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The US band The Velvet Underground & Nico was part of a subculture that developed on Manhattan's Lower East Side in the mid-1960s. Consisting of Lou Reed (g, voc), John Cale (vla, p, b), Sterling Morrison (g, b), and Maureen Tucker (dr), they performed in multiple multimedia events and provided soundtracks for numerous underground films. In 1966, Andy Warhol took the band under his wing for his multimedia event tour „Exploding Plastic Inevitable“ with similar experiments in film, music and dance. He also suggested hiring the German singer Nico. They quickly gained attention for their daring performances and controversial lyrics.
In mid-April 1966, they recorded their eponymous debut album at Scepter Studios in NYC with Andy Warhol as producer. However, the now famous „Banana Album“, designed by Andy Warhol, was not released until March of the following year. The innovative blend of garage rock and experimental, psychedelic rock with provocative themes, including drug abuse, prostitution, sadism and masochism as well as sexual deviancy, was unique at the time and didn't exactly lead to high sales. There was also legal trouble, as the back cover of the first edition featured actor Eric Emerson („torso photo“), who sued the record company for non-payment for the rights to his image. This was quickly changed for the later covers. A commercial failure and almost completely ignored by critics at the time, it has since become one of the most influential and critically acclaimed rock albums in history.
Astronomical sums are now paid worldwide for US mono first pressings with the rare original torso photo on the back cover and the unpeeled banana.
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