Talk:Nico

Production Credits

The Marble Index wasn't produced by John Cale, it was Frazier Mohawk. John Cale did the arrangements for the album. I have edited the section to display the correct information. - Corey —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.35.226.191 (talk • contribs) 01:07, 2 March 2006 (UTC)

this one time...errrrr —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.199.97.151 (talk) 20:35, 7 January 2009 (UTC)

Someone should also, somehow, mention that she banged most of New York in the late sixties. But, you know, in a nice way. - C.J. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.115.234.251 (talk • contribs) at 00:40, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

^^ Definitely. "Romantic relationships" my posterior. She screwed everything that moved, like most everyone did.

Someone shouuld de-rate this fawning innacurate "biography" to D-. Nico was just another one of Andy Warhol's oddities, famous like the soup cans and not even famous for quality, just famous for being ... odd. Everyone at the time knew she couldn't sing, dance, or even look especially good. She was just strange, like Twiggy and Tiny Tim. We had a lot of that. It was fun. Seeing twenty-somethings worshipping at the graves of these people is funny :P —Preceding unsigned comment added by 210.22.142.82 (talk) 06:14, 26 February 2010 (UTC)

I don't understand why it is relevant to inform people about her sexual relationships, I believe this comes from the fact that she is a woman, so it's all about sexism then. Well, let's talk about Lou Reed's sex life, or Jim Morrison, they were promiscuos too, that was part of rock at that time. I think this is not a gossip magazine I don't think her "relationship" (she maybe slept a couple of times with each) with any of these man was important. They were not famous at that time, no advantage for her there as you may suppouse, only Andy Warhol was the most significant at that moment in music history. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.135.3.218 (talk) 18:37, 8 April 2010 (UTC)

Birth date/place

This article claims the following:

"The date and location of Nico's birth are disputed. Most sources state October 16, 1938, Cologne, Germany. However, at least two other sources have put her birth date at March 15, 1943, in Budapest, Hungary."

What are all of these sources? Do we have any links or bibliographies to verify them?--Pac 00:27, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

That picture from 1994 looks pretty good, considering that she died in 1988. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.43.48.131 (talk) 15:42, 17 April 2008 (UTC)

It puts her birth as Budapest, march 15th 1943 in the liner notes to The Marble Index. The notes are written by a Richard Williams. i did a wiki search and this seems to be the most likely person Richard_Williams_(journalist) He is a music journalist and it mentions velvet underground in the article.

Something else that is contradictory to the wiki article, from the same liner notes, is the origin of the name Nico. It says that she took her name from a boyfriend, Nico Papadakis, rather than as described in the wiki article: 'While on a modelling assignment in Ibiza, she met the photographer Tobias, who christened her "Nico" after his ex-boyfriend, filmmaker Nico Papatakis.'

Im just saying that these liner notes are a source of the contradicting information, though i dont know how accurate any of it is Vivisquallcloud 18:59, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

Pronunciation

How do you pronounce her name? Like knee-co or nye-co or nick-o? Maybe the answer should be put in the article, because I cant figure out which one it is —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.206.138.32 (talk • contribs) at 18:39, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

I've always presumed it was pronounced 'knee-co'. It just seems the most obvious pronounciation.

SteveRamone 09:00, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

These Days

For the last *censored* time, it wasn't a Jackson Browne COVER. Nico's recording was its first release. Indeed, Browne wrote it but FOR her. His version was released some years later on his sophomore album. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.85.178.227 (talk • contribs) 17:45, 23 August 2006 (UTC) [1]

The main photo is too big

it is very intrusive, and takes over most of the window. is there no way of resizing it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Macca7174 (talk • contribs) at 12:22, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

Years Active

The 'Years Active' part on the infobox says til 2002. How could she have been active still if she is no longer alive >_< is there a good reason for the changes? surely it should say til 1988. Also, i wondered if it should start at 1965, to include her 'I'm Not Saying' single. - Vivisquallcloud 10:22, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Why has this link been deleted?

Am perplexed as to why the link to the most comprehensive and best maintained Nico site on the internet http://smironne.free.fr/NICO/ has been deleted while the link to a trite cartoon and autobiographical quotes from the artist who drew it has been kept http://prettyfakes.com/?p=220. I've always found the links section one of the best features of Wikipeida. When they're links to significant sites directly relevant to the subject of the article they can save a lot of time sorting through internet vanity press for further information. I'll be bold and restore the link which I think should stay unless someone has a legimate reason for its removal. tobalwin 15:19, 14 March 2007 (UTC)

I got rid of both per WP:EL. --John 20:59, 24 August 2007 (UTC)

Hi!! if you want, you can check this, it's a great Nico yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nico_icon/ Thanks! Elia :) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.32.117.89 (talk) 23:22, 2 February 2009 (UTC)

She fairly liked her relationships with rock stars.

"Nico had a short-lived romantic relationship with the Velvet Underground's main singer and songwriter, Lou Reed, at this time, one of her several romances with prominent musicians including fellow Velvet John Cale, The Doors' icon Jim Morrison, Jackson Browne, Rolling Stones' founder Brian Jones, Tim Buckley and The Stooges' Iggy Pop." (all of whom were at least 3 years younger than her, sometimes up to 10 years younger, interestingly enough)

I wonder how much of this information can be attributed? I'd believe the Lou Reed/John Cale ones as I'm sure I've read about them elsewhere, but the rest?--h i s s p a c e r e s e a r c h 19:04, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

The book "Nico: Life and Lies of an Icon" by Richard Witts [Virgin books 1993 234 pages] is currently the most reliable reference source for Nico info. http://www.witts.me.uk/index.html Witts book sources as much as he can but the sixites were not a good time for fixed relationships or definite statements on such. However all the involvements mentioned appear to be confirmed by other people who were around at the time. Index references in Witts book; Jim Morrison 40+ ,Jackson Browne 12, Brian Jones 30+, Iggy Pop 5, Tim Buckley 2 tobalwin 08:16, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Her encounter with Jim Morrison is described in his biography, "No One Here Gets Out Alive." The documentary "Nico Icon" has footage of Nico onstage referring to Morrison as her "soul brother." This concern about her romantic relationships seems a little sexist and bourgeous, anyway. MarbleIndex01 15:02, 13 October 2007 (UTC)

Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain's Please Kill Me, [Grove Press: USA. ISBN: 0-8021-4254-8. 268 pages], an oral history of the origins of punk rock, is also a source. The book includes interviews with Reed, Iggy Pop and others some of whom verify the relationships between Nico and Dylan, Reed, Pop, and Morrison. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.154.76.187 (talk) 12:02, 4 March 2009 (UTC)

I don't know how to contribute but should it not be included that the Lou Reed song Berlin was written for her (obvious from the lyrics and how Reed looked at her while singing it) as was Bowies heros? Source for that is interviews with her I believe but not sure where to find them now. Her intellect deserves a section as she was highly independent that way with poetry and political views, so much could be added about her choice for an authentic journey. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.59.228.216 (talk) 13:34, 5 September 2012 (UTC)

Jim Morrison

I beleive Nico worked with Jim Morrison on one of her albums. 'The End' I think. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 144.134.237.62 (talk) 10:05, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

Nico had a relationship with Morrison, but I don't think she ever really worked with him musically. At least not on any of her albums. As for The End, that album is dedicated to Morrison, who had overdosed 3 years earlier. - Face 17:10, 21 October 2007 (UTC)

More on heroin addiction?

In the mid-to-latter stages of her life, heroin took over her life completely and perhaps there should be more on that. Saying that she was a heroin addict is like saying the Cookie monster was somewhat fond of cookies. SteveRamone 09:04, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

Racism

What about her penchant for being racist? I have heard in some places that she was very bigoted and even stabbed a black woman at one point for looking at her wrong. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.168.137.34 (talk • contribs) at 16:27, 12 November 2007 (UTC)

I have found an article that may refer to the incident mentioned above. It appears she smashed a wine glass and stabbed a mixed-race singer in the face with it. The Guardian - [User:BalthCat] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.167.81.216 (talk) 02:52, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

Racism section - potentially dubious. Additional verification is required...

I have removed the following text from the article:

In an interview with Mary Harron for New Wave Rock, Nico explained why she was dropped from Island Records."I made a mistake. I said in Melody Maker to some interviewer that I didn't like Negroes. That's all. They took it personally . . . although it's a whole different race. I mean, Bob Marley doesn't resemble a negro, does he? . . . He's an archetype of Jamaican . . . but with features like white people. I don't like the features. They're so much like animals . . . it's cannibalism, no?"

The source given appears to be a biography of Joe Strummer. Could someone who owns this book please take a look through and confirm that the above controversial statement attributed to Nico is actually quoted there in the correct context and if possible provide a page reference? Thanks. --Kurt Shaped Box (talk) 00:59, 6 September 2008 (UTC)

No, the book is called "Rip It Up: The Black Experience in Rock 'N' Roll", and it's about dark-skinned people in the rock scene. Amazon says that it features "original interviews with Slash from Guns N' Roses, Little Richard, Lenny Kravitz, and others". Perhaps the person who added the section can scan the page containing the quote? Even if Nico said that however, I don't think a seperate section would be appropriate.
On a related note, someone using a 87.160.*.* range keeps re-adding the section (in a poor way). See for example: 87.160.216.31, 87.160.204.121 and 87.160.199.211. Cheers, Face 14:57, 7 September 2008 (UTC)

I added the quote and will check the Joe Strummer biography. However, I don't see why it doens't deserve it's own section. It's a serious charge that may change the way people view Nico. Additionaly, the quote I found comes from a credible publication. The possibilty of Nico being racist is substantiated by The Guardian article mentioned above. That source comes from Danny Fields I think this should be added back on as I don't see how this qoute could be interpreted differently in any context. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.126.135.158 (talk) 07:07, 8 September 2008 (UTC)

If it's legit, I have no objections to it being re-added to the article. However, we do need to check that the statement, as written is actually present in the book(s) cited (either the 'Black Experience in Rock 'N' Roll' book, or the Strummer bio that someone had changed the link to). Just providing a link to the publication on Google Books or Amazon proves very little. Per Wikipedia:Verifiability#Exceptional_claims_require_exceptional_sources, we do need to check this out further and be absolutely sure before it goes back in the article. It's far from unknown for people to insert outlandish claims into articles, backed up with a generic, difficult to verify reference as a deliberate attempt to push an agenda or simply to cause trouble. Whilst it's essential that WP must not contain libellous statements about living people, it's in no way acceptable to smear the reputation of the dead either. So, we need to find someone who owns the books and can check them out personally (as I said, a page ref. would be most useful - a scan too, per Face's comment). --Kurt Shaped Box (talk) 15:27, 8 September 2008 (UTC)

This 87.160.*.* anon appears to be persistent. He/She used 87.160.251.45 today to again add the loaded quote which is, at this moment, still not properly sourced. If this goes on, I'm gonna request a short semi-protection. Cheers, Face 11:58, 9 September 2008 (UTC)

So, did anyone here manage to take a look at the books in question? It's been quite a while now... --Kurt Shaped Box (talk) 22:29, 22 October 2008 (UTC)

I note this got added and rv'dd twice today. It has moved up one level of hearsay in the reference. IMHO this is insufficient to merit inclusion at his point, Nico could have been taking the piss. The quote is not particularly relevant, what is that she was dropped by Island for racism, an independent secondary source would have to be found to validate such a controversial statement. Wwwhatsup (talk) 00:03, 31 August 2009 (UTC)

The charges of racism seem to come from people not "getting her" wit and due to her German background - much was made of her dumping Lou Reed with the words "I can no longer sleep with a Jew"; this was obviously just facetious dark humour in the drag queen style of her peers, second she refers in an interview to the time she assaulted the black woman in America by saying it was done because the woman had said something stupid. Apparently saying that the blacks have it hardest; not well taken by an intoxicated Nico who had lost her Father to the Nazis, been poor and started work young, been raped as a teen and ever felt responsible that the perpetrator who was a serial rapist was executed, who'd had paternity of her son denied, and several failed relationships including the death of perhaps the love of her life etc. To refute the racism charge are several things; a song by Marianne Faithful in tribute to her and also an interview I believe, in which she says she is innocent, Nico complaining in some interview that people assume being German equals being racist, Nicos rendition of the German National anthem which actually satirises the theme of Germany being a supreme country, and an interview in which Nico declines to identify with a Nation. Clearly she knew from experience how ugly Nationalism is. Lastly look at Nicos love of Jazz and where Nico chose to live - Manchester. A section on race views deals with intangibles and evidence up for interpretation (talk) 16 April 2011 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.59.228.216 (talk) 12:24, 19 April 2011 (UTC)

Her time in Manchester

There's no mention here of her time in Manchester, where she often lived in squalor as a heroin addict. She was there for about 8 years in various places and she spent time in Salford, where The Smiths were based. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.7.28.142 (talk) 15:58, 6 January 2009 (UTC)

Agreed. Was about to say the same thing. Nico was there for quite a while, often in a sorry state (though of course it could just have been the rain). IMO needs inclusion in article. 86.177.4.226 (talk) 20:01, 29 November 2009 (UTC)

The John Cooper Clarke entry states that he had a relationship with Nico in the 1980s, presumably this is reliable enough to be included her as well? The Yowser (talk) 12:15, 22 July 2010 (UTC)

Personal Life

Can we please stop adding the questionably sourced statements about who she slept with, many of these people are still alive thus raising BLP issues. It's not really needed in the article any way. Ridernyc (talk) 09:58, 7 March 2010 (UTC)

Cause of death

The intro paragraph states that Nico died as a result of injuries sustained from a bicycle fall and then the "Death" para goes on to say that she'd had a "minor heart attack." The former is somewhat misleading but the latter is completely incorrect.

The medical and witness evidence all point to the cerebral haemorrhage found on autopsy not being the result of trauma but was a stroke - and this caused her to fall from her bicycle. Despite her symptoms, Nico was apparently reluctant to accept the need for medical help: after first going to a local medical centre by taxi, she was eventually taken to Ibiza's main hospital but died that same evening soon after an emergency operation to relieve pressure on the brain caused by the bleeding.

I shall edit the article accordingly as soon as I can get the refs together. Plutonium27 (talk) 21:39, 15 January 2011 (UTC)

Picture

Is there not a better picture of her available? The main picture is not very good. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.226.243.205 (talk) 16:20, 15 March 2011 (UTC)

The picture used showing Nico performing at the University of Wales, Lampeter, 1985 is of poor quality. Even the most tenuous of searches throws up better quality photos than the one featured. Part of Nico's persona was that of a classic 'femme fatale'. I know this appears sexist but actually her rejection of her own status as a sex object is an significant aspect of her personality, as well as her growth as an artist(post The Marble Index). Therefore, a picture which demonstrates her classic blonde Warhol may be more appropriate as an initial image in this article. --No1Nicofan (talk) 23:24, 26 August 2015 (UTC)

If you can provide a better photo, by all means add it - but it must be free to use by Wikipedia. The current photo was probably taken by a Wikipedia editor and donated to the site. For more information, see Wikipedia:Image use policy.Popcornduff (talk) 02:06, 27 August 2015 (UTC)

Father

The claim that her father "was later used in experiments by Nazi doctors in a concentration camp" seems extremely doubtful, since he was German. Even the concentration camp is doubtful, since there doesn't seem to be any evidence why he would have been put in a camp. The one source only claims, that he died in a camp and doesn't mention any experiments. The other one is an album leaflet, which makes it highly unreliable. And further more, it has been issued long after her death. So unless at least one reliable source emerges, I will remove the claim from the article. --Kreuzkümmel (talk) 22:51, 15 April 2012 (UTC)

The German article, its talk page and the talk page archive don't mention any of this. I agree that the second part of that sentence be removed for lack of credible verification. -- Michael Bednarek (talk) 08:59, 16 April 2012 (UTC)

In Cologne, Germany it is a well known fact that her father was a member of the local Päffgen brewmaster dynasty and that she was born in Cologne. Fairly likely is the local version that the father lost his mind caused by either a shell shock or by a physical brain damage during a battle in the East. His real cause of death is not publicly known so far (no info available from the Päffgen families either) but there have been hints that he survived the war and died in a psychiatric institution. About her time as evacuee in Lübbenau at her mother's brother, a Mr Schulz, info can be found on http://www.gwg-luebbenau.de/luebbenauer-geschichten.html The last story is about her; it includes a photo of her as pupil in Lübbenau. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2003:45:4950:AB5E:1167:715:7ABB:DFE5 (talk) 21:18, 7 December 2014 (UTC)

LOL Strummer did neither know the German language nor was befriended with Päffgen's relatives in the Spreewald nor in Cologne.

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Family

Why does - only - Allmusic.com give the name "Christa Päffgen (Pavolsky)" ?

Jan Cremer mentions her as polish-german model. So I supposed her family fled from the east - but in fact they came from Köln ?

'Nico was born Christa Päffgen in Cologne' "moved with her mother and grandfather to the Spreewald forest outside of Berlin". Lübbenau "In 1946, Nico and her mother relocated to downtown Berlin,"

http://andygoss.net.au/views-reviews/nico-bios/  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.170.88.56 (talk) 23:03, 8 September 2015 (UTC) 

Alain Delon Nico had a relationship with Alain Delon and they had a son, Ari Boulogne. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alain_Delon#Personal_life

The son featured on some Velvet Underground videos but was otherwise, apparently, raised by Delon's parents who apparently discovered he existed when Nico contacted them in the late 60s. They officially adopted him, though seemingly Delon, in the words of Marianne Faithful, acted like a cunt and refused to admit anything.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_tHFBYsDF4 

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Aaron_Boulogne

This would seem to be important to say the least, yet is not mentioned. Any reason? surfingus (talk) 16:28, 6 March 2016 (UTC)

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When Christa Became Nico

Can someone PLEASE sort out the issue with the birth of the Nico name. I have no idea if she was named by the Photographer after a guy he knew or after an ex-boyfriend of hers but I'm absolutely certain it was not after the filmmaker because all sources I can find state they were not in any kind of relationship until the 1960s145.8.180.207 (talk) 10:43, 26 July 2017 (UTC)

Spanish/Yugoslav?!

The Simon Reynolds article cited as a source states, We think of Nico as German, but although she spent much of her childhood in Germany, her parents were Spanish and Yugoslav. Is there any other source that states this? He seems to have fabricated it out of thin air.Sylvain1972 (talk) 19:43, 30 August 2018 (UTC)

Luul

Appeared on this one from 1981. [2] 2001:56A:F03F:5200:CD44:EF2E:353B:9660 (talk) 06:35, 9 October 2018 (UTC)

More citations needed

@100cellsman: There are many, many sections that need citations. That makes no sense for me, the precise number of sections without citations still is and already was zero in September 2018. Why not simply add {{fact}} for what you consider as un-sourced and dubious? {{More citations needed}} is slightly less helpful than a {{sofixit}}, the article has 49 references. –84.46.53.72 (talk) 12:56, 5 February 2019 (UTC)

I've removed the unclear head note. –84.46.53.251 (talk) 11:04, 17 February 2019 (UTC)