In the song Midnight Radio on the Hedwig and the Angry Inch soundtrack, there’s a bit that goes:
Here’s to Patti
and Tina
and Yoko
Aretha
and Nona
and Nico
and me
and all the strange rock and rollers…
I know who Patti, Tina, Yoko and Aretha are…but who are Nona and Nico?
Nico of the Velvet Underground. I’m not sure about Nona.
Nona Hendryx, formerly a member of LaBelle (the original singers of “Lady Marmalade” back in the 70s) and a bad-ass dica in her own right.
diva, that is
Nico was (is?) a European model that Andy Warhol tried to turn into a singer. He foisted her onto the VU since he controlled them early on. Their first album was by “Velvet Underground and Nico” but Nico was never part of VU. She became so obscure now that she is mainly “well known for having once been well known.” There was a documentary on her a few years back.
(It’s a great album nonetheless.)
Nico died a few years ago, fell down the stairs or something.
Nico died in 1988 in Spain. The exact cause of her death is a bit of a mystery, although it was probably a head injury due to a bicycle accident, influenced by heat exhaustian. A good Samaritan found her lying unconscious by the side of a road and took her to the hospital, where she died.
She was a very successful model who had also appeared in a few movies before hooking up with the Warhol Factory set and going into music. She had a lengthy, if not particularly successful, solo career after her time with the Velvet Underground. She is perhaps better remembered today for her numerous affairs with rock musicians including Jim Morrison, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, and Bob Dylan.