Well, I never. It turns out Charli XCX is a huge fan of the Velvet Underground and Nico – the 1967 album that’s one of the most influential records of all time. Indeed she’s called it “the apex of fine art”.
She was talking at Variety’s Hitmakers awards over the weekend, where she picked up the gong for Hitmaker of the Year. As well as namechecking inspirations such as Lana Del Rey, Caroline Polachek and Jack Antonoff, the original brat singled out the album with the iconic Warhol-designed sleeve.
“In March 1967, The Velvet Underground released their album The Velvet Underground And Nico,” she said. “It debuted on the Billboard 200 at Number 199. And a few weeks later, it rose to its peak position of 195. But don’t worry, it dropped out, and then it re-entered the charts. And later in life, Lou Reed told Brian Eno that it had only sold around 30,000 copies over its first five years.
“In my humble opinion, this record is the definition of a hit. This record is arguably one of the most influential and groundbreaking records of our time. This album is the apex of fine art and DIY culture colliding. It’s high and low, it’s poetry meets drugs, it’s earnest meets arrogance, and even if you’re never heard a single song from this album, you’ll undoubtedly recognise its cover, either from the walls of a modern art gallery or from the shop floor of an Urban Outfitters.”
“And let’s be real, what is a hit if you’re not conquering both of those places?” she continued. “My album cover has not yet appeared at the Guggenheim or the Whitney or the Tate. However, some of my merch is available to purchase right now in Urban Outfitters. So I guess that means that I’m halfway there. So thank you very much, Variety.”
There’s no doubt The Velvet Underground and Nico was a groundbreaking record. Combining the avant garde with pop songwriting, it opened up new frontiers in terms of lyrical content and redefined the whole notion of cool. It’s hard to think of an artist from the glam, punk and post punk eras who wasn’t influenced by it in some way. However, its effect on the current generation of pop stars is perhaps harder to detect, you could argue.
Anyhow, now we know. In other Charli news, she’s also lined up a whole slew of festival appearances. She’s set to headline Manchester’s Parklife next year, as well as curating and headlined a day at London’s new LIDO festival. And then there are the appearances at Coachella and Primavera Sound in Barcelona.
Looks like Brat summer is going to be extended into 2025...
