Dave Grohl Credits Iconic Video For Launching Nevermind’

Dave Grohl credits MTV airing Nirvana's “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video for kickstarting the phenomenon surrounding the band's 1991 Nevermind album.

While promoting his new memoir, The Storyteller – Tales Of Life And Music on PBS' Amanpour And Company, Dave Grohl recalled, “When that video came out, all of a sudden the 300 capacity clubs had 300 more people outside, and then 500 capacity had 500 more people outside. It came down to the point where I would sit down on my drum stool and the first thing I would do is look around for an exit. 'OK, there's gonna be a riot, how am I going to get out?'”

He went on to say, “But it was the video, and I think that not only the song was great — Kurt (Cobain's) lyrics, his voice. . . Kurt was the greatest songwriter of our generation, but that video. . . I always say, 'You wanna sell half a million records? Make a video where you're burning down your high school.'”

Dave Grohl recalls playing at England's Reading Festival in 1992 as one of the biggest highlights of the Nirvana's initial success. “It was a huge show, and we were headlining, and we hadn't practiced for about three months, and we just stepped onstage and we expected it to suck really bad, and it turned out to be totally amazing.”

Starting on November 12th, the 30th anniversary of Nirvana's Nevermind will be celebrated with several multi-format reissues.

A total of 94 audio and video tracks — 70 previously unreleased — will be made available across configurations ranging from Super Deluxe Editions to standard digital/CD and single disc vinyl with a bonus 7-inch single.