4 Legend-Status Moments From Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain

Nirvana’s late frontman Kurt Cobain was known for his gritty voice and gorgeous songwriting ability, as well as being one of the biggest icons (if not the biggest icon) of the grunge movement of the 1990s. However, Kurt Cobain was also known for his more poignant and intentional moments, from playing shows for kids through charity work and sabotaging live sets as a form of protest. Let’s look at just a few of those moments to celebrate the late, great grunge icon, shall we?

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1. He Played Charity Shows for Kids

After Nevermind dropped, Nirvana was on the up-and-up. That didn’t stop Cobain from doing lesser-known gigs, though. In fact, he once brought Kris Novoselic and Dave Grohl to a bar in Scotland to perform an extremely low-key gig for a group of fans. 

The sold-out gig took place at Calton Studios, and Nirvana was then asked to perform at a charity fundraiser for a Scottish children’s hospital with Edinburgh band The Joyriders shortly after. Cobain accepted, and Nirvana’s set is still a thing of legend in Scottish alt-rock history.

2. He Openly Condemned Misogyny

Kurt Cobain was a feminist man in an era where that attitude wasn’t exactly abundant in the rock world. He famously stopped a set in 1993 during an Oakland show to confront an audience member who he caught groping a woman in the front row.

Just as well, Cobain talked often about how important it was to teach men about consent. The Nirvana song “R*pe Me”, though controversial, explores feminist themes and is considered by many to be an anti-assault anthem to this day.

3. He Sabotaged a Live Set as a Form of Protest

This one’s admittedly pretty funny. Back in 1991, Nirvana was set to perform their hit tune “Smells Like Teen Spirit” on the BBC’s Top Of The Pops. Like the rest of the musical guests on the show, the band was instructed to pretend to play to a pre-recorded track. Only Cobain’s vocals would be live.

Naturally, the band wasn’t happy about faking it. So, all three of them decided to throw the set. Novoselic tossed his bass guitar around while Grohl intentionally hit his drums at the wrong time. Cobain exaggerated his guitar-playing and intentionally swapped out a few of the lyrics, complete with a really bad Morrissey impression. The band was not invited back.

4. He Formed a Massively Underrated Supergroup

This one’s a pretty surprising entry on our list of Kurt Cobain moments. If you didn’t know that Cobain once formed a supergroup, you’re not alone. Cobain once formed The Jury with Screaming Trees frontman Mark Lanegan. The band was a Lead Belly tribute group that only produced a few songs while Cobain was alive. If Cobain had not passed away in 1994, The Jury would have likely at least released an album with Cobain at the forefront.

Photo by Michel Linssen/Redferns

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