Guns N’ Roses and Nirvana were two of the biggest bands of the early ’90s. Both groups released their second LPs one week apart in late 1991, on the same label, Geffen Records.
Early Days of Guns N’ Roses vs Nirvana
Guns N’ Roses dropped their highly anticipated double album Use Your Illusion 1 & 2 on September 17, 1991, while Nirvana’s Nevermind came out the following week. Guns N’ Roses’ albums took the No. 1 & 2 spots on the Billboard charts. Nirvana, who was still fairly unknown, didn’t top the Billboard album chart until January 1992.
Guns N’ Roses frontman, Axl Rose counted himself an early fan of Nirvana. In fact, he stressed in interviews that he was excited about alternative rock and didn’t see it as a threat to his band. He was interviewed by Metallix in late 1991 and was asked which bands he’d like to see cover Guns N’ Roses. He responded, “I’d like to hear Nirvana do ‘Welcome To The Jungle”… I’d like to hear Nirvana do ‘Jungle’ their way.”
Initially, it seemed like Axl Rose and Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain had a lot in common. Both came from small towns, grew up in broken homes and turned to rock music to get through life but Cobain couldn’t stand Guns N’ Roses.
“Rebellion is standing up to people like Guns N’ Roses.” – Kurt Cobain
Ahead of Nevermind’s release, Cobain gave numerous interviews slamming the band, telling Big O in February of 1991, “I think Guns N’ Roses are promoting the wrong values, like sexism and the way they do drugs. I mean, what are they rebelling against? I don’t think this is rebellion. Rebellion is standing up to people like Guns N’ Roses.”
One month after Nevermind came out, Nirvana was performing at the Palace Theatre in LA. In attendance were Geffen President Eddie Rosenblatt and Axl Rose.
Nirvana manager Danny Goldberg recalled in his book, “Backstage afterwards, Eddie Rosenblatt told me that he had come with Axl Rose and asked if he could bring him into the dressing room to say hi to Kurt. When I conveyed this request, Kurt grimaced and said he really didn’t want to meet the Guns N’ Roses singer. I didn’t want to put Geffen’s President in an untenable situation, so I suggested to Kurt that he and I leave the dressing room and then I’d give Rosenblatt a couple of passes. That way it wouldn’t be like we were excluding them, just that Kurt couldn’t be found.”
“Why ‘Teenage Spirit’? Why this song is such a success, people relate to being let down.” – Axl Rose
Axl could see how alternative rock was changing things in the music landscape as he told an audience during a concert in Phoenix, Arizona in February of 1992.
“You ever been let down by, I don’t know, family, friends, something you wanted or maybe just life, in general? You know the mood I’m talking about? When like something you like, maybe your friends are over and something you like comes on tv, something you like but you don’t care. You’re just not in the mood because you’ve been let down. I mean, it’s kind of like this band Nirvana. Why ‘Teenage Spirit’? Why this song is such a success, people relate to being let down.”
It was during that same month that Axl Rose allegedly asked Nirvana to perform at his birthday party, but the band said no, according to their former manager, Danny Goldberg. Things only escalated from there.
“We’re not your typical Guns N’ Roses type of band that has absolutely nothing to say.” – Kurt Cobain
As Nirvana became more popular, they also did more press for the album. Promoting Nevermind in 1991, Kurt made more disparaging remarks against Guns N’ Roses telling Seconds, “We’re not your typical Guns N’ Roses type of band that has absolutely nothing to say.”
By the summer of 1992, it was announced that Guns N’ Roses would be co-headlining a tour with Metallica across North America. Axl wanted Nirvana to open the tour, something that their drummer Dave Grohl recalled years later, “Axl had been calling Kurt nonstop. One day we’re walking through an airport and Kurt says, ‘F— Axl Rose won’t stop calling me.'”
“Kurt doesn’t want to do it, because he doesn’t want to be affiliated with Guns N’ Roses” – Metallica’s Manager
In a recent interview with Revolver magazine, Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett recalled trying to get Nirvana to come on the tour, “I remember having to call Kurt up because we wanted Nirvana to open up the Guns N’ Roses/Metallica tour… This came down to me from my manager saying, Okay, we’ve talked to Nirvana’s management. They’ve told us no… Kurt doesn’t want to do it, because he doesn’t want to be affiliated with Guns N’ Roses… He doesn’t approve of Axl’s behaviour. A long laundry list of stuff and it’s all about Guns N’ Roses and Axl. It had nothing to do with Metallica. They loved Metallica.”
Looking back, Nirvana was probably happy they turned down the tour. Axl frequently showed up late to gigs, he’d walk off stage, cancel gigs due to throat problems and there was the riot in Montreal.
Kurt Cobain Accuses Axl Rose of Being Sexist, Racist and Homophobic
By late 1992, Cobain gave an interview to the Advocate, an LGBTQ publication where he blasted Rose saying the frontman was “an f—in sexist, a racist, and a homophobe, and you can’t be on his side and be on our side. I’m sorry that I have to divide this up like this, but it’s something you can’t ignore. And besides, they can’t write good music.”
By the late summer of 1992, Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain gave the infamous interview to Vanity Fair which documented Courtney Love’s drug use during her pregnancy. It resulted in the couple almost losing custody of their child. Axl Rose used this against them during a concert in Orlando, Florida on Sept 2, 1992.
“I think that the problem starts when you start thinking that you’re different from everybody else on the planet.” – Axl Rose
“We’ve had our share of problems with so-called alternative bands… All I know is that when Guns N’ Roses started, ain’t no f—in radio stations wanted to play our s— either. Ain’t no radio stations wanted to play Metallica.
So I think we have the world’s biggest alternative crowd here tonight. I think that the problem starts when you start thinking that you’re different from everybody else on the planet. You may be a little different in what you’re doing or how you go about doing it, but I got a good feeling that you’re probably a human. Right? You’re probably a human being…
Alternative, the only thing that means to me is someone like Kurt Cobain and Nirvana who is basically his junkie wife and if the baby is born deformed, I think they both gotta go to prison.
That’s my feeling and he’s too good and too cool to bring his rock n’ roll to you, because the majority of you, he doesn’t like or want to play to or even have you like his music. It seems to be a general feeling among a lot of alternative bands that they don’t want the majority of people liking them, they like it on the outside.”
1992 MTV Video Music Awards
Everything would come to a head a week later on Sept 9, 1992, at the MTV Video Music Awards in LA. It was an event that saw both Nirvana and Guns n’ Roses perform. Guns N’ Roses were set to perform “November Rain” with Axl’s childhood hero Elton john.
Ahead of the band’s performance, Kurt admitted, as reported by Loudersound, “I spat on Axl’s keyboard… It was either that or beat him up. We’re down on this platform that brought us up hydraulically, I saw his piano there and I just had to take this opportunity and spit big goobers all over his keyboards.”
It turned out that Kurt had spit all over Elton John’s piano and was horrified when he learned that.
“I had a little helpless child in my arms and so he said to my wife, ‘You better shut up b—-. Don’t give me any shit tonight.'” – Kurt Cobain
Backstage, things escalated pretty quickly. The Nirvana frontman recalled, “Last night my wife and I were sitting at a tent at the MTV music awards… Axl Rose walked by us and we yelled at Axl. We said, ‘Axl, will you be the godfather of our child,’… he turned around, pointed his finger at my wife with his bodyguard. Well, he had 20 bodyguards with him…
I had a little helpless child in my arms and so he said to my wife, ‘You better shut up b—-. Don’t give me any shit tonight,’ because tonight was obviously the highlight of his career… Then he said… ‘You better keep your wife shut or I’m gonna take you to the pavement,’ and I was shaking.
I went, ‘What? What? What are you gonna do? You’re gonna beat me up?’ And he said, ‘You better keep your wife’s mouth shut. You embarrass everybody. You embarrass your wife, you embarrass your old man, you embarrass me.’ And then I was shaking and I told my wife to shut up b—-.”
Backstage other members of Guns N’ Roses and Nirvana got involved in the feud. Bassist Duff McKagan confronted Krist Novoselic but before anything got physical, security got involved. McKagan and guitarist Gilby Clarke shook one of Nirvana’s trailers where Kurt’s baby, Francis Bean was in.
“I don’t have time for this s—” – Slash
Amy Finerty worked at MTV at the time and had discovered Nirvana for the network. She threatened to call security and the Guns N’ Roses members ran away. Slash claimed he didn’t have any animosity toward Nirvana and wasn’t involved in the altercation backstage, “I don’t have time for this s—”
The following day Nirvana talked to the media, giving their version of events, but Guns N’ Roses did the talking from the stage. At a show, 4 days after the VMA’s in Toronto, Canada, Axl blasted Nirvana on stage.
“They have some good songs – though they’re not a great band – but it’s as if they don’t want the fame.” – Matt Sorum
By the end of 1992, things seemed to simmer down in the press with a few interviews mentioning the feud. Guns N’ Roses drummer Matt Sorum told Raw Magazine in 1993, “That little punk,” referring to Cobain, “We did nothing but treat those guys f—ing good.
We asked them to tour with us, we talked good stuff about them in the press. Axl even wore their f—in hat. But they basically slag us off everywhere they go, including the MTV awards. We had a little row backstage and Duff almost kicked the bass player’s ass and I was ready to help him… I mean, they have some good songs – though they’re not a great band – but it’s as if they don’t want the fame. I don’t understand, man…”
“We were talking about what it feels like to be going back home.” – Duff McKagan
Days before the Nirvana frontman was found dead in his home, Cobain was on a flight from LA to Seattle. Sitting next to him was Duff McKagan. Rolling Stone published the musicians had discussed rehab, addiction, and mutual friends they shared. Duff recalled, “We were talking about what it feels like to be going back home. That’s what he said he was doing, going home,”
Once they got to Seattle, the pair went to baggage claim and McKagan noticed Cobain was feeling down and thought about offering the frontman to stay at his house but he quickly disappeared before he could talk to him.
Kurt Cobain Found Dead in His Home
On April 5, 1994, Cobain was found dead in his Seattle home. Years later, while promoting Foo Fighters on Jon Stewart’s daily show, Grohl revealed how Matt Sorum was one of the first people to express his condolences. “After Kurt died, one of the first phone calls I got was from Matt Sorum. He left a message and said, ‘Man, I’m really sorry, and I hope you’re doing well.’ I thought that was really cool.”
In the book, Everybody Loves Our Town, Brynn Bridenthaal, who worked in PR for Geffen records recalled breathing the news of Kurt’s death to Axl Rose, “The first thing I did when I got back to my hotel room, was to call Axl because I was afraid of how the news might impact him. He was such an emotional roller coaster, I was afraid that Axl would hurt himself. He felt things really deep and felt a real connection there, even though there was no connection from the other side. I think he had a lot of empathy for Kurt. I was on the phone with Axl until about 3:00 in the morning.”
“I had no control of myself then. And Krist, I am sorry for that day.” – Duff McKagan
Fast forward to 2010, Duff McKagan was working as a guest columnist for his hometown paper, the Seattle Weekly. He wrote a column apologizing to Krist Novoselic for his behaviour at the 1992 VMA’s, “I blew my lid when I perceived a slander toward my band from the Nirvana camp. In my drunken haze and drug-induced mania, I heard what I wanted to hear, and I went after Krist Novoselic backstage. I had no control of myself then. And Krist, I am sorry for that day.”
The same year Dave Grohl, Slash and Duff joined Lemmy at the Revolver Golden God Awards and performed the classic Motorhead tune “Ace of Spades”. The same year Grohl guest starred on Slash’s solo album with McKagan on the instrumental track, “Watch This”.
In 2016, the Guns N’ Roses reunion of Slash, Duff and Axl was about to kick off. During the band’s first gig at the Troubadour, Axl broke his foot, jeopardizing the rest of their planned stadium tour. Rather than rescheduling the dates, Grohl lent the band a throne that he had used the previous year after he fell off the stage and broke his leg in Sweden.
Since then, Axl, Slash and Duff have joined Foo Fighters on stage in Italy performing “It’s so easy”, while Grohl has appeared on stage with Guns N’ Roses several times, performing their set closer “Paradise City”.
“It was an incredibly kind and classy gesture, and I was very appreciative.” – Dave Grohl
Axl thanked Grohl for his kind gesture by buying him a guitar. Dave Grohl revealed to Classic Rock magazine, “He had Slash go pick me a guitar and he picked me an early-’60s Gibson ES 335 Dot, which to this day is the nicest f—in guitar I have ever played in my life. It was an incredibly kind and classy gesture, and I was very appreciative.”
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