Kurt Cobain’s hospital gown from Nirvana’s headline set at Reading Festival up for auction

Yours if you have a spare £38,000

Kurt Cobain at Reading Festival 1992
Author: Scott ColothanPublished 8th Mar 2019
Last updated 8th Mar 2019

The hospital gown Kurt Cobain wore for Nirvana’s fabled headline performance at Reading Festival in 1992 is going under the hammer.

In a swipe at media reports about his mental health, Kurt Cobain arrived on stage at Reading Festival 27 years ago in a wheelchair pushed by music journalist Everett True and wearing a medical gown.

The 25-song set is widely perceived as one of Nirvana’s defining moments of their career and in 2009 it was released as a critically-acclaimed live CD and DVD.

Now, the medical gown is up for sale at RR Auction in Boston, Massachusetts and it’s expected to fetch $50,000 (around £38,216).

The gown comes with a letter of authenticity and the auctioneers write:

“Worn as a stunt at the 1992 Reading Festival, bestowed later as a parting gift from Courtney Love to our consignor at the Cobain vigil, this iconic and museum-quality piece represents the Nirvana frontman at his finest and most sardonic, jabbing pointedly at critics and detractors alike while retaining the intensely original showmanship that made him a living legend. A truly remarkable rock and roll keepsake here offered on the 25th anniversary of Cobain’s death.”

It was also announced earlier this week that Nirvana’s live video, 'Live At The Paramount’, will be released for the first time ever on vinyl on 12th April 2019.

The album was recorded at the Paramount Theatre in Nirvana’s native Seattle on 31st October 1991, a month after Nirvana unleashed their blockbuster second studio album ‘Nevermind’.

Nirvana 'Live At The Paramount' vinyl