On this day in 1992, Nirvana appears at the MTV Video Music Awards
Brian May, Axl Rose and Bass Guitars on the mix
On this day in 1992, Nirvana appears at the MTV Video Music Awards
On September 9th, 1992, Nirvana was one of the world’s biggest Rock names, in less than one year they went from an unknown Seattle band to Rock Stars attending the prestigious MTV Video Music Awards. During the 1992 ceremony, hosted by “Wayne’s World” star Dana Carvey and that featured names such as Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Mick Jagger, Brian May, Guns N’ Roses, Elton John and Eric Clapton among others, Nirvana threw in one of the show’s most memorable performance that ranks to this day on the MTV VMA’s history as high as the 1984 Madonna’s “Like A Virgin” one. The band had been requested by MTV to play “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, one of the year’s most popular and biggest songs, however they declined, but not officially though, when they hit the stage they started by doing a small intro of a new unreleased song “Rape Me” but moved on quickly to “Lithium,” the performance was electrically charged on stage and in the audience, that stage dived throughout the time it lasted. In the end, bassist Krist Novoselic threw his bass guitar on the air but as he fails to grab it, he ends up getting knocked by it in the head, while he crawls offstage Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl do their typical instrument smash with a massive feedback noise background but they don’t leave the stage until Dave Grohl calls out for Axl Rose on the microphone, mocking the Guns N’ Roses lead singer that had clashed with the band shortly before the ceremony (Nirvana and Guns N’ Roses were not two bands of the same world back then). Krist Novoselic remembers when he got off stage seeing Queen’s Brian May elegantly holding a champagne glass for him and asking if he was alright. The band won 2 awards at the ceremony, Best New Artist and Best Alternative Video for “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.
Look back at Nirvana live performance of “Lithium” at the 1992 MTV Video Awards
Watch more Nirvana related videos
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