The Velvet Underground & Nico
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
This entry is only about the beginning of the Velvet Underground and their first album.
The band was founded roughly in 1967 and although there had ben a lot of impact to the different members of the band, like Andy Warhol and his factory, those influences are no subject of the entry (yet).
Biography:
Lou Reed
born 2nd of March, 1942 in Freeport Long Island, older brother of Elisabeth and son of a chartered accountant.
Ironically, he firstly came in touch with music through a classical piano training forced by his parents. But he always imagined himself as a "Rock'n Roll animal" which was not exactly what his parents wanted him to become.
Lou did the worst thing he could do to them - he became a member of a Rock'n Roll band. The parents answer had been to send him to a hospital for an electro-shock treatment to cure him from his desease. Lou Reed said later on that this was the point when he started to get interested in electricity.
Although his love for Rock'n Roll his musical interests have always been very widespreaded, he always mentioned f.ex. Ornette Coleman as a great influence.
Lou Reed left home in 1960 and went to the university of Syracuse, where he met Delmore Schwartz, a poet who had, according to Lou Reed's statement, a massive influence to the lyrics he did later on.
Syracuse university was as well the place where he met Sterling Morrison for the first time. They lived in the same student's house
Sterling Morrison
Holmes Sterling Morrison junior was born on the 29th of August, 1942 in East Meadow, Long Island. He was a son of a native scottish-being family and had two younger brothers and three younger sisters. He learned to play trumpet at the age of seven, but at the age of twelve his trumpet trainer left to the army and he could not find another. That's why he changed to guitar and - later on - bass guitar.
Sterling studied at the university of Syracuse and adored - like Lou - the poetry of Delmore Schwartz.
Together with Lou, he became part of the Syracuse music scene and both played in bands like "Moses and his brothers" or "Pasha and the prophets".
During his late studies he was a room-mate of Jim Tucker, Maureen Tuckers' brother.
Maureen Tucker
Unfortunately, it is not easy to get much information about Maureen 'Mo' Tuckers biography.
She was born on 1945 in New Jersey as a younger sister of Jim Tucker. She played drums since the age of 10 but her deep interest to this instrument started when she experienced Rock'n Roll music. She was familiar with Lou and Sterling because they frequently appeared at her brothers room. Lou Reed explained later on that Mo used to work with a "computer" and when she came home from work she played drums to Bo diddley records from 5 to 12 pm all day.
Therefore it has been quite obvious when Angus MacLise, the former VU drummer left the band that the Velvets asked her to join them. (Although John Cale was not very happy about having a girl in the band. Looking very "male" most of the people didn't realise it anyway.)
John Cale
Born on the 5th of December 1940 in Crynant, south Wales, England. He lived there until the age of 17 when he left for the Goldsmiths' College at London university where he studied music composition.
There he got in touch with classical avantgarde-music and performance-arts. In 1963 he got a Leonard-Bernstein-scholarship in Lenox, Massachusetts. Nevertheless his teacher forbid him to play his music in public. Cale said later on that he did not want him to destroy his pianos. That's why he left to New York where he met LaMonte Young who composed music in which the artist were talking to the piano or shouted to a plant until it became dead.
At this time he started to work with an electric amplified viola and became part of the New York music scene where he met Lou Reed for the first time.
Nico
Born on the 15th of march 1943, this date of birth cannot be confirmed, some people say she was born 3 years earlier, and Nico herself was not very keen in talking of age, especially not her own. She was born in Budapest as a daughter of half spanish, half yougoslawian parents. She lived later on in Germany, France and Italy and was able to speak seven languages fluently.
Her first public work was as an actress in Fellinis' film "La Dolce Vita", later on she went to Lee Strasbergs' "Actors' studio". In 1964 she sang to get a job as a singer in New Yorks famous "Blue Angel" bar. She fainted - and when she regained consciousness she was told that she's engaged. In New York she got in contact with Andy Warhol who did a lot of filmwork in this time.
STILL IN PROCESS - TO BE CONTINUED
The band was founded roughly in 1967 and although there had ben a lot of impact to the different members of the band, like Andy Warhol and his factory, those influences are no subject of the entry (yet).
Biography:
Lou Reed
born 2nd of March, 1942 in Freeport Long Island, older brother of Elisabeth and son of a chartered accountant.
Ironically, he firstly came in touch with music through a classical piano training forced by his parents. But he always imagined himself as a "Rock'n Roll animal" which was not exactly what his parents wanted him to become.
Lou did the worst thing he could do to them - he became a member of a Rock'n Roll band. The parents answer had been to send him to a hospital for an electro-shock treatment to cure him from his desease. Lou Reed said later on that this was the point when he started to get interested in electricity.
Although his love for Rock'n Roll his musical interests have always been very widespreaded, he always mentioned f.ex. Ornette Coleman as a great influence.
Lou Reed left home in 1960 and went to the university of Syracuse, where he met Delmore Schwartz, a poet who had, according to Lou Reed's statement, a massive influence to the lyrics he did later on.
Syracuse university was as well the place where he met Sterling Morrison for the first time. They lived in the same student's house
Sterling Morrison
Holmes Sterling Morrison junior was born on the 29th of August, 1942 in East Meadow, Long Island. He was a son of a native scottish-being family and had two younger brothers and three younger sisters. He learned to play trumpet at the age of seven, but at the age of twelve his trumpet trainer left to the army and he could not find another. That's why he changed to guitar and - later on - bass guitar.
Sterling studied at the university of Syracuse and adored - like Lou - the poetry of Delmore Schwartz.
Together with Lou, he became part of the Syracuse music scene and both played in bands like "Moses and his brothers" or "Pasha and the prophets".
During his late studies he was a room-mate of Jim Tucker, Maureen Tuckers' brother.
Maureen Tucker
Unfortunately, it is not easy to get much information about Maureen 'Mo' Tuckers biography.
She was born on 1945 in New Jersey as a younger sister of Jim Tucker. She played drums since the age of 10 but her deep interest to this instrument started when she experienced Rock'n Roll music. She was familiar with Lou and Sterling because they frequently appeared at her brothers room. Lou Reed explained later on that Mo used to work with a "computer" and when she came home from work she played drums to Bo diddley records from 5 to 12 pm all day.
Therefore it has been quite obvious when Angus MacLise, the former VU drummer left the band that the Velvets asked her to join them. (Although John Cale was not very happy about having a girl in the band. Looking very "male" most of the people didn't realise it anyway.)
John Cale
Born on the 5th of December 1940 in Crynant, south Wales, England. He lived there until the age of 17 when he left for the Goldsmiths' College at London university where he studied music composition.
There he got in touch with classical avantgarde-music and performance-arts. In 1963 he got a Leonard-Bernstein-scholarship in Lenox, Massachusetts. Nevertheless his teacher forbid him to play his music in public. Cale said later on that he did not want him to destroy his pianos. That's why he left to New York where he met LaMonte Young who composed music in which the artist were talking to the piano or shouted to a plant until it became dead.
At this time he started to work with an electric amplified viola and became part of the New York music scene where he met Lou Reed for the first time.
Nico
Born on the 15th of march 1943, this date of birth cannot be confirmed, some people say she was born 3 years earlier, and Nico herself was not very keen in talking of age, especially not her own. She was born in Budapest as a daughter of half spanish, half yougoslawian parents. She lived later on in Germany, France and Italy and was able to speak seven languages fluently.
Her first public work was as an actress in Fellinis' film "La Dolce Vita", later on she went to Lee Strasbergs' "Actors' studio". In 1964 she sang to get a job as a singer in New Yorks famous "Blue Angel" bar. She fainted - and when she regained consciousness she was told that she's engaged. In New York she got in contact with Andy Warhol who did a lot of filmwork in this time.
STILL IN PROCESS - TO BE CONTINUED
