50 Fun Facts About Nirvana

In which Washington town was Nirvana formed in 1987?

Cobain and Novoselic met at Aberdeen High School and hung around the Melvins' practice space; the town's welcome sign now reads 'Come As You Are'.

Which of these was NOT one of the band's early names before they settled on Nirvana?

Bliss was another; Cobain said he wanted a name 'kind of beautiful or nice and pretty instead of a mean, raunchy punk name'. Mudhoney was a real Seattle contemporary.

The demo tape Cobain gave Novoselic that eventually got the band started was from which earlier project?

Novoselic took three years to listen to it before suggesting they form a group.

Nirvana's first single, released on Sub Pop in November 1988, was a cover of which Shocking Blue song?

The band went on to become the first act to sign an extended contract with the Seattle label.

According to the album sleeve, how much did it cost to record Nirvana's 1989 debut Bleach?

Producer Jack Endino billed 30 hours at $606.17; the money came from Jason Everman, who was credited as guitarist despite not playing on it.

Cobain said he wrote 'About a Girl', from Bleach, after spending three hours listening to which album?

He called John Lennon his idol in his journals; his aunts had given him Beatles records as a child.

Which Melvins member introduced Cobain and Novoselic to drummer Dave Grohl in September 1990?

Grohl's Washington, D.C. band Scream had just broken up; Novoselic said 'We knew in two minutes that he was the right drummer.'

Who was Nirvana's drummer on Bleach, before Dave Grohl joined?

Channing left in 1990 as bootlegs of the Butch Vig demos circulated; Grohl thanked him and the other early drummers at the Hall of Fame induction.

Whose repeated recommendations led Nirvana to sign with DGC Records in 1990?

The band also took advice from Susan Silver, manager of Soundgarden and Alice in Chains, whom Novoselic thanked at the Hall of Fame.

Who produced Nevermind?

It was recorded at Sound City in Van Nuys for about $65,000; Slayer mixer Andy Wallace was brought in for the final, polished mix the band later grumbled about.

What was Nevermind's tentative title while the band was still on Sub Pop?

Cobain wrote a fake ad in his journal: 'Because you want to not; because everyone else is.' The final title echoes the Sex Pistols' Never Mind the Bollocks.

The Nevermind cover shows a baby swimming toward what?

The baby was four-month-old Spencer Elden, photographed by Kirk Weddle after underwater-birth footage was judged too graphic.

Whose album did Nevermind knock off the top of the Billboard 200 in January 1992?

DGC had hoped to sell 250,000 copies; by Christmas 1991 it was selling 400,000 a week and it has passed 30 million worldwide.

The title 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' came from graffiti by Kathleen Hanna of which band?

She meant the deodorant brand Teen Spirit; Cobain took it as a revolutionary slogan.

Cobain called 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' an 'ultimate pop song' attempt inspired by which band's loud-quiet dynamics?

After hearing the Pixies' Surfer Rosa he said it had the sound he had wanted for Bleach but had been too intimidated to try.

The 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' video is set at what kind of event?

It was Samuel Bayer's first video; he reckoned he got the job because his reel looked so cheap the band assumed the result would be 'punk'.

What was the peak position of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' on the Billboard Hot 100?

It reached that spot the same week Nevermind hit number one on the album chart, and it topped the singles charts in Belgium, France, New Zealand and Spain.

The riff of 'Come as You Are' drew lawsuit rumours over its resemblance to 'Eighties' by which band?

The similarity made Cobain hesitate over releasing it as a single; the suit never materialised and Dave Grohl later drummed on a Killing Joke album.

Weird Al Yankovic got Cobain's permission for 'Smells Like Nirvana' by phoning him where?

Nirvana played SNL on January 11, 1992; Yankovic reached them through his UHF co-star Victoria Jackson, a cast member.

Nirvana headlined the closing night of which English festival in 1992?

Rumours said the band was splitting over Cobain's health; the show was released on CD and DVD as Live at Reading in 2009.

The December 1992 release Incesticide was what kind of album?

A joint DGC/Sub Pop release meant to undercut bootlegs, it went gold despite the label barely promoting it.

Who recorded In Utero, chosen for his 'natural' style without studio trickery?

The former Big Black frontman did it in two weeks at Pachyderm Studio in Minnesota for a flat $100,000, refusing royalties as 'an insult to the artist'.

What was Cobain's first choice of title for In Utero, a phrase from his 1992 journals?

The phrase came from his 1992 journals; Verse Chorus Verse was the second choice before the band settled on the Latin title.

Which R.E.M. producer remixed 'Heart-Shaped Box' and 'All Apologies' after Nirvana found Albini's mixes lacking?

The band thought the bass was too low; press stories that DGC considered the album 'unreleasable' were untrue.

Which former Germs guitarist joined Nirvana as second guitarist for the In Utero tour?

He later joined Grohl in Foo Fighters and has performed with the surviving members at every reunion since.

The 'Heart-Shaped Box' video, which won two MTV awards in 1994, was directed by which Dutch photographer?

The single was not released in the US to protect album sales, but still hit number one on the Modern Rock chart.

Asked by producer Alex Coletti if his Unplugged stage should resemble a burial service, what did Kurt Cobain reply?

The taping took place at Sony Music Studios in Manhattan on November 18, 1993.

Nirvana's Unplugged closer 'Where Did You Sleep Last Night' was modelled on whose 1944 recording?

Cobain called him his favourite performer; the whole 14-song set was filmed in a single take and Cobain refused an encore.

Which David Bowie song did Nirvana cover on MTV Unplugged?

Grohl and Novoselic reunited to play it at Clive Davis's pre-Grammy party in 2016.

Which band's Kirkwood brothers joined Nirvana on stage at the Unplugged taping?

The network had wanted 'the right names' like Eddie Vedder or Tori Amos; cellist Lori Goldston also played.

MTV Unplugged in New York earned Nirvana its only Grammy, in which category?

The album debuted at number one in November 1994 after plans for a live album called Verse Chorus Verse were shelved.

Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love married in February 1992 in which location?

Their daughter Frances Bean Cobain was born that August; Love now shares oversight of Nirvana releases with Grohl and Novoselic.

Cobain played guitar which way, despite being made to write with the other hand?

He said 'junk is always best' partly because decent left-handed guitars were hard to find, and favoured Japanese Fenders for that reason.

Which Fender model, in Lake Placid Blue, did Cobain play in the 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' video?

The guitar is now displayed at Seattle's Museum of Pop Culture; Fender later built him the hybrid Jag-Stang.

Kurt Cobain was born at Grays Harbor Hospital in which year?

His parents divorced when he was nine, an event he said changed his personality; he was 27 when he died in April 1994.

The last song Nirvana recorded, released in 2002 on a best-of compilation, is called what?

It was cut at Robert Lang Studios in Seattle in January 1994; Courtney Love blocked its release on a box set, arguing it belonged on a cheaper single disc.

Dave Grohl was born in Warren, Ohio, but grew up in which state?

He joined the D.C. punk band Scream at 17 and, after Nirvana, played nearly everything himself on the first Foo Fighters album in 1995.

Krist Novoselic went on to form which band in 1995, releasing one album?

Eyes Adrift followed in 2002; he later played bass and accordion on Foo Fighters' Wasting Light and turned to political activism.

In which year was Nirvana inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, its first year of eligibility?

Joan Jett, Kim Gordon, St. Vincent and Lorde sang with Grohl, Novoselic and Smear at the ceremony.

Roughly how many records has Nirvana sold worldwide?

That includes 60 million certified in the US; Nevermind alone accounts for more than 30 million.

Nevermind is often credited with ending the popularity of which genre?

The album was certified 13-times platinum in the US and Billboard called Nirvana 'that rare band that has everything'.

A hidden track was accidentally left off early pressings of Nevermind. What was it called?

It was meant to erupt after minutes of silence following 'Something in the Way'.

Nirvana were sued over their name by a band from which country and settled out of court?

The British Nirvana were a 1960s psychedelic pop group; the Americans first played under the name in Tacoma in March 1988.

Where did Grohl, Novoselic and Smear play 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' with Post Malone in 2025?

Weeks earlier they had played the Fire Aid benefit in Los Angeles, their first reunion in five years.

In which city did Nirvana play their final concert, on March 1, 1994?

Three days later Courtney Love found Cobain unconscious in a Rome hotel room and the rest of the European tour was cancelled.

Which local Seattle producer recorded Nirvana's debut album Bleach?

The album drew on the dirge-rock of the Melvins, the punk of Mudhoney and the heavy metal of Black Sabbath.

Who paid for the Bleach sessions and got a credit on the album despite not playing on it?

He was brought in as second guitarist; Novoselic said the credit was to make him 'feel more at home in the band'.

Which Slayer mixer was brought in to create the final mix of Nevermind?

The band's own mixes with Vig were judged unsatisfactory, and members later grumbled about the polished result.

At which Van Nuys studio was Nevermind recorded?

Songs such as 'In Bloom' and 'Breed' were years old, while 'On a Plain' and 'Stay Away' lacked finished lyrics until midway through the sessions.

Which ex-Beatle joined Grohl, Novoselic and Smear at the 2012 Concert for Sandy Relief?

They premiered a new song written by the four of them, 'Cut Me Some Slack', and played together again in Seattle in 2013.