“God, this is going to be a fucking disaster, and then it would turn out to be something beautiful” - Dave Grohl in an interview with Kerrang!
On Sunday the 30th of August 1992, Nirvana would play their final UK show at Reading festival, and perhaps gave is one of the most enigmatic performances of all time. Only a year before, they were halfway down the festival’s lineup, but the popularity of Nevermind and Smells Like Teen Spirit, the bands success was sky rocketted. Let's look at some of the leading moments of the show!
The show took place not long after Frances Bean Cobain was born, whilst the press was busy reporting that Cobain and Love were both drug addicts. Many papers and music mags also speculated that because of Cobain’s heroin use, the band were on the brink of breakup, due to how much tension it was putting on the other band members: Dave Grohl and Kris Novoselic.
The set starts in an infamous way, with Cobain being wheeled on to the stage in a hospital gown and a blonde wig, mocking the claims of the tabloids that Nirvana wouldn’t be playing the festival due to a drug overdose, the band breaking up, or even that Kurt was dead.
Perhaps what is most iconic about the set was how energized the crowd was. They sang back at the band like they were the ones performing, and completely solidifying the legacy of how adored and influential Nirvana was, and still are.
Antony Hodgkinson, or as he’s more commonly known ‘Dancing Tony’ is seen on stage for around half the show absolutely lost in his own interpretive dance. He had become an accessory of the early stages of band in 1989, to drive Nirvana to the airport following a gig. When the band would return to the UK, Kurt had dared him to dance on stage clad in a dress and makeup – and with that Hodgkinson was a key part of their UK performances. He even had to wear a neck brace following the set at Reading after giving himself whiplash from dancing that hard.
Cobain dedicated ‘All Apologies’ to his newborn daughter, who was only 12 days old at the time, and also to his wife Courtney Love, quoting how ‘she thinks everyone hates her’, and for the crowd to then chant “Courtney, we love you!” - which they did with an insane vigour.
Nirvana ‘s Live at Reading remains one of the highest acclaimed live albums, despite the band only having rehearsed once before the show, the night before. Cobain was suffering from Bronchitis and laryngitis at the time and had checked out of a detox program especially to perform at the show, so his vocals are slightly sickly, but it didn’t stop him from performing with his usual high-flare intensity and going out with a bang.
Nirvana also had the chance to help pick other acts for the Sunday lineup, and picked artists like L7, Mudhoney, Teenage Fanclub, and ABBA tribute band Bjorn Again. In an interview with Mojo, Dave Grohl said that they wanted to invite their best friends' bands, bands he thought would open people’s minds, and Bjorn Again because 'who the fuck doesn't like ABBA'. Kurt apparently flat out refused to play the festival unless they were there.
After several years and an abundance of fan-made bootlegs, the recording of the show was finally released by Geffen Records seventeen years later. And the rest was history!
Fancy supporting our other platforms? Here's our TikTok page with more rundowns of your favourite moments in music history!