It’s 1992 and the wonder of the mid 80’s Los Angeles hair metal scene has been hung out to dry by a bunch of herberts in ripped jeans, stupid hats and check flannel shirts who all seem to be wallowing in a world of self pity, drug habits and stolen riffs from 1970’s AOR bands (more of that later). The chief culprits in this crime against metal were Seattle three piece, Nirvana, fronted by the angst ridden Kurt Cobain, now christ-like figure to any teenage emo kids that hang around shopping centres and talk about how their life is so unfair.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have 3 Nirvana albums and there are some decent songs on all three (well maybe not Bleach as it’s terrible from start to finish) but what really irks me is that now their headline slot at Reading Festival in 1992 is about to be released on DVD, there seems to be a totally uncontrolled mayhem surrounding what actually happened that night in a field in Berkshire. Kerrang! have called it “The number 1 gig that shook the world”. “shook the world”???? I was there that weekend and all I can remember was how much it rained, how brilliant Therapy? were, how funny EMF were and how cider mixed with Baileys doesn’t work.

I remember my mate Jeff saying to me as the opening riff to Smells Like Teen Spirit reverberated through the rising steam of bodies “sounds just like more than a feeling by Boston that doesn’t it”

Yes it does!! and you, Cobain me old son, you have been found out!. Smells Like More Than a Feeling became this anthem for the aforementioned masses and is still in every top 10 songs of all time list from Q, Mojo and Kerrang! to The Sun’s SFTW.

What happened next is not a secret… Angst, pain, very public overdoses, I hate myself and want to die, suicide, candlelight vigils, estranged wife becoming rich, child becoming fatherless and the wonderful Foo Fighters.

Nirvana’s legacy rightly lives on as they did change a generation and they do deserve their place in music history. But to say that this particular gig ’shook the world’ is just plain silly.

Here’s a link to legendary 70’s AOR gods Boston and their seminal track More Than a Feeling (42 secs - 50 secs should be evidence enough)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNJS2qXTDTk&feature=related