“The Velvet Underground and Nico officially debuted on January 10, 1966, in an unlikely setting. Dr. Robert Campbell had invited Warhol to speak to the New York Society for Clinical Psychiatry at its annual black-tie banquet at Delmonico's. When asked about his odd choice, Dr. Campbell rhetorically asked, 'How can you be immune to art and the creative process? Surely you're aware of the barely visible line between genius and madness.' Warhol decided that his 'lecture,' 'The Chic Mystique of Andy Warhol,' would consist of films for visuals and the Velvet Underground for sound. That way Andy wouldn't have to talk.
“When the guests arrived in the gold-and-white grand ballroom at six-thirty, they found the Warhol entourage... As soon as the group of three hundred doctors and spouses started their roast beef entree, bedlam broke out. The Velvet Underground played full volume as Nico began singing in her unearthly voice. Gerard Melanga started his whip dance.”
From FACTORY MADE by Steven Watson.