nirvana tribute band tour dates uk

Based in the Midlands, Nirvana UK are europe's premier Nirvana tribute band,

Nirvana UK tour dates listed on Ents24.com since Jan 2016.

Official website facebook.com/nirvana.tribute.796

• Jun 15 Sat Milton Keynes, The Craufurd Arms Nirvana UK View Tickets
• Jun 22 Sat Stoke-on-Trent, The Sugarmill Nirvana UK View Tickets

August 2024

• Aug 16 Fri Norwich, Epic Studios Nirvana UK View Tickets
• Aug 31 Sat Holmfirth Picturedrome Nirvana UK View Tickets

September 2024

• Sep 14 Sat Northampton, Roadmender Nirvana UK, Pearl Skam View Tickets

October 2024

• Oct 05 Sat Brighton, Concorde 2 Nirvana UK View Tickets
• Oct 19 Sat O2 Academy Liverpool Nirvana UK View Tickets

December 2024

• Dec 07 Sat O2 Academy Leicester Nirvana UK View Tickets

February 2025

• Feb 08 2025 Southampton, The 1865 Nirvana UK, Brain Of J View Tickets
• Jun 14 2025 London, Electric Ballroom Nirvana UK, Pearl Scam View Tickets

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NERDVANA – Nirvana Tribute Band

Defying all expectations, these Teen Spirit Sensations recreate the raw energy and power of Nirvana’s legendary live performances.  

 2021 saw Nerdvana play at iconic venues such as The Half Moon Putney, The 1865 and some huge festivals including Rock The Mote in Kent where they raised the roof to 1000+  Nirvana fans.  

  2022 was another bumper year with Festival Performances at Rock The Mote & Beacon Festivals, along with venues up and down the UK including The Dublin Castle in Camden. We ended the year with a huge sell-out hometown gig at the Craufurd Arms in Milton Keynes.

2023 has seen Nerdvana play 2 of the UK’s Biggest Tribute Festivals: Festwich & MKFest, along with Livestock Festival and many other venues.

With a setlist that covers the whole spectrum of the Nirvana repertoire, from rarities and B-Sides to the genre-defining hits such as Smells Like Teen Spirit, In Bloom, Heart Shaped Box and many more.  

Nerdvana are now recognised as a premier Nirvana tribute band and will continue to celebrate their legendary music and bring joy to Nirvana fans.

Contact Us for bookings or more information

DATES 2024/25

05 apr 7:00 pm The Cannon - Newport Pagnell Kurt Cobain Charity Event - Unplugged at the Sunset Lounge - Support from Dan Buckland and Jamie Garner

(Friday) 7:00 pm (GMT+00:00)

The Cannon - Newport Pagnell

50 High St, Newport Pagnell MK16 8AQ

Calendar GoogleCal

19 apr 7:00 pm 12:00 pm Castle Live - Luton Headline Show

(Friday) 7:00 pm - 12:00 pm (GMT+00:00)

Castle Live

1 Castle St., Luton LU1 3AA

27 apr 2:27 pm 2:27 pm The Booking Hall - Dover With support from The King Rooks & Shedding Velvet

(Saturday) 2:27 pm - 2:27 pm (GMT+00:00)

The Booking Hall - Dover

Old Harbour Station, Elizabeth Street, Dover, CT17 9FE

25 may 2:21 pm 12:21 pm Rockstock Festival 2024 UK Tribute Festival

(Saturday) 2:21 pm - 12:21 pm (GMT+00:00)

Rockstock Festival

Turncroft Ln, Offerton, Stockport SK1 4JR

29 jun 2:21 pm 12:21 pm Rockprest Festival 2024 UK Tribute Festival

Rockprest Festival

Moor Park Ave, Preston PR1 6AS

13 jul 7:00 pm Corporate Event - Milton Keynes Corporate Event - Private

(Saturday) 7:00 pm (GMT+00:00)

Corporate Event

20 jul 7:00 pm The Donkey - Leicester Headline Show

The Donkey Bar

203 Welford Road, Leicester, LE2 6BJ

03 aug 2:21 pm 12:21 pm WV1 Festival 2024 UK Tribute Festival

WV1 Festival

76 Park Rd W, Wolverhampton WV1 4PH

25 aug 7:00 pm Featured MK Fest 2024 One of the UKs Biggest Tribute Festivals (HOMETOWN SHOW)

(Sunday) 7:00 pm (GMT+00:00)

1300 Silbury Bvd, Milton Keynes Milton Keynes MK9 4AD

31 aug 12:21 pm 12:21 pm Festwich 2024 The UK's Biggest Tribute Festival

(Saturday) 12:21 pm - 12:21 pm (GMT+00:00)

Sheepfoot Ln, Manchester M25 0DL

13 sep 7:00 pm The Crooked Crow Bar - Leighton Buzzard Support by Audionasties

The Crooked Crow Bar

27 Waterborne Walk, Leighton Buzzard LU7 1DH

02 nov 7:00 pm Real Time Live - Chesterfield Double Headliner with Smashed In Pumpkins

Real Time Live

13 Marsden Street, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S40 1JY

21 dec 7:00 pm Craufurd Arms - Wolverton Huge Xmas Hometown Show

Craufurd Arms

59 Stratford Road, Wolverton, MK12 5LT

Nirvana tribute band based in the West Midlands. The band strive to be as close to the real deal as possible with the same clothes, instruments, effect boxes, drums and pre amps that the band used.

Nirvana UK are a Touring Nirvana tribute band based in the West Midlands and are formed of die hard Nirvana fans who love nothing more than recreating Nirvana's live music and look for other fans. The band strive to be as close to the real deal as possible, including the same clothes, instruments, effect boxes, drums and pre-amps that the band used, to ensure they recreate the distinctive Nirvana sound.

The band is made up of;

Jez - Kurt Cobain Dan - Krist Novoselic Jon - Dave Grohl

(Guests can include) Byron - Pat Smear Emily - Lori Goldstein

Nirvana UK's sets include the whole spectrum of Nirvana's live and studio catalogue….. not to mention the standard Nirvana style anarchy and abuse of gear at the conclusion of each show. So if you like Nirvana, or just want to relive your youth, come as you are and check them out…. you wont be disappointed.

Text supplied by third party.

At 10 venues:

The 1865, Southampton

Sat 8 feb 2025.

Prices to be confirmed / 023 8022 2605

Concorde 2, Brighton

£19.70 / 01273 673311

The Craufurd Arms, Milton Keynes

£19.55 / 01908 313864

Electric Ballroom, London NW1

£19.25–£22 (£19.25) / 020 7485 9006

Sat 14 Jun 2025

Epic studios, norwich, o2 academy leicester.

£18.50 / 0844 477 2000

O2 Academy Liverpool

The picturedrome, holmfirth.

£19.25 / 01484 689759

Roadmender, Northampton

£19.25 / 03335 771688

The Sugarmill, Stoke-on-Trent

£19.15 / 0115 896 0163

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Nirvana UK tour dates 2024 - 2025

Nirvana UK is currently touring across 2 countries and has 12 upcoming concerts.

Their next tour date is at The Sugarmill in Stoke On Trent, after that they'll be at Epic Studios in Norwich.

Currently touring across

Upcoming concerts (12) See nearest concert

The Sugarmill

Epic Studios

Holmfirth Picturedrome

O2 Academy Liverpool

O2 Academy2 Leicester

Zénith de Paris - La Villette

Zénith Nantes Métropole

Zénith d'Amiens

Electric Ballroom

Past concerts

O2 Academy2 Oxford

O2 Academy Brixton

O2 Academy2 Birmingham

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Come as you were: nirvana uk bring back the grunge age.

By Sof Clark e

It’s been a ghost town on the live music scene the last few years due to covid, but Nirvana UK are resurrecting the spirit of a true grunge icon.

The tribute band have announced their 2023 tour dates, and Leicester is on the map.

“We are really looking forward to coming back to Leicester after last year’s great show!” said frontman Jez, who performs as Kurt Cobain. “You can expect more of the same from us, but more of a set themed around the ‘In Utero’ tour shows of 1993/94.”

After almost 10 years together, the band know everything about the trio they emulate. They even include genuine 1990s equipment and outfits to amplify the authenticity of an original Nirvana show.

“From vintage Tama drums, preamps, power amps, effect pedals, cabinets, speakers all the way down to microphones. We use all the same equipment as Nirvana would have used,” he said.

The tragic death of Kurt Cobain in 1994 denied a new generation of Nirvana fans the chance of ever seeing the band play live. “We really do all we can to provide the audience with the best possible representation of Nirvana live,” said Jez.

When asked about the type of people we can expect to see at the show, Jez said: “We see an entire spectrum. From nine-year-olds with their parents to the older generation who would have been into Nirvana when they were around.”

When questioned on the work-to-life ratio in the band, Jez replied, “It’s been very hard work at times but also very rewarding. I mean, not many people get to pretend they are Nirvana, right?”

Nirvana UK play the O2 Academy, Leicester on April 8, 2023 . Click here for tickets .

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“The best venue in London” Brixton Academy re-opens with The Smiths and Nirvana tribute bands, plus new safety measures

The legendary South London venue has been shut since December 2022 after a fatal crowd crush that left two people dead

The Smiths and Nirvana tribute bands re-opened Brixton Academy last night (April 19) after tragedy closed its doors 16 months ago – with fans hailing it as “the best venue in London”.

• READ MORE: The Smiths tribute band re-opening Brixton Academy: “We’re grateful and humble”

The legendary South London venue has been shut since December 2022 after a fatal crowd crush that left two people dead. The tragic incident occurred at an Asake concert, which resulted in the deaths of Gabrielle Hutchinson, aged 23 , and 33-year-old Rebecca Ikumelo . A third was left in a critical condition.

The future of the iconic London venue had been uncertain since then, before it was announced in December 2023 that the venue would be allowed to retain its licence and re-open if it can meet “robust” safety rules . See the full list of 77 measures put in place here .

Last night, those safety measures were put in place with new security and management at the venue which saw fans directed around the back of the venue. Other measures included a new ticketing system and a new centralised control and command centre.

Nirvana UK (a tribute to Nirvana ) and Smiths tribute band The Smyths greeted fans back into the venue ahead of a series of gigs which kick off with the likes of Editors , The Black Keys , Kamasi Washington , Arcade Fire and Vampire Weekend in the coming months.

Kicking off the night, 30 years to the date that Nirvana were due to play the venue, Nirvana UK covered a host of classic songs including ‘Breed’, ‘In Bloom’ ‘Come As You Are’, ‘About A Girl’, ‘Heart-Shaped Box’ and ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by NME (@nmemagazine)

Ahead of their most famous hit, which you can view above, frontman Jez Fox said: “30 years ago a little band called Nirvana were meant to play here to this day. But they couldn’t make it. Now we’re here.”

Kurt Cobain  died just days before the concert on April 5, 1994.

Wrapping up their performance, Fox threw his guitar into the speakers much like Cobain did during the band’s legendary concerts back in the ’90s.

Later, The Smyths headlined the night and dedicated ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’ to Gabrielle Hutchinson and Rebecca Ikumelo. You can view footage below.

Ahead of the show frontman Graham Sampson told NME that they were “grateful and humble” to be offered the opportunity – noting that the opening gigs with tribute bands were “about easing as you go”.

“You’d have to speak to the Academy Group about why, but I’d say that going carefully is what they’ve done,” said Sampson. “Given the backdrop of what’s happened, to return with a full-on show would be a lot more pressure.”

Already moved by the tragic events of December 2022, Sampson said that the gig would be all the more “poignant” as he was at Brixton Academy back in December 1986 for what would turn out to be the last ever gig performed by The Smiths.

On the night, he acknowledged this when his band covered ‘Hand In Glove’.

“This was the last song The Smiths ever played that night in 1986 in Brixton,” Sampson told the crowd. “It’s quite touching because it was their first single and the last ever song they played.”

Wrapping up the show with ‘How Soon Is Now?’, he thanked the security at the venue and said: “Everyone has done a wonderful job tonight.”

Speaking about the venue’s re-opening, many fans were delighted to return. Will James, 33, who lives in Brixton told NME : “It’s nice to be back in there. It’s the best venue in London.”

Robbie Thomas, 34, from Swindon added: “It’s so amazing to have the venue back and it was a lovely night to really cement that. It would have been really shit if it had closed down.”

Wendy Robertson, 53, who lives in Clapham Junction, agreed. “I was worried it was going to close permanently. I like this venue. I’ve seen a lot of bands here over the years. I’m very glad they’ve saved it,” she said.

Ahead of the reopening, the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) said it marked “a new era of crowd safety within performance spaces, with a comprehensive safety plan and extended licensing conditions to safeguard future events”.

CEO Michael Kill paid tribute to the victims who lost their lives and added: “Brixton Academy has consistently held a special place in the hearts of music aficionados, and its cultural significance is immeasurable. We have consistently advocated for its safe reopening, and today we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to ensuring its continued success as a safe hub for live music and nightlife.

He continued: “Today is also a testament to the potency of collective action and the enduring passion for live and electronic music culture, and we are indebted to each and every individual who signed petitions, participated in meetings, and voiced their support through various avenues.”

UK Foo Fighters and Definitely Mightbe (a tribute to Oasis ) take to the stage next Friday (April 26). Visit here for tickets and more info on these and other upcoming Brixton Academy shows.

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THU 10 AUGUST - ADELAIDE

Lion arts factory, fri 11 august - sydney, sat 12 august - melbourne, sun 13 august - brisbane, the brightside, wed 16 august - gold coast, wallaby hotel, fri 18 august - auckland, new zealand, wed 23 august - bangkok, thailand, the rock pub, fri 25 august - pattaya, thailand, the rock factory.

NIRVANA TRIBUTE (UK)

“After a few songs, the audience seems to have forgotten this is not the real Nirvana”.

Silverback Touring is thrilled to announce the return of Nirvana Tribute (from the UK)   for the highly-anticipated performance of Nirvana's iconic album, “In Utero”, in full, as part of its 30th-anniversary celebrations.  

The band, which has been hailed as one of the best Nirvana tribute acts in the world, and is the only world touring tribute to the Seattle trio, has mesmerised audiences across the globe with their powerful performances, capturing the raw energy and essence of Nirvana. This upcoming tour promises to be no different, and is the bands third visit to Australia since 2019 having amassed a new legion of fans with each tour.

In Utero, which was released in 1993, was Nirvana's third and final studio album, and is widely regarded as a masterpiece, showcasing the band's incredible songwriting skills and Kurt Cobain's unmistakable vocals.  

Fans will not only have the rare opportunity to hear the album played live, in its entirety, but will also experience a selection of Nirvana’s hits and deep cuts.

Tickets are expected to sell fast. This is a must for any fan of Nirvana and good music!

Thu 10 Aug - Adelaide - Lion Arts Factory

Fri 11 Aug - Sydney - Crowbar

Sat 12 Aug - Melbourne - Stay Gold

Sun 13 Aug - Brisbane - The Brightside

Wed 16 Aug - Gold Coast - Wallaby Hotel

Fri 18 Aug - Auckland - Galatos

Wed 23 Aug - Bangkok - The Rock Pub

Fri 25 Aug - Pattaya - The Rock Factory 

On sale now

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Inside Nirvana’s Last Ever UK Show: “The band was fractured in more than a few ways… it was touch and go”

30 years on from kurt cobain's death, band members and friends recall nirvana’s final uk gig at reading festival in 1992.

Nirvana’s headline slot at Reading ’92, in front of 40,000 fans, was to be their last ever appearance in the UK. In the supercharged atmosphere surrounding the gig – fractious intra-band relationships, controversy over Courtney Love’s alleged heroin use while pregnant, rumours of a no-show – tensions reached fever pitch. Then a revved-up Nirvana let rip. Here, band members, friends and acquaintances relive the grunge icons final UK show…

PUSHED ON STAGE IN  a wheelchair, clothed in a surgical gown and blond fright wig, Kurt Cobain ’s chaotic arrival at the 1992 Reading Festival was the punkest happening so far in an already tumultuous year. It was 11 months since the release of Nirvana’s second album,  Nevermind ,  but their procession as their generation’s defining band had already turned into a catalogue of crises. The February 24, 1992 wedding of Cobain and Hole’s Courtney Love had sparked a tabloid feeding frenzy, fuelled by the couple’s barely concealed drug use. The six months since had regularly called the future of the band into question and would feed into the bleak symbolism of their third and – as it would prove – final studio album,  In Utero .

READ MORE: The Making Of Nirvana’s In Utero: “When Courtney turned up it affected things …”

But in the meantime,  Nevermind  couldn’t stop selling, and such was Nirvana’s eminence by the summer of ’92 that Reading’s final day line-up would be, in effect, curated by them, with artists including Mudhoney, Melvins, L7, Teenage Fanclub and Aussie ABBA tribute band Björn Again appearing at Kurt Cobain’s request. This was new territory for the festival, a heavy metal showcase for much of the ’80s until bans by the local council and the fading clout of the genre had resulted in an identity crisis, epitomised by 1988’s disparate mix of acts, including Squeeze, Starship, Bonnie Tyler and Meat Loaf, who was bottled off the stage.

It was a new world for Nirvana too. They had played fourth on the main stage bill on the first day of the 1991 festival, a year headlined by Sisters Of Mercy, Iggy Pop and James. Sandwiched between indie-punks Silverfish and shoegazers Chapterhouse, a chaotic 30-minute blast of anthems-in-waiting had reconfirmed Nirvana’s visceral power and helped set the seal on Reading’s franchise-saving alternative-rock reincarnation.

In '91 I was like, Wow, I pulled that off. I wasn't thinking about the band becoming gigantic. I was just happy I didn't shit my pants on the drum stool. Dave Grohl

DAVE GROHL:  “Reading seemed like a festival curated by that corner of the record store I’d always frequent. That hadn’t happened yet in America. When I first moved up to Seattle to join Nirvana, I asked Dan Peters from Mudhoney, What’s the biggest show you’ve done? And he said, ‘Maybe 35-40,000 people…’ I said, Where the fuck was that? He said, ‘There’s this thing called the Reading Festival.’ When I found out that we were going to be playing there, I woke up in a cold sweat every fucking day for months because I realised I was going to play in front of 40,000 people.”

EUGENE KELLY, THE VASELINES/CAPTAIN AMERICA/EUGENIUS:  “Backstage in 1991, Krist came up to me and said, ‘Hey! You want to sing [The Vaselines’ 1988 single] Molly’s Lips on-stage with us?’ When I got up there, it was a sea of faces. I thought, God, what have I got into? Nirvana were powerful, a totally amazing live band, and seeing their connection with the crowd was unexpected.”

DAVE GROHL:  “[Afterwards] I was like, Wow, I pulled that off. I wasn’t thinking about the band becoming gigantic, I was just happy I didn’t shit my pants on the drum stool.”

EUGENE KELLY:  “Later that year, my new band Captain America supported Nirvana on their  Nevermind  tour in the UK [November 1991]. There were queues around the block to get in, and they were on the cusp of breaking through. They were a happy bunch, great people, down-to-earth, funny and not up themselves. We were in Sheffield and everybody went into a TV room to watch their performance of Smells Like Teen Spirit on Top Of The Pops – us, Nirvana and [Japanese punk trio] Shonen Knife. Kurt slumped down in his chair as it was going on, he disappeared a bit.”

VINCE POWER, ORGANISER, READING FESTIVAL 1992:  “A lot of bands have gone from bottom of the Reading bill to the top in a short space of time, but it felt like an event with Nirvana. There weren’t many big UK festivals around in the early ’90s, only really Reading and Glastonbury, so getting Nirvana to headline that year felt special. We were all really excited.”

DAVE GROHL:  [On Nirvana’s “curation” of the Sunday line-up] “When you’re given the opportunity to take control of a bill you’re only going to invite your best friends, bands you love, or bands we thought would open other people’s minds. We thought Björn Again was hilarious, this Australian band speaking in terrible Swedish accents and nailing the songs… It sounded like ABBA! We immediately thought, We have to take these guys on tour – because who fucking doesn’t like ABBA?”

ROD STEPHEN, CREATOR, BJÖRN AGAIN:  “We were playing a show in Richmond [Melbourne, Australia] and Nirvana were down the road [at The Palace, January 31-February 2, 1992]. They caught the tail end of our set, bought all our T-shirts and buggered off. The next thing, they’re on MTV and Dave Grohl is wearing a Björn Again T-shirt. Then we got the call: ‘Nirvana wants you to play with them at Reading. Moreover, Kurt has said, Unless Björn Again are playing, they’re not doing the gig.’ I thought, We could get bottled up there.”

BUZZ OSBORNE, MELVINS:  “The best part for us was realising that we were [being invited] at Nirvana’s request. But opening for an ABBA covers band? That wouldn’t be the benchmark for our career.”

BY   THE MORNING OF  Sunday, August 30, the stakes had been raised in more ways than one. The birth of Love and Cobain’s daughter, Frances Bean, only 12 days before, had toxified media interest in the couple, peaking with Lynn Hirschberg’s notorious profile in the September issue of Vanity Fair (published earlier in August), which alleged that Love had taken heroin in the early days of her pregnancy. Meanwhile, Cobain had overdosed at least once and attempted rehab.

READ MORE: “I Think I’m Going To Puke…” inside Kurt Cobain’s last photo session

On Friday 28, the festival kicked off successfully with a day tilted towards Anglo-indie (Mega City Four, The Charlatans, The Wonder Stuff), while Saturday brought a thrilling finale: Public Enemy on the main stage, winning over rock fans with an imperious performance. Sunday promised the much-discussed, Nirvana-endorsed main stage line-up (in order: Melvins, Screaming Trees, Pavement , Björn Again, Beastie Boys, L7, Teenage Fanclub, Mudhoney and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds) but febrile backstage gossip had it that the embattled headliners were nowhere to be seen and might not play.

It was even said that pun-fixated Brixton indie duo Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine were warming the subs’ bench. Meanwhile, a heavy storm that turned the site into a mudbath and unleashed tent-lashing winds only added to the ominous mood…

EUGENE KELLY:  “I bumped into Kurt at the hotel [the Ramada in central Reading]. He was with Eric [Erlandson] from Hole. He wasn’t smiling or saying hello. It was only later that we started reading about what was going on in Kurt and Courtney’s life and the things they were going through.”

DAVE GROHL:  “I remember bumping into people who were saying, ‘What are you doing here?’ I said, We’re fucking headlining! They’re like, ‘Oh I thought you cancelled!’ I’m thinking, What the fuck is going on?!”

ROD STEPHEN:  “Kurt was closed off. We were doing a cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit in our show and backstage I spoke to Dave and Krist and said, Maybe it’s best if we leave it out? They said, ‘No way, you’ve gotta do it. We should ask Kurt…’ He was behind one of the Portakabins and I could see him saying, ‘Yeah, that’s why they’re here!’ It was really evident that with Kurt, no one went near him. It was a strange atmosphere. It felt like something was gonna happen.”

DONITA SPARKS, L7:  “I don’t want to get myself in trouble here, but I don’t think [the rumour mill] was a problem for [Cobain and Love], personally. I think it was a possibly a clever thing going on… I don’t think they lost sleep over that.”

BUZZ OSBORNE:  “Nirvana were pretty isolated from everything. They had already changed quite a bit from what they had been earlier … I’d known Kurt since he was a little kid and he went from nothing to having a lot of money – that’s quite a headfuck for anyone. But he was also into drugs, and that was before Courtney [Love] was around, but she didn’t help matters.”

I bumped into Kurt at the hotel. He wasn't smiling or saying hello. It was only later we started reading about what Kurt and Courtney were going through. EUGENE KELLY

NORMAN BLAKE, TEENAGE FANCLUB:  “The night before, the heavens opened and I remember getting thoroughly soaked. I think that added to the experience, though. The site was boggy, but people didn’t care, they went for it and it made it memorable. You can only get so wet.”

SCOTT KANNBERG, PAVEMENT:  “It was so windy I couldn’t hear anything on-stage. I was just hoping for the best, but I remember us being kinda good that day… It was like the last gasp of non-corporate rock, before people took themselves too seriously.”

ROD STEPHEN:  “There were puddles of mud everywhere… As we were about to go on stage we thought, We really shouldn’t be here. It had been a whimsical thing with Kurt Cobain wanting it. I just hoped that everyone in the crowd got it, but we nailed Smells Like Teen Spirit, cranked it up to 11. There’s even a film taken by Krist Novoselic’s wife [Shelli] of Nirvana dancing around to it.”

DAVE GROHL:  “Not a lot of bands had the balls to do something like that. The audience went nuts. No bottles of piss were being thrown at them, that’s for sure.”

EUGENE KELLY:  “The wind blew away the [second stage] tent and our show was cancelled. We were hanging about, up to our knees in mud, when Teenage Fanclub saw us and said, ‘Play a song in our set!’ I only recently just saw a clip of it on You-Tube. Up until then I thought, Did that actually happen?”

NORMAN BLAKE:  “We got to go to the loo and have a beer when Eugenius [the new name for Captain America] played. I’d like to think it made it more memorable.”

DONITA SPARKS:  “We were pelted with mud the whole show. Why did I pull my tampon out and throw it into the crowd? [Sparks shouted, ‘Eat my used tampon, fuckers!’] I like absurdity when I’m not having a good time. I thought, It’s getting weird. I’m gonna get weirder. It was a ‘Fuck you’ in a performance art style.”

MARK ARM, MUDHONEY:  “I thought, Oh fuck, our name’s Mudhoney. That’s a magnet. I said, In America we have this game called baseball and people learn to throw accurately… Right then a dirt clod hit me in the face. Of course, I had forgotten all about cricket. Did we throw it back? Yeah, but that was a losing situation: four people against 40,000…”

DONITA SPARKS:  “The mud was mixed with sheep shit. I got hit and picked up a big pile of it and put it on my head, shouting, Hey! You got me! Then I realised, This is fucking dung. I could smell it. Later, I’m watching Nick Cave and someone had thrown my tampon back. It was dangling off his monitor but he couldn’t see it. I was mortified. It was such a bizarre sight. Now I’m not mortified by it because it’s been so lovingly embraced by young feminists.”

NICK CAVE:  “Everywhere you looked you saw people in plaid and shorts with steam coming off their heads. We didn’t have a clue why we were there. It was all about Nirvana and Mudhoney, that noise rumbling in endless waves, this sea of people just leaping around. Amazing, but absolutely nothing to do with us.”

WHEN   KURT COBAIN FINALLY  arrived on-stage later that night, he resembled an asylum escapee. “This is too painful,” joked Krist Novoselic of his bandmate, slumped in a wheelchair. “With the support of his friends and family he’s gonna make it…” Cobain reached for the microphone, sang the opening line from The Rose – the Gordon Mills song made famous by Bette Midler: “Some say love, it is a river…” Then he collapsed dramatically to the floor. It was only once Cobain had pulled himself upright and launched into the acerbic, pounding thrash of Breed, backed by a berserk male dancer in a dress (this was Antony AKA ‘Dancing Tony’ Hodgkinson, the drummer with Derby rock trio Bivouac, a sometime Nirvana factotum and familiar terpsichorean distraction at European Nirvana shows since 1990), that any doubts regarding their appearance were laid to rest.

ANTON BROOKES, NIRVANA PR:  “The wig, the surgical gown and the wheelchair were all part of the ‘Kurt’s dead’ or ‘Kurt’s not playing’ rumours. I think he’d heard them too and was taking the piss. Kurt had the cheesiest grin ever. He had said to me, ‘Man, you’ve got to wheel me out on this…’ My only regret is that I bottled it [the role went to Nirvana-supporting Melody Maker journalist Jerry Thackray, AKA Everett True], but it was intimidating. The crowd stretched back and back and back. When they walked on stage the noise was like a jet engine taking off.”

DAVE GROHL:  “Getting up to play, it was one of those moments where it was the music that brought the three of us together in that moment. And Tony, the dancer, of course.”

ANTONY HODGKINSON:  “Me and Dave got on real well. I was well into their music, but it was like a dare to dance to it. Kurt thought it would be a good idea. Suggestions flew around. I was finally like, Fuck it. I’ll do it. And they were like, ‘Well, you’re gonna have to wear ladies’ clothes.’ And I was like, Whatever. I’m not proud, you know? I think Leeds in 1990 was the first show I did for them. From what I remember, [that] was quite a heated show, really. It seemed quite violent.”

NORMAN BLAKE:  [On set opener Breed] “They were loud and visceral – a power trio. Something the DVD [Nirvana: Live At Reading] didn’t capture was the energy. You’re not getting the same volume levels on your computer or TV. The songs had such a big sound, from just one guitar. The dynamics of going quiet to really fucking loud [on Aneurysm, Sliver and Lithium], especially at a festival, sounded incredible.”

KURT COBAIN:  [before All Apologies] “This song is dedicated to my 12-day-old daughter and my wife. There’s been some pretty extreme things written about us, especially my wife, and she thinks everybody hates her now. So, this is being recorded, so I want you to give her a message and say, ‘Courtney, we love you…’”

SCOTT KANNBERG:  “This was before [In  Utero]  came out and the new songs sounded great. With All Apologies it was like they were a completely different band. I’d seen them a bunch before  Nevermind  and I was like, These guys are actually a lot cooler than I used to think. They were more like the Pixies meets Zeppelin, with a little Replacements humour thrown in.”

NORMAN BLAKE:  “I remember they played the riff to Boston’s More Than A Feeling before going into Smells Like Teen Spirit. That was the thing that people forget about Nirvana: there was a lot of humour in what they were doing. Kurt was an angsty guy, but he could also be a fun guy as well. Doing that showed that they weren’t taking things too seriously.”

DONITA SPARKS:  “The reaction that night was not a shock; it’s exactly where they should have been with their momentum and their assault. I was sitting side of the stage – I was next to Dave Grohl’s mother – and it was just steam in front of us, coming up off the audience. It looked incredible.”

NORMAN BLAKE:  “It wasn’t surprising that their earlier stuff [Blew, School, Negative Creep] connected too, because it was riff-based. People sing White Stripes songs at football terraces because of that riff-based sound – there was a simplicity everybody could identify with.”

SCOTT KANNBERG:  “There was a chill in our bones because finally it felt like our music was winning. Yeah, we were part of that whole scene who grew up around indie rock. Now that music was headlining festivals. It didn’t last long…”

READ MORE: Nirvana Play The UK For The First Time

DAVE GROHL:  “In the 12 months since we had played the 1991 Festival so much had happened. We had these incredible highs and lows. Kurt had been in rehab, we hadn’t played together; Kurt was living in Los Angeles, Krist and I were up in Seattle. The band was just fractured in more than a few ways. We were expected to come back together to do this gig, and it was touch and go. It was a huge relief when it was all over, that we made it through the entire set.”

NORMAN BLAKE:  [On Nirvana trashing their gear on-stage] “Kurt really gave it everything. I have memories of Krist chucking his bass up in the air. The chaos at the end – you didn’t know what was going to happen next.”

ANTON BROOKES:  “Everyone was on a high afterwards, but Nirvana’s highlight was meeting John Peel for the first time – they had so much to thank him for, he’d given them a leg up with the Peel Sessions. But Peel was as in awe of meeting them as they were meeting him.”

DAVE GROHL:  “I remember going to the hotel bar and I was standing by the guy from EMF – you know, the Unbelievable band? A photographer from a magazine said, ‘Can I get your picture taken together…?’ And the guy from EMF looked at me and went, ‘Pfftt. Oh, I suppose so…’”

SCOTT KANNBERG:  “My father-in-law was at the Isle Of Wight and he always talks about it. [Original Pavement drummer] Gary Young was at Woodstock and always talks about it. Now I can say I was at Reading Festival 1992. I think it’s probably the same thing.”

BUZZ OSBORNE:  “It’s very difficult to think about Nirvana without it being a very tragic memory for me. If I helped create what was going on with all that stuff –Nirvana getting involved in those sort of things – I also helped to create his death. That is not something I take lightly. I would much rather have him unsuccessful and alive.”

ROD STEPHEN:  “Kurt wore our T-shirts because he wanted to. It was bit of a laugh, but he was a really influential person, and we’ve had a massive career pretty much based on Kurt Cobain.”

BUZZ OSBORNE:  “The last thing he ever said to me, at the very last show they ever played… He was on-stage, he looked at the other two guys in the band, and he looked back at me and said, I should just be doing this solo. So you tell me what that means… Reading Festival was another nail in the coffin and I’m not happy about any of it.”

Dave Grohl and Nick Cave material courtesy of Keith Cameron; Dancing Tony quotes courtesy of Paste magazine.

This article is from MOJO The Collectors' Series Nirvana Come As You Are 1987-1994. More info and to order a copy HERE .

Photo: Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpix/Alamy

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Cheap, cheerful, and close enough: Inside the tribute band boom sweeping the UK

O n stage, a man throws his shaggy blond hair back and forth in time with the four-chord assault of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. A mosh pit swells in the middle of a crowd of thousands. The air is laced with catharsis, as pints and fists are launched into the air on every churn of guitar. But of course, the man on stage is not Kurt Cobain, who has been dead for 30 years, and the band in question are not Nirvana: this is Nirvana UK, the self-proclaimed number one cover band of the Seattle grunge gods.

“Thirty years ago today a little band called Nirvana were supposed to play here,” says the man to the crowd. “But they couldn’t make it, so we’re here instead. Can I say what an honour it’s been for our tribute band to play on a stage as prestigious as this?”

This was the scene on Friday night at the O2 Academy Brixton where, alongside The Smyths (you guessed it: a cover band of The Smiths), Nirvana UK headlined. More than a year after being forced to close due to a crowd crush in December 2022 , which killed two people, the venue opened its doors once again, with the owners agreeing to meet no fewer than 77 “extensive and robust” safety measures to regain its licence.

You might think an iconic venue such as Brixton Academy – which has hosted Grace Jones, David Bowie, Snoop Dogg, and Pulp – might have its pick of bands for its inaugural show, which begs the question: why tribute acts?

“I keep on having these ridiculous pinch-me moments,” says frontman Graham Sampson, The Smyths’ very own Morrissey. The band have played more than 900 shows across the UK, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, but tonight’s gig holds a special significance; it was here, on 12 December 1986, that The Smiths performed their final show. “I mean, I was at that last ever Smiths gig,” says Sampson. “It’s a bit mad to step onto that stage.”

Mad though it is, tribute acts are nabbing more and more high-profile spots. These acts are growing in popularity, despite groups like The Smyths and The Bootleg Beatles having been around for decades. This year alone, The Smyths will play some of their biggest shows yet with headline gigs at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, the Electric Ballroom Manchester, Cardiff Tramshed, Newcastle City Hall, and Manchester’s historic venue, the Ritz.

Once largely a gimmick for Elvis impersonators, whose only resemblance to the King is a penchant for leather, today’s tribute bands pay homage to a whole range of music from mainstream to niche – and they do it well. (According to The Smyths, they’ve got fans in both Morrissey and Johnny Marr.)

It’s not only old bands getting the tribute treatment. In January, more than 1,000 people braved the cold to see Fell Out Boy ( Fall Out Boy ) and The Black Charade (My Chemical Romance) at the O2 Ritz up north. A few months later, with support from Angry Hair (Alice in Chains), Pearl Scam ( Pearl Jam ) played a sold-out show at the O2 Academy Islington as part of a series of Academy gigs across the UK.

Despite bearing zero physical resemblance to the wide-eyed, blond-tressed Alice in Chains lead singer Layne Staley, who died from an overdose in 2002, Angry Hair frontman Luke Williams effectively resurrected the late musician that night with an uncanny rendition of his yearning growl on the 1992 grunge classic “Rooster”. The crowd ate it up.

“We’re not a fancy dress band,” Williams told me after the gig. “I think Layne Staley would cringe if there was someone dressed up pretending to be him and mimicking his voice. I think he’d absolutely hate it. That’s the grunge scene for you, though. I reckon Kurt Cobain would probably find it funny, though.”

Their refusal to indulge in cosplay makes it harder to secure bookings, said Williams – but it does speak to a new seriousness with which tribute acts are carrying themselves these days. “When people see pictures of us, they think, ‘he doesn’t look like Layne Staley’ because I’ve got a mohawk and vest on and I’m jumping in the crowd,” admitted Williams. “But as soon as we got our foot in the door, more people were asking for us and travelling to see us.”

In December, more than 150 people descended on east London brewery Signature Brew to listen to Just Radiohead , the self-proclaimed leading Radiohead tribute band in the UK. In a time when emerging acts struggle to shift tickets, the group (only three years old, having formed in lockdown) managed to pack out the room.

“We probably got audiences of about 50 people when we first started and now we’re regularly getting over 250,” says guitarist Shaun (their version of Johnny Greenwood) who didn’t want to give his full name, while the band is still building momentum. “For a lot of the venues we’re playing there’s been an increase in tribute bands and a decrease in original. My view is that the tribute scene is actually keeping a lot of these grassroots venues open.”

A tribute night is also a guaranteed good time for the average music fan who just wants to hear the hits. You only have to look at the tepid response from the Arctic Monkeys crowd at Glastonbury last year to know not every fan wants to hear the deep cuts. Sometimes you just want to let loose to the punk riff of “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor” – and that’s OK, Antarctic Monkeys are more than happy to oblige.

You sort of lower your expectations thinking they’re just a tribute, but you can get some quite amazing musicians out there

“If Radiohead were still touring today, they’d likely do two big stadiums in the UK, charge hundreds of pounds a ticket and probably tour the latest album,” Shaun says. “Whereas we’re doing two-and-a-half hour shows in grassroot venues for £15 and covering all the songs the average fan wants to hear.” You’ll never catch Just Radiohead skipping over “Creep” or “Karma Police”.

It’s not only pubs and music venues that are spotlighting tribute bands. Festivals, too, are booking more of them, hoping to give fans a little taste of the big acts they couldn’t secure themselves. At Glastonbury in 2023, the tent heaved with fans dancing to Elvana, a British group who perform the music of Nirvana in the style of an Elvis impersonator. (Their name is a portmanteau of the two.)

“I couldn’t get in because it was so rammed,” says Colin Freitag, a festivalgoer and passionate defender of tribute acts. “You sort of lower your expectations thinking they’re just a tribute, but you can get some quite amazing musicians out there who have spent a long time practising the work of their idols and it’s actually really, really good.”

WV1Fest , Rockprest and Festwich , meanwhile, are exclusive tribute festivals that have been building crowds steadily over the years. The latter has even had to relocate to bigger grounds for its 2024 comeback due to demand. Stiff Bizkit, Link N Park, Smashed in Pumpkins, Machine Rages On, Fu Fighters, Arctic Manckeys, Kings of the Stone Age, Aka Noel Gallagher, Dire Streets, and Green Days are among the line-up.

Cost is, of course, another factor. Standing tickets for Pearl Jam’s latest UK tour, for example, are currently going for £198 in London and £163 in Manchester; a ticket to see Pearl Scam and Angry Hair was £22. Tonight’s gig at Brixton cost just £13.30. Obviously, seeing the real band is a different experience entirely, no one can argue otherwise – but in a cost of living crisis, the idea of shelling out hundreds of pounds for a ticket when you can see a quality replica for a fraction of the price is increasingly appealing.

For some people it’s nostalgia. For others, it’s to make up for missing out on seeing the band live at the time

Many of the original acts in question have also long since disbanded, The Smiths being a prime example of that. Tributes offer a nostalgia trip for fans who were there in the Eighties, says The Smyths’ Sampson. “‘It’s the closest you’re ever going to get’ is probably the headline,” he says. “For some people it’s nostalgia. For others, it’s to make up for missing out on seeing the band live at the time.”

Their gigs run the gamut of ages; it’s not just older generations who like The Smiths anymore. (A TikTok trend last year introduced a whole new generation of teens to Morrissey’s mesmerising musings by way of the 2009 romcom 500 Days of Summer ). “Our shows have three or four generations in the audience and it’s quite lovely to see,” says Sampson. “You get parents coming who are saying, ‘we saw The Smiths, but our kids never did, so it’s fantastic to be able to bring them to this’.”

At Pearl Scam, one audience member, Leah, had brought her teenage daughter to the show. “I loved Pearl Jam back in the day, I played them all the time. Now, my daughter loves them too, so I wanted to go to a show with her,” she said. “We got tickets to Pearl Jam too this year, so this is a bit of a warm-up.”

As for what the original acts might think of tribute bands flogging their material, Sampson sees no problem with it: “Imagine you were a big band in the Eighties and you didn’t have a tribute to you?”

Bands are coming around, too. Last November, Swedish rock band The Hives issued a callout for tribute bands to cover their songs in a legitimate (albeit tongue-in-cheek) announcement to say that they were, in fact, franchising themselves .

“The Hives can no longer keep up with public demand for concerts,” they said, scrubbing further away at the stigma that once seemed to stain tribute acts. “Help us create a world where The Hives are playing in every city, all the time.”

Freitag can’t see why bands would have a problem with acts paying homage to their heroes. “Lots of bands probably think it’s great because at tribute gigs, you’ve got the real diehard fans,” he says. “I mean, people enjoying your music… that’s got to be an amazing thing, right?” After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

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