Editing Nico (section)

===Early solo career (1967–1977)===
Immediately following her musical work with the Velvet Underground, Nico began work as a solo artist, performing regularly at [[Electric Circus (nightclub)|The Dom]] in New York City. At these shows, she was accompanied by a revolving cast of guitarists, including members of the Velvet Underground, [[Tim Hardin]], [[Tim Buckley]], [[Ramblin' Jack Elliott]] and [[Jackson Browne]].

For her debut album, 1967's ''[[Chelsea Girl (album)|Chelsea Girl]]'', she recorded songs by [[Bob Dylan]], [[Tim Hardin]], and [[Jackson Browne]], among others. Velvet Underground members [[Lou Reed]], [[John Cale]] and [[Sterling Morrison]] contributed to the album, with Nico, Reed and Cale co-writing one song, "It Was a Pleasure Then."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Gross |first=Joe |title=Nico: Biography |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/nico/biography |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=11 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080622105119/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/nico/biography |archive-date=22 June 2008}}</ref> ''Chelsea Girl'' is a traditional chamber-folk album, with [[string instrument|strings]] and flute arrangements by producer [[Tom Wilson (producer)|Tom Wilson]]. Nico had little say in its production, and was disappointed with the result; she said in 1981: "I still cannot listen to it, because everything I wanted for that record, they took it away. I asked for drums, they said no. I asked for more guitars, they said no. And I asked for simplicity, and they covered it in flutes! ... They added strings, and— I didn't like them, but I could live with them. But the flute! The first time I heard the album, I cried and it was all because of the flute."<ref>Nico quoted in Dave Thompson's [[liner note]]s for the 2002 ''Deluxe'' re-issue of ''[[The Velvet Underground & Nico]]'', which includes all five Velvet collaborations for ''Chelsea Girl''.</ref> In California, Nico spent time with [[Jim Morrison]] of [[the Doors]], who encouraged her to write her own songs.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2007/mar/16/popandrock3 |title=From the Velvets to the Void |last=Reynolds |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Reynolds |date=16 March 2007 |magazine=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=30 March 2021}}</ref>

For ''[[The Marble Index]]'', released in 1968, Nico wrote the lyrics and music. Nico's [[Pump organ|harmonium]] anchored the accompaniment, while John Cale added an array of folk and classical instruments, and arranged the album. The harmonium became her signature instrument for the rest of her career. The album has a classical-cum-European [[folk music|folk]] sound. The album also marked a radical change in Nico's appearance and image. She once again dyed her hair, this time from blonde to red, and began dressing mostly in black, a look that would be considered a visual prototype for the [[gothic rock]] scene that would emerge in subsequent years.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Thompson |first1=Dave |last2=Greene |author-link1=Dave Thompson (author) |first2=Jo-Ann |date=November 1994 |title=Undead Undead Undead |url=http://www.umbraum.com/original_undead.htm |magazine=[[Alternative Press (music magazine)|Alternative Press]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304111146/http://www.umbraum.com/original_undead.htm |archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>

A promotional film for the song "Evening of Light" was filmed by Francois de Menil. This video featured the now red-haired Nico and [[Iggy Pop]] of [[the Stooges]].

Returning to live performance in the early 1970s, Nico (accompanying herself on harmonium) gave concerts in [[Amsterdam]] as well as [[London]], where she and John Cale opened for [[Pink Floyd]]. 1972 saw a one-off live reunion of Nico, Cale and [[Lou Reed]] at the [[Bataclan (theatre)|Bataclan]] in Paris.

[[File:Nico Harmonium1974.png|thumb|upright|Nico playing harmonium at Free Concert, Hyde Park, 1974]]
Nico released two more solo albums in the 1970s, ''[[Desertshore]]'' (1970) and ''[[The End...]]'' (1974). She wrote the music, sang, and played the harmonium. Cale produced and played most of the other instruments on both albums. ''The End...'' featured [[Brian Eno]] on synthesizer and [[Phil Manzanera]] on guitar, both from [[Roxy Music]]. She appeared at the [[Rainbow Theatre]], in London, with Cale, Eno, and [[Kevin Ayers]]. The album ''[[June 1, 1974]]'' resulted from this concert. Nico performed a version of the Doors' "The End", which was the catalyst for ''[[The End...]]'' later that year.

Between 1970 and 1979, Nico made about seven films with French director [[Philippe Garrel]]. She met Garrel in 1969 and contributed the song "The Falconer" to his film ''Le Lit de la Vierge''. Soon after, she was living with Garrel and became a central figure in his cinematic and personal circles. Nico's first acting appearance with Garrel occurred in his 1972 film, ''La Cicatrice Intérieure''. Nico also supplied the music for this film and collaborated closely with the director. She also appeared in the Garrel films ''Athanor'' (1972); the [[silent film|silent]] [[Jean Seberg]] feature ''Les Hautes Solitudes'', released in 1974; ''Un ange passe'' (1975); ''Le Berceau de cristal'' (1976), starring [[Pierre Clémenti]], Nico and [[Anita Pallenberg]]; and ''Voyage au jardin des morts'' (1978). His 1991 film ''J'entends Plus la Guitare'' is dedicated to Nico.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nysun.com/arts/unfolding-garrels-love-letter/72497/ |title=Unfolding Garrel's Love Letter |date=7 March 2008 |access-date=26 August 2015 |newspaper=[[The New York Sun]] |last=Jahn |first=Anne-Sophie}}</ref>

On 13 December 1974, Nico opened for [[Tangerine Dream]]'s concert at [[Reims Cathedral]] in [[Reims]], France.<ref name=Drama>{{cite web |url=http://www.rakosrecords.cz/html/nico.htm |title=Nico, The Drama of Exile |last=Pasquier |first=Jacques |date=10 April 2008 |access-date=23 September 2016 |website=Rakosrecords.cz |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080319144007/http://www.rakosrecords.cz/html/nico.htm |archive-date=19 March 2008}}</ref> Around this time, Nico became involved with Berliner musician Lutz Ulbrich, guitarist for [[Ash Ra Tempel]]. Ulbrich would accompany Nico on guitar at many of her subsequent concerts through the rest of the decade. Also in this time period, Nico let her hair return to its natural brown color but continued wearing mostly black. This would be her public image from then on.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Boch|first=Richard|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/972429558|title=The Mudd Club|publisher=[[Feral House]]|year=2017|isbn=978-1-62731-051-2|location=Port Townsend, WA|pages=206|oclc=972429558}}</ref> Nico and [[Island Records]] allegedly had many disputes during this time, and in 1975 Island dropped her from their roster.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Rough Guide to the Velvet Underground |last=Hogan |first=Peter |publisher=Rough Guides |year=2007 |isbn=978-1843535881 |location=London |page=73}}</ref>