A book from James Young chronicaling the life of the late and legendary Nico - known for her work with The Velvet Underground and her groundbreaking solo project.
OUT OF PRINT
This book is used, but in very good condition.
No highlights or pencil marks. Light cover wear.
Photo shows the actual book.
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From Publishers Weekly
For those who relish stories of moral degradation and famous junkies, this witty and sordid biography provides ample entertainment. In 1982, piano player Young scrapped his Oxford studies and joined a touring band that backed the 42-year-old female singer known simply as Nico. Once a fabulous beauty, paraded before the camera in Fellini's La Dolce Vita and chosen by Andy Warhol to sing for his rock group the Velvet Underground, Nico had squandered all in pursuit of heroin, and performing was her only means left to support her addiction. By June 1988, when Nico died in a fall from her bicycle, Young brimmed with anecdotes gathered in the seedy underbellies of the U.S., Italy, Eastern Europe and Australia, including bizarre encounters with John Cale, Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso. Young's claim to quote conversations verbatim suggests some embellishment, but otherwise his chronicle of Nico's final years rings pathetically true. The charm here lies in Young's ridiculous lack of hipness (when Nico obliquely requests something "sharp"--a hypodermic--he proffers a Swiss army knife), his acerbic humor and his ability to portray has-been and never-will-be antiheroes. Photos not seen by PW. Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
In the late 1960s, Andy Warhol formed a rock band called the Velvet Underground, featuring the songs of Lou Reed and occasional vocals by German-born Christa Paffgen, who was dubbed with the alluring stage name Nico. After the Velvet's breakup, Nico recorded a few solo albums and drifted into a nasty heroin habit. The author entered her life in 1982, when he was recruited by a demented promoter (here referred to only as "Dr. Demetrius") to play in Nico's band during a tour of Italy. Predictably, the venture was a disaster. Over the next five years, Nico, Young, and company hopscotched the globe, wherever the flames of her fame still flickered. As good as Young's writing is, that's about all this sordid tale has going for it. A bigger star would have given the book broader appeal. For large music collections. - Thomas Wiener, formerly with "American Film" Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
