I remember watching this live when it happened in 1992. As Nirvana was finishing up their performance of Lithium during the MTV Video Music Awards, the band basically went nuts and started destroying their instruments, the speakers, and the finale was drummer Dave Grohl going up to the mic and saying, “Hi Axl, hi Axl, hi Axl, Where’s Axl?”
So, what was going on between Nirvana and Guns N’ Roses? iHeartRadio explains:
Despite Rose’s admiration for Nirvana (Rose wore a Nirvana hat in the video for “Don’t Cry”), he famously feuded with Kurt Cobain after the Nirvana front man repeatedly bashed GNR in the press. Cobain often referred to GNR as the antithesis of Nirvana, once saying “Rebellion is standing up to people like Guns N’ Roses.”
In 1992, Cobain refused an offer to open for GNR’s famous co-headlining tour with Metallica. Later in ’92, Rose got personal in return, referring to Cobain and Courtney Love as “f***in junkies,” suggesting that their daughter, Frances Bean, might be born with birth defects because of Love’s drug use. At the ’92 VMAs, members of GNR and Nirvana exchanged insults back stage.
After Nirvana performed “Lithium” that night, Dave Grohl mocked Rose by repeatedly saying “Hi, Axl” into a microphone. In any case, that was a long time ago. Any bad blood between Grohl and Rose is just history. Of course Grohl famously lent his Rock Throne to Rose when the GNR front man broke his foot during a tour.
via iheart.com
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