Rocket from the Tombs and the punk rock band Dead Boys.
Career Rocket From the Tomb ...
depicted his friendship with a strung-out Nico in the 1980s and their mutual dependence. Shortly before her death, Nico stopped using heroin and began methadone replacement therapy as well as a regimen of bicycle exercise and healthy eating.
Nico's friend Danny Fields
Danny Fields (born Daniel Feinberg; November 13, 1939) is an American music manager, publicist, journalist, and author. As a music industry executive from the 1960s to the 1980s, he was one of the most influential figures in the history of punk ...
, the American journalist who helped her sign to Elektra Records
Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...
, described her as "Nazi
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
-esque", saying, "Every once in a while there'd be something about Jews and I'd be, 'But Nico, I'm Jewish,' and she was like 'Yes, yes, I don't mean you.'" According to Fields, in the early 1970s, Nico attacked a mixed-race woman at the Chelsea Hotel
The Hotel Chelsea (also known as the Chelsea Hotel and the Chelsea) is a hotel at 222 West 23rd Street (Manhattan), 23rd Street in the Chelsea, Manhattan, Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Built between 1883 and 1884, the hot ...
with a smashed wine glass, sticking it in her eye while saying, "I hate black people." Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...
dropped Nico after she told an interviewer that she did not like "Negro
In the English language, the term ''negro'' (or sometimes ''negress'' for a female) is a term historically used to refer to people of Black people, Black African heritage. The term ''negro'' means the color black in Spanish and Portuguese (from ...
es" and that they had "features like animals". Nico said she had been raped at the age of thirteen by a black American soldier who had been court-martialed and executed; the biographer Richard Witts could find no record of this, even when similar incidents were "assiduously documented", while biographer Jennifer Otter Bickerdike uncovered personal documents that support the story. According to Witts, Nico had misogynistic tendencies, describing women as poison.
In 2019, Nigel Bagley, Nico's co-manager and promoter in Manchester, said he never saw Nico express racist views, and that she lived in a multicultural city and was friendly with their American-Jamaican doorman. Her drummer, Graham Dowdall, noted that Nico had used Indian instruments and worked with north Africans. He said she was "certainly capable of very casual racism" about her promoter, Alan Wise, who was Jewish, but that this was her way of "having a go" at him.
Death and funeral
On 18 July 1988, during a holiday with Ari on the Spanish island of Ibiza
Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...
, Nico hit her head when she fell off her bicycle. A passing taxi driver found her unconscious, but had difficulty getting her admitted to local hospitals. She was misdiagnosed as suffering from heat exposure and was declared dead at 20:00. X-rays later revealed a severe cerebral hemorrhage as the cause of death. Her son later said of the incident:
Nico's cremated remains are buried in her mother's plot in Grunewald (forest), Grunewald, a forest cemetery in Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
. Friends played a tape of "Mütterlein", a song from ''Desertshore'', at her funeral.
Legacy
Nico directly inspired many musicians, including Siouxsie and the Banshees
Siouxsie and the Banshees ( ) were a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. Post-punk pioneers, they were widely influential, both over their contemporaries and later ...
, the Cure, Morrissey, Elliott Smith, and Björk. Siouxsie and the Banshees invited her as special guest on their first major UK tour in 1978; they also later covered "All Tomorrow's Parties". The Cure's leader Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has cited ''Desertshore'' as one of his favourite records, as has Björk. Joy Division and New Order (band), New Order's Peter Hook cited ''Chelsea Girl'' as one of his favourite albums. Bauhaus singer, Peter Murphy (musician), Peter Murphy, considered that "Nico recorded the first truly Gothic album, ''Marble lndex'' or ''The End''. Nico was Gothic, but she was Mary Shelley to everyone else's Hammer Horror. They both did ''Frankenstein'', but Nico's was real." Morrissey cited Nico when asked to name artists who had a lasting influence on him: "The royal three remain the same: the New York Dolls, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, with Nico standing firm as first reserve." Morrissey also said of the song "Innocent and Vain", "This is my youth in one piece of music." Elliott Smith covered "Chelsea Girls" and "These Days (Jackson Browne song), These Days" in Portland, Oregon in October 1999; he also cited ''The Marble Index'' as one of his perfect 2.45am albums. Marc Almond
Peter Mark Almond (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist of the synth-pop/ new wave duo Soft Cell. He has a distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He has had a diverse career as a ...
recorded a cover version of "The Falconer": she was one of the "things I was obsessed about at school" due to her "wonderful intriguing voice, icy and remote yet warm at the same time." Marianne Faithfull recorded "Song For Nico" on her LP ''Kissin' Time'' in 2002. Michael Gira also recorded an homonymous song for the Angels of Light album How I Loved You, and cited ''Desertshore'' and ''The Marble Index'' among his favorite albums. Patti Smith did a concert tribute to Nico in 2014 in which she covered "I Will Be Seven". Low (band), Low wrote a song titled "Those Girls (Song For Nico)" and Neko Case covered "Afraid" in 2013.
Two of Nico's songs from ''Chelsea Girl'', "The Fairest of the Seasons" and "These Days", both written by Jackson Browne, were featured in Wes Anderson's film ''The Royal Tenenbaums''.
Several biographical works on Nico have appeared, both in print and film. The first, in 1992, was ''Songs They Never Play on the Radio'', a book by James Young that draws on his association with Nico in her last years. In 1993, ''Nico: The Life and Lies of an Icon'' by musicologist Richard Witts covered Nico's entire life and career. The 1995 documentary ''Nico Icon'' by Susanne Ofteringer examined the many facets of Nico's life with contributions from people who knew her, including her colleagues Reed and Cale. In 2015, Lutz Graf-Ulbrich, Nico's former partner and accompanist in the late 1970s, published ''Nico: In the Shadow of the Moon Goddess'', an account of his time with Nico. In the 2018 biopic ''Nico, 1988'' directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli, Trine Dyrholm portrays Nico on a journey across Europe during her last tour.
In 2019, Manchester International Festival put on a production called ''The Nico Project''. It was a theatrical re-telling of Nico's 1968 album ''The Marble Index'' starring Maxine Peake.
Tributes
Several concerts to honour Nico's career were organized over the years with multiple singers revisiting her repertoire. In 1981 Texas punk band Really Red released an original song in tribute to Nico. In 2005, alternative rock band Anberlin released their second studio album, Never Take Friendship Personal, which includes the song "Dance, Dance Christa Päffgen", inspired by Nico, whose given name was Christa Päffgen. The song references her struggle with drugs and unrelated death. 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 Manic Street Preachers), Fyfe Dangerfield of the Guillemots, Mark Linkous (of Sparklehorse), Peter Murphy (of Bauhaus), Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance, and Mark Lanegan 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, who was her musical collaborator in the late 1970s, presented another tribute concert, which featured Marianne Rosenberg, Soap&Skin, Marianne Enzensberger, and James Young, the keyboardist from The Faction, Nico's last band.
Shearwater (band), Shearwater's 2006 album ''Palo Santo (Shearwater album), Palo Santo'' was dedicated to Nico, and was loosely based on her life.
Performance artist Tammy Faye Starlite (Tammy Lang) enjoyed success in 2011 with her one-woman show ''Nico: Chelsea Mädchen'', in which she impersonated the singer and delivered spoken material based on an interview Nico gave in the mid-Eighties, during an Australian tour.
In 2012, X-TG (featuring members of industrial band Throbbing Gristle) released a re-interpretation of the ''Desertshore'' album.
In January 2013, John Cale organized a tribute ''A Life Along the Borderline'' at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City. Performers included Cale, Kim Gordon with Bill Nace, Sharon Van Etten, Meshell Ndegeocello, Stephin Merritt, Peaches (musician), Peaches, Alison Mosshart, Joan As Police Woman, Greg Dulli, Yeasayer, and Mercury Rev.
The song "Last Ride" on Beach House's 2018 album ''7 (Beach House album), 7'' "was inspired by" Nico, according to lead singer Victoria Legrand.
Discography
According to ''The Great Rock Discography'':
Studio albums
EP
Live albums
Compilation albums
Unofficial releases
In 2002, Faust Records released two collections of obscure Nico tracks, ''Reich der Träume'' (Realm of Dreams) and ''Walpurgis-Nacht'' (Walpurgis Night).
Singles
Bibliography
*''Nico: The Life and Lies of an Icon'' by Richard Witts (Virgin Books: London, 1992).
*''Up-tight: the Velvet Underground Story'' by Victor Bockris and Gerard Malanga (Omnibus Press: London, 1995 reprint).
* ''Songs They Never Play on the Radio: Nico, the Last Bohemian''[Reissued numerous times over the years with recognizable variant titles (''Nico – Songs They Never Play on the Radio'' or ''Nico – The End'')] by James Young, Bloomsbury Publishing, Bloomsbury, London 1992
*''Nico: Photographies'' by Antoine Giacomoni, (Dragoon: Paris, 2002).
*''Nico: Cible mouvante. Chansons, Poèmes, Journal'' by Nico, Jacques Pauvert and Ari Boulogne, (Pauvert: Paris, 2001).
*''L'amour n'oublie jamais'' by Ari Boulogne, (Pauvert: Paris, 2001).
*''Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk'' by Legs McNeil and Gillian Mccain, (Grove Press: New York, 1996).
*''Lüül: Ein Musikerleben zwischen Agitation Free, Ashra, Nico, der Neuen Deutschen Welle und den 17 Hippies'' by Lutz Ulbrich (Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf: Berlin, 2007).
*''Nico - In The Shadow of the Moon Goddess'' by Lutz Graf-Ulbrich (E-book, Amazon Digital Services, 2015).
*''You Are Beautiful and You Are Alone: The Biography of Nico'', by Jennifer Otter Bickerdike, Faber (2021), .
Films and plays
*''Nico – In Memoriam'' (1988), documentary directed by Bernd Gaul
*''Nico Icon'' (1995), documentary directed by Susanne Ofteringer
* ''Nico Icon Play'', play by Stella Grundy, premièred at Studio Salford on 5 September 2007
* ''Nico. Sphinx aus Eis'' (2005), by Werner Fritsch
* ''Nico, 1988'' (2018), directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli with actress Trine Dyrholm as Nico.
*
The Nico Project
' (2019), co-created by Sarah Frankcom (director) and Maxine Peake (performer), performed at Manchester International Festival 2019.
References
External links
Habits of Waste, Pt. 1
Evaluation of Nico's early work
Habits of Waste, Pt. 2
Evaluation of Nico's later work
Nico, the Voice of Disaffected Youth
– Audio story from National Public Radio
Nico
(BBC Radio 4 ''Woman's Hour'' audio item)
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*
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Video on demand link to 1988 concert documentary
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