Back then, Bowie was still regarded as a sort of super-naff crazy uncle to Phil Collins. The latter must have seemed especially alarming to MTV. There would be cover versions, too: of little-known Glaswegians The Vaselines and of David Bowie. Nirvana wanted Meat Puppets, an obscure Phoenix, Arizona outfit Nirvana had fallen in love with during the making of their debut, Bleach. Eddie Vedder and Tori Amos were MTV’s preferences. MTV producers were thrilled when the band revealed their plans to feature guest performers. Still, Nirvana were only ever going to play by their own rules. Why wasn’t anyone writing that about him? He put the publication down and squinted into the middle distance.
The sense that he had somehow been slighted by the world was catalysed when, on the road touring Nevermind, he read a magazine article lauding his Seattle rival Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam as an outstanding lyricist and arranger. Aged just 20 she had championed Nirvana when they were an unheralded indie band, pushing her reluctant bosses to play the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video. One reason may have been loyalty to MTV producer Amy Finnerty. Unplugged (The Official Bootleg) reached seven in the UK charts and gave Macca his biggest hit in America in over a decade.Ĭobain never publicly explaining why he had agreed to do Unplugged. In the car back from his 1991 Unplugged taping he had his producer play the recording and decided there and then to release it as an album. Paul McCartney was one of the first to see the slot’s potential. By season two stars were clamouring to appear. The first broadcast featuring Squeeze’s Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook and Cars guitarist Elliot Easton. Jim Burns and Robert Small, the Unplugged producers, wanted to transpose to MTV the earthy energy Bon Jovi had brought when he adjusted his mullet and whipped out his acoustic guitar. First broadcast in November 1989, the show had been loosely inspired by an acoustic set Bon Jovi had tacked on at the end of the 1988 world tour. The Unplugged format itself was an unlikely phenomenon. MTV must have wondered if they wanted to bring it on themselves all over again. Later, perhaps as retaliation, Guns ‘n’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan tried to beat up his Nirvana opposite number, Novoselic.
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In revenge, as the spotlight dimmed and the stricken Novoselic staggered away, Cobain descended into the stage pit where Rose’s piano was prepped and waiting.