Hear Unearthed Audio From Nirvana’s 1991 Acoustic Gig in Edinburgh
Twenty-six years after Nirvana played an acoustic concert to roughly 20 fans at an Edinburgh pub, audio from that unique December 1st, 1991 performance has surfaced online for the first time.
Nirvana – the gig’s “very special guests” who used the not-so-subtle pseudonym “Teen Spirit” – played a handful of songs at Edinburgh’s Southern Bar, with Kurt Cobain on acoustic guitar and vocals while drummer Dave Grohl manned the bass; Krist Novoselic was in attendance but didn’t perform, the Edinburgh News reported.
While no recording of the acoustic show – a fundraiser for the Scottish city’s children’s hospital – had surfaced over the next two decades, LiveNirvana (via Stereogum) announced on Friday that, exactly 26 years after the gig occurred, 10 minutes from the performance had finally been uploaded onto YouTube.
Both “Dumb” and “Polly” from the Southern Bar were uploaded in their entirety, while half of Nirvana’s rendition of “Jesus Doesn’t Want Me for a Sunbeam” from the gig was salvaged. Nirvana also covered “Twist Barbie” by Shonen Knife – the band’s opening act on that European tour – at the Southern Bar, but no recording of that cover has been posted.
Two nights prior to the acoustic gig, Nirvana played a full concert at Edinburgh’s Calton Studios: