John Cale

John Cale

Born: March 9, 1942
in Garnant, Carmarthenshire, Wales, UK
John Davies Cale, OBE, is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer.

At an early age Cale discovered a talent for the viola, and became a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Wales at the age of 13. He was later awarded a scholarship at Goldsmiths College, London, England.

In 1963, he travelled to the United States to continue his musical training with the assistance and influence of Aaron Copland. He was a founding member of the American rock band The Velvet Underground. Over his five-decade career, Cale has worked in various styles across rock, drone, classical, avant-garde and electronic music.

Movies for John Cale...

Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song
Title: Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song
Character: Self
Released: July 1, 2022
Type: Movie
This feature-length documentary explores the life of singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen as seen through the prism of his internationally renowned hymn, Hallelujah.
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The Velvet Underground
Title: The Velvet Underground
Character: Self
Released: October 15, 2021
Type: Movie
Experience the iconic rock band's legacy in the first major documentary to tell their story. Directed with the era’s avant-garde spirit by Todd Haynes, this kaleidoscopic oral history combines exclusive interviews with dazzling archival footage.
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John Cale & Guest - perform The Velvet Underground & Nico
Title: John Cale & Guest - perform The Velvet Underground & Nico
Character: Performer
Released: August 18, 2017
Type: Movie
John Cale performed The Velvet Underground & Nico in full at a concert in Paris on Sunday night, joined by guest performers including Animal Collective, Mark Lanegan, Pete Doherty and Carl Barât of The Libertines, Lou Doillon, Etienne Daho and Lemon Jelly’s Nick Franglen.
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Tony Conrad: Completely in the Present
Title: Tony Conrad: Completely in the Present
Character: Himself (archival footage)
Released: June 1, 2016
Type: Movie
Feature documentary on the pioneering life and work of iconoclastic filmmaker/musician/composer/artist Tony Conrad.
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Danny Says
Title: Danny Says
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: March 18, 2015
Type: Movie
DANNY SAYS is a documentary unveiling the amazing journey of Danny Fields. Fields has played a pivotal role in music and culture with seminal acts including: the Doors, the Velvet Underground, the Stooges, MC5, Nico, the Ramones and beyond.
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Title: The Bridge
Released: July 10, 2013
Type: TV
A murdered body on a bridge between El Paso and Juarez bring together El Paso detective Sonya Cross and Chihuahua State Police detective Marco Ruiz.
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John Cale & Band: Live at Rockpalast
Title: John Cale & Band: Live at Rockpalast
Released: October 25, 2010
Type: Movie
Even today, JOHN CALE is renowned for having been a member of the Velvet Underground, less known to many fans are his early works with avant-garde musicians like John Cage or La Monte Young. When he was invited for the Rockpalast-Festival on October, 14th 1984, he had just released the desolate masterpiece "Music For A New Society" (1982). Compared to the official live album, JOHN CALE's performance at the Rockpalast was far more intense, desperate, and wild. He performed the songs with a very hard edge, sometimes even deconstructed them ("Heartbreak Hotel"). This DVD contains two shows, one from 1984 with his full band and a solo Cale show from 1983.
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New York Rock at the BBC
Title: New York Rock at the BBC
Released: June 24, 2008
Type: Movie
Celebrating the cream of the New York rock scene, including classic performances from the Ramones, New York Dolls, Television, Blondie, Lou Reed and more. 01.New York Dolls - Jet Boy (Nov 1973) 02.Patti Smith Group - Horses (May 1976) 03.Talking Heads - Psycho Killer (Jan 1978) 04.Television - Foxhole (May 1978) 05.Ramones - Don't Come Close (Sep 1978) 06.Blondie - I'm Alway Touched By Your Presence Dear (Mar 1978) 07.Lou Reed - Waiting For The Man (Dec 1984) 08.John Cale - Dying On The Vine (Dec 1985) 09.Sonic Youth - Sugar Kane (Dec 1992) 10.Patti Smith - Because The Night (Apr 2002) 11.Lou Reed - Perfect Day (May 2003) 12.John Cale - Venus In Furs (Oct 2003) 13.David Byrne - This Must Be The Place (May 2004) 14.Antony And The johnsons - Hope There's Some One (Jun 2005) 15.The Strokes - Last Nite (Jun 2006)
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Salamander
Title: Salamander
Character: Dick Winter
Released: May 1, 2008
Type: Movie
Writer-director Pablo Agüero's feature debut follows Inti (Joaquin Aguila), a 6-year-old boy caught up in the madness of post-"Dirty War" Argentina. Upon her release from prison, Inti's mother, Alba (Dolores Fonzi), a former dissident, whisks him away from his grandmother's care. Still unsure of her own direction in life, Alba takes Inti to live in a hippie commune in Patagonia. Velvet Underground founder John Cale co-stars.
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A Walk Into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory
Title: A Walk Into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory
Character: Himself
Released: September 19, 2007
Type: Movie
Esther Robinson's portrait of her uncle Danny Williams, Warhol's onetime lover, collaborator and filmmaker in his own right, offers a exploration of the Factory era, an homage to Williams's talent, a journey of family discovery and a compelling inquiry into Williams's mysterious disappearance at age 27.
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Velvet Underground: Under Review
Title: Velvet Underground: Under Review
Released: April 25, 2006
Type: Movie
Velvet Underground Under Review is a 75 minute film reviewing the music and career of one of rock musics most influential collectives; a band which esteemed music journalist Lester Bangs claims started modern music. It features rare musical performances never available before as well as obscure footage, rare interviews and private photographs of and with Lou Reed, Andy Warhol, Sterling Morrison and John Cale. The film also features; rarely seen promo films; material from Andy Warhols private film collection; interviews with colleagues, producers, musicians and friends; TV clips; location shots and a host of other features.
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Punk: Attitude
Title: Punk: Attitude
Character: Self
Released: July 4, 2005
Type: Movie
A documentary on the music, performers, attitude and distinctive look that made up punk rock.
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John Cale: Fragments of a Rainy Season
Title: John Cale: Fragments of a Rainy Season
Released: October 5, 2004
Type: Movie
Solo live concert recorded in Brussels, April 12, 1992. Tracks: 1) On A Wedding Anniversary 2) Lie Still, Sleep Becalmed 3) Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night 4) The Soul of Carmen Miranda 5) Cordoba 6) Ship Of Fools 7) Leaving It Up To You 8) The Ballad Of Cable Hogue 9) Chinese Envoy 10) Fear Is A Man's Best Friend 11) Dying On The Vine 12) Heartbreak Hotel 13) Paris 1919 14) (I Keep A) Close Watch 15) Hallelujah
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Still: Here/Now
Title: Still: Here/Now
Character: Self
Released: November 1, 2003
Type: Movie
A search for the poetic soul of Wales - a feature documentary which explores poetic responses, historical & contemporary, to the issues of social & cultural survival; and celebrates this enduring 2500 year poetic experience.
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New Scenes from America
Title: New Scenes from America
Character: Himself - Musician
Released: March 13, 2003
Type: Movie
A look at post-9/11 America by the Danish documentarian.
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n[eon]
Title: n[eon]
Character: Narrator
Released: January 26, 2002
Type: Movie
A man wanders around Venice, still bruised from a failed marriage, lost in an empty city, finding old books, memories, and a momentary ghost.
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Andy Warhol: The Complete Picture
Title: Andy Warhol: The Complete Picture
Character: Himself
Released: January 27, 2001
Type: Movie
Andy Warhol, one of the most influential artists of the 20th century (who also coined the immortal catchphrase "In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes"), gets the definitive treatment. This film includes a look into his inner circle and examines both his artistic and personal impact on society. From day-glo Marilyns and Elvises to Campbell's Soup cans to the groovy 1960s and '70s, step into the limelight of the Warhol world.
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Beautiful Mistake
Title: Beautiful Mistake
Released: November 29, 2000
Type: Movie
This documentary film follows a group of Welsh musicians interacting and playing in the studio. Combining shots of the city with the music of John Cale as performed by Welsh stars such as Catatonia, Big Leaves and Manic Street Preachers.
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John Cale: An Exploration of His Life & Music
Title: John Cale: An Exploration of His Life & Music
Character: Self
Released: December 18, 1998
Type: Movie
Follows John Cale, a Welsh musician and producer, who founded the legendary 60s and 70s NY rock band - the Velvet Underground, with Lou Reed. Cale delved into other mainstream and experimental music genres as well.
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Rhinoceros Hunting in Budapest
Title: Rhinoceros Hunting in Budapest
Character: Manager
Released: January 19, 1997
Type: Movie
A young man's odyssey from a small town in Colorado to Budapest, in search of his estranged girlfriend.
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Antártida
Title: Antártida
Character: Cale
Released: September 8, 1995
Type: Movie
A rock star falls in love with a common pickpocket without any personal history. But soon she finds herself in a contraband of drugs and both try to escape it.
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Brian Wilson: I Just Wasn't Made for These Times
Title: Brian Wilson: I Just Wasn't Made for These Times
Character: Self
Released: May 31, 1995
Type: Movie
I Just Wasn't Made for These Times is a documentary about the life of Brian Wilson, the musical mastermind and songwriter for the Beach Boys. The film examines the ups and downs of Wilson's life, including the early years of the Beach Boys, his years of substance abuse, and his long road to recovery. The film was directed by music producer Don Was, who also worked on the soundtrack for Backbeat, a film about the early days of the Beatles.
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Nico Icon
Title: Nico Icon
Character: Himself
Released: February 18, 1995
Type: Movie
A look into the many lives of Christa Päffgen, otherwise known as Nico; from cutie German mädchen to the first of the supermodels, to glamorous diva of the Velvet Underground, to cult item, junkie and hag. Many faces for the same woman, whom, you realize, just couldn't bring herself to care enough to live.
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Dancing Barefoot
Title: Dancing Barefoot
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1995
Type: Movie
In this 1995 made-for television biopic, see legendary musician and filmmaker Ivan Kral as he made music history. With guitar and camera in the 70s, playing with Iggy Pop, Blondie and Patti Smith Group, he triumphed, rising from refugee to rock icon.
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Curious: The Velvet Underground in Europe
Title: Curious: The Velvet Underground in Europe
Character: Self
Released: December 1, 1993
Type: Movie
Spotlights the Velvet Underground's 1993 reunion tour of Europe, interspersing footage of the band's Paris concert and interviews with the members of the group. Concerts in Prague and Berlin included.
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The Velvet Underground - Velvet Redux Live MCMXCIII
Title: The Velvet Underground - Velvet Redux Live MCMXCIII
Character: bass, viola, keyboards, vocals
Released: October 10, 1993
Type: Movie
Seminal experimental rock band The Velvet Underground, who initially disbanded in 1970, perform a set at L'Olympia in Paris, France in June 1993, during their brief reunion tour. The set features original founding members Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker performing 15 songs, including a new, previously unreleased track, "Coyote."
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Words for the Dying
Title: Words for the Dying
Character: Himself
Released: January 1, 1993
Type: Movie
An 80-minute documentary following John Cale and Brian Eno in Moscow, London, and Wales during the creation of the album "Words for the Dying."
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Scenes from the Life of Andy Warhol: Friendships & Intersections
Title: Scenes from the Life of Andy Warhol: Friendships & Intersections
Character: Self
Released: June 1, 1990
Type: Movie
This intimate portrait of Andy Warhol pulls together a unique library of material shot by New York film legend Jonas Mekas. Spanning from 1963 to 1990, the film features a cast of counterculture icons including Allen Ginsberg, George Maciunas, John Lennon, and Yoko Ono, as well as John and Caroline Kennedy, and Lee Radziwill (Jackie Kennedy Onassis's sister and Warhol muse)—to whom Mekas dedicates the film. The film features footage from the Velvet Underground's first public performance. A portrait of the remarkable life of arguable the twentieth century's most famous artist and leading iconographer.
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Songs for Drella
Title: Songs for Drella
Character: Self
Released: January 17, 1990
Type: Movie
Songs for Drella is a concept album by Lou Reed and John Cale, both formerly of The Velvet Underground, and is dedicated to the memory of Andy Warhol, their mentor, who had died unexpectedly in 1987. Drella was a nickname for Warhol coined by Warhol Superstar Ondine, a contraction of Dracula and Cinderella, used by Warhol's crowd. The song cycle focuses on Warhol's interpersonal relations and experiences, with songs falling roughly into three categories: Warhol's first-person perspective (which makes up the vast majority of the album), third-person narratives chronicling events and affairs, and first-person commentaries on Warhol by Reed and Cale themselves. The songs on the album are, to some extent, in chronological order.
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The Houseguest
Title: The Houseguest
Character: Hubbley
Released: January 1, 1989
Type: Movie
A low budget spoof of a Bergmannesque summer resort love triangle that ends with a surreal twist.
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Wonderland USA
Title: Wonderland USA
Character: Lonely writer
Released: January 1, 1989
Type: Movie
Alice ends up in the derelict houses of Coney Island and Times Square. She sinks into a wonderland of decadence and despair, into the no-mans-land of lost souls, charlatans, broken dreams and cheap perversions.
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Put More Blood Into the Music
Title: Put More Blood Into the Music
Character: Himself
Released: August 6, 1988
Type: Movie
PBS produced documentary in two parts: the first is dedicated to saxophonist and composer John Zorn; the second is about Sonic Youth at the height of their powers in 1988.
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Title: Musik Convoy
Character: Self
Released: January 23, 1984
Type: TV
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The Blank Generation
Title: The Blank Generation
Character: Self
Released: April 22, 1976
Type: Movie
The cream of the New York new wave/punk crop, filmed live at CBGB when the scene was just beginning. Includes performances by Patti Smith, Blondie, Television, the Ramones, Talking Heads, the Heartbreakers, the Shirts, Wayne County, the Marbles, the Dolls, Miamis, Harry Toledo, and the Tuff Darts (w/Robert Gordon).
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The Velvet Underground at Bataclan '72
Title: The Velvet Underground at Bataclan '72
Released: January 29, 1972
Type: Movie
Recorded on French TV, the concert marked the first time since the breakup of The Velvet Underground that Reed, Cale and Nico were on stage together.
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Diaries, Notes, and Sketches
Title: Diaries, Notes, and Sketches
Character: Self
Released: March 1, 1968
Type: Movie
An epic portrait of the New York avant-garde art scene of the 60s.
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Four Stars
Title: Four Stars
Character: Man (uncredited)
Released: December 15, 1967
Type: Movie
Photographed entirely in color, Four Stars was projected in its complete length of nearly 25 hours (allowing for projection overlap of the 35-minute reels) only once, at the Film-Makers' Cinematheque in the basement of the now-demolished Wurlitzer Building at 125 West 41st Street in New York City. The imagery in the film is dense, wearying and beautiful, but ultimately hard to decipher, for, in contrast to his earlier, and more famous film Chelsea Girls, made in 1966, Warhol directed that two reels be screened simultaneously on top of each other on a single screen, rather than side-by-side.
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The Velvet Underground in Boston
Title: The Velvet Underground in Boston
Released: February 15, 1967
Type: Movie
This newly unearthed film, which Warhol shot during a concert at the Boston Tea Party, features a variety of filmmaking techniques. Sudden in-and-out zooms, sweeping panning shots, in-camera edits that create single frame images and bursts of light like paparazzi flash bulbs going off mirror the kinesthetic experience of the Exploding Plastic Inevitable, with its strobe lights, whip dancers, colorful slide shows, multi-screen projections, liberal use of amphetamines, and overpowering sound. It is a significant find indeed for fans of the Velvets, being one of only two known films with synchronous sound of the band performing live, and this the only one in color.
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Exploding Plastic Inevitable
Title: Exploding Plastic Inevitable
Character: Himself
Released: January 1, 1967
Type: Movie
Exploding Plastic Inevitable was a series of multimedia events organised by Andy Warhol between 1966 and 1967, featuring musical performances by The Velvet Underground and Nico, screenings of Warhol's films, and dancing and performances by regulars of Warhol's Factory. It is also the title of a 18-minute film by Ronald Nameth filmed during one week of the show in Chicago, Illinois in 1966.
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Screen Test #3
Title: Screen Test #3
Released: October 23, 1966
Type: Movie
One of Andy Warhol's screen tests, focusing on an actor's face for 4-5 mins.
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Moe Gets Tied Up
Title: Moe Gets Tied Up
Released: August 1, 1966
Type: Movie
Or "Moe in Bondage" - The "Moe" of the title is the Velvet Underground's drummer, Maureen Tucker, whose band-mates have tied her to a chair and are now hanging around nibbling on sandwiches and pieces of fruit.
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The Velvet Underground Tarot Cards
Title: The Velvet Underground Tarot Cards
Character: Himself
Released: August 1, 1966
Type: Movie
Documents each member of The Velvet Underground having their cards read at a big apartment party. The tarot reader is continually interrupted in her readings by the chaos created by the characters around her.
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Velvet Underground's First Public Appearance
Title: Velvet Underground's First Public Appearance
Character: Himself
Released: July 3, 1966
Type: Movie
Velvet Underground's first public appearance.
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Satisfaction
Title: Satisfaction
Released: March 31, 1966
Type: Movie
Part of the Dirt Trilogy
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The Velvet Underground and Nico: A Symphony of Sound
Title: The Velvet Underground and Nico: A Symphony of Sound
Character: Himself
Released: February 8, 1966
Type: Movie
The film depicts a rehearsal of The Velvet Underground including Nico, and is essentially one long loose improvisation.
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The Velvet Underground: Psychiatrist's Convention, NYC, 1966
Title: The Velvet Underground: Psychiatrist's Convention, NYC, 1966
Released: January 14, 1966
Type: Movie
The Velvet Underground's first public appearance, filmed in Super 8 at a Psychiatrist's Convention, at the Delmonico Hotel, New York, January 14, 1966. Andy Warhol was invited to speak at the annual banquet of the New York Society for Clinical Psychiatry. He brought along the Velvets and other factory regulars.
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Screen Test: John Cale
Title: Screen Test: John Cale
Character: Himself
Released: January 1, 1966
Type: Movie
Reel 24. Test #3
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Andy Warhol Screen Tests
Title: Andy Warhol Screen Tests
Character: Self
Released: November 28, 1965
Type: Movie
The films were made between 1964 and 1966 at Warhol's Factory studio in New York City. Subjects were captured in stark relief by a strong key light, and filmed by Warhol with his stationary 16mm Bolex camera on silent, black and white, 100-foot rolls of film at 24 frames per second. The resulting two-and-a-half-minute film reels were then screened in 'slow motion' at 16 frames per second.
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Dirt
Title: Dirt
Released: September 25, 1965
Type: Movie
Two nuns take a bath, then meet a sailor on the Staten Island Ferry.
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Venus in Furs
Title: Venus in Furs
Character: Himself
Released: January 1, 1965
Type: Movie
Where a nun and a nurse go to hell because of their sinful life in St. Vincent's Hospital.
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Whips
Title: Whips
Character: Self
Released: December 31, 1969
Type: Movie
Whips was one of the films mentioned in a half page ad in the April 7, 1966 issue of the Village Voice, advertising The Exploding Plastic Inevitable show at the Dom.
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Kevin Ayers - Musical Express 1981
Title: Kevin Ayers - Musical Express 1981
Released: December 31, 1969
Type: Movie