‘Janitor of Lunacy’: The Nico song about the death of Brian Jones
Rock and roll history can be categorised by a collection of definitive moments: Elvis Presley walking into Sun Studios, The Beatles stepping out on the rooftop, Jimi Hendrix setting his Stratocaster alight. Among those defining rock moments, the death of Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones was a colossal event that forever left a mark on the rock and roll landscape. Jones’ untimely death at the age of 27 had an impact felt by countless fans all over the globe, but those who were close to the musician were particularly affected.
Brian Jones was essential in the early success of The Rolling Stones, even if the songwriting partnership of Keith Richards and Mick Jagger often overshadowed his position within the band. In fact, it was Jones who first formed the Stones back in 1962, envisioning the outfit as dedicated devotees of American blues music and sticking largely to cover versions of Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, and the like. When manager Andrew Loog Oldham thrust the Jagger-Richards partnership together, Jones’ position in his band became increasingly under threat.
Even still, the multi-instrumentalist managed to imbue the Stones’ material with a unique and captivating quality, most evident on tracks like ‘Paint It Black’, which set them apart from the rest of the blues-rock landscape of the period. A breaking point for Jones came in 1967 during a band trip to Morocco, during which time the wedge between the musician and the rest of the band grew exponentially – spurred on by the breakdown of his relationship with Anita Pallenberg, who got together with Richards on that trip.
Two years later, Jones was sacked from the band he started, and a month later, he was dead. In the wake of his death, countless figures from across the rock landscape sought to pay tribute to their fallen hero, but one of the most prominent tributes came from Nico. Prior to finding cult success with The Velvet Underground, along with solo albums like Chelsea Girls, Nico had recorded for Immediate Records – the independent label operated by the Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham – and dated Brian Jones for a time.
The fleeting three-month romance between Nico and Jones occurred in 1965. Although the pair’s time together was short, they managed to pack a lot into that time. For instance, Jones introduced Nico to pop art master Andy Warhol, encouraging her to share her musical talents. Of course, this eventually led to Warhol recruiting Nico to perform with The Velvet Underground, thus establishing her musical career on a grander scale. Nico also fell pregnant during this period but opted to have an abortion.
Even after the demise of their short relationship, the pair remained good friends, so Jones’ death impacted Nico severely. The following year, for her Desertshore album, Nico penned ‘Janitor Of Lunacy’ about Jones’ death and the effect it had on her, four years after her fleeting romance with the Rolling Stones guitarist.
Throughout the song, Nico details their pair’s relationship and its impact on her as a person and performer. The singer’s terminated pregnancy is heavily alluded to throughout the song, notably in the lines “Paralyze my infancy/Petrify the empty cradle.” The lyrics of the song could be interpreted as not painting Jones in a particularly good light, referring to the musician as a “Janitor of tyranny” at one point.
Even if the romance between the pair only lasted three short months, and Jones was dead within a few years, the experience clearly had a profound effect on Nico and her career in music. The experience of having an abortion in the mid-1960s was clearly traumatic for the performer, and the death of Jones seemed to bring those feelings to the forefront of her material.
