Few would have predicted that in 1991 Nirvana would be No 1 on the US Billboard album chart. Not only did Nevermind replace Michael Jackson at the top but it succeeded in doing what the Punk Rock movement had failed to achieve fourteen years earlier. Nevermind and the songs of Kurt Cobain changed the music business from within, without compromise, record company hype or media overkill.
The programme will tell the story behind how Nirvana came to record Nevermind, the affect the record was to have on the music world and on the band themselves and why to this day it still remains a milestone in rock history.
Through exclusive interviews with the people involved we trace the history of the band with them first signing to Sub Pop, a Seattle independent record label, before coming to the attention of the major record labels following their first album Bleach. With a move to Geffen Records and the release of Nevermind the stage was set for Nirvana to dominate the music scene and for the single ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ to become an anthem for the World’s disenfranchised youth.
Bassist, Krist Novoselic, drummer Dave Grohl and Butch Vig, the record’s producer, will share with us their memories of the sessions and give us an insight into the songwriting genius of Kurt Cobain. Other participants include Sub Pop’s Jonathan Ponneman, Geffen’s Gary Gersh and Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth.
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