The original UK version was released with a single cover and the banana was not peelable. Some re-issues have appeared with coloured vinyl (yellow or red) and a limited edition by Newbury Comics is on black and yellow vinyl. There have been several variations on the cover design and recent re-issues have once again reverted to the original “torso” rear cover photo. The rear cover with the sticker covering Emerson’s face.This album has never been out of print since it was originally released. Below: the airbrushed “third state” rear cover. Note the lower positioning of the banana. There are three versions of the cover of the original American release: a first state with the “torso” rear cover, a second state with the sticker over the upper part of the torso picture and the third state with Emerson airbrushed out. I think all promos were mono versions with “Torso” rear cover. There were promo copies distributed with the “Torso” cover which had white or yellow record labels. Brian Eno is quoted as saying in 1982 “everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band.” – obviously, with one exception – me! This delay badly affected the album’s sales only about 30,000 copies being sold between 19 – I must be one of the early buyers as I bought my copy in late 1967 on the strength of the review in Rolling Stone. On subsequent printings of the album sleeve the photograph was airbrushed to obscure Emerson’s portrait before the album could be reissued in June 1967. Verve refused to pay and recalled as many copies as it could and stuck a large black sticker over the offending photograph. Emerson was in need of money as he had been charged with drug offenses and sued Verve Records to pay him for the use of his photograph. This is commonly called the “Torso” version”. The rear cover photograph showed actor Eric Emerson the lights projected behind the band with his inverted face superimposed on the picture of Lou Reed‘s head. I have seen the large band photo on the rear cover credited to Andy Warhol, so I am not sure it was by him or, as stated in the album credits, by Hugo.
Lehman, who designed the cover, decided on the gatefold to be able to include photos of the band members taken by Paul Morrissey, and colour photos by Verve photographer Hugo. The removable banana on the front was difficult to produce and delayed the album’s release until March 1967. Warhol gave his Banana painting to the band for the album cover. Logically enough, as Nico was not a member of the group the album’s title was “ The Velvet Underground & Nico. Warhol offered the album to Columbia Records, who turned it down! Then through the Andy Warhol association Verve Records agreed to release it. Wilson was a staff producer for Columbia (and later Verve) Records and had produced three of Bob Dylan‘s early albums (“ Another Side of Bob Dylan“, “ The Times They Are A’Changin’“, four tracks on “T he Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan“, “ Bringing It All Back Home“) including the hit single “ Like a Rolling Stone“. For unknown reasons some songs were rerecorded and some new songs recorded by producer Tom Wilson in Los Angeles later that year.
Warhol insisted that chanteuse Nico (real name Christa Päffgen) sing on the album and she sang on three songs. In 1965 Andy Warhol became The Velvet Underground‘s manager and he booked them into New York’s Scepter Studios in April 1966 to record the group’s first album which was de facto produced by studio owner Norman Dolph rather than by Warhol. Elvis Presley’s “ Elvis Is Back!” from 1956 is said to be the first gatefold cover for a single LP and “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” was not released until two months after the Velvets’ album. Gatefold covers had generally only been used for double albums. The cover provoked two lawsuits (more on those later). It is one of only two albums that I know of that names the cover designer rather than the band or the record’s title on the front (the other being Swedish band bob hund‘s 1996 LP “ Omslag: Martin Kann“.) b. The album “ The Velvet Underground & Nico” is remarkable for many reasons–not least the music.
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