Nirvana’s cult album turns 25

COME as you are — 25 years older — to celebrate Nirvana’s most pivotal nineties album.

The parents of the swimming baby who starred as the album’s cover were reportedly only paid $200 for the shot.

CAN you believe it’s been 25 years since Nirvana had us coming as we are and smelling teen spirit?

On this day back in 1991, the band released their second album ‘Nevermind’ and although it was released with very low expectations, the album went on to be Nirvana’s most successful and changed the face of rock music.

Now certified diamond and having sold over 30 million copies worldwide, ‘Nevermind’ reached cult fame a long time ago, redefining alternative rock and pushing grunge into the mainstream.

Less than three years later, and with only one more album added to their repertoire, lead singer Kurt Cobain committed suicide.

His suicide note, addressed to his childhood imaginary friend ‘Boodah’ said Cobain hadn’t “felt the excitement of listening to as well as creating music, along with really writing ... for too many years now”.

Regardless of his opinions, still to this day, Cobain is regarded as one of the world’s most influential rock musicians.

THE ALBUM COVER

Album covers don’t get much more recognisable than ‘Nevermind’. The photoshoot reportedly only took 15 seconds and the parents of the baby were only paid $200.

The baby boy isn’t a baby anymore, he’s a 25-year-old man called Spencer Elden.

Elden, according to TIME is now a Los Angeles based artist who also enjoys growing tomatoes.

He also admitted he has tried a number of times to contact the two surviving band members — to no avail.

“I got a little upset for a bit,” he told TIME.

“I was trying to reach out to these people. I never met anybody. I didn’t get a call or email. I just woke up already being a part of this huge project. It’s pretty difficult — you feel like you’re famous for nothing, but you didn’t really do anything but their album.”

COBAIN WAS EMBARRASSED OF THE FINAL CUT

As reported by Rolling Stone, the band decided to hire an outside engineer to mix the album Eventually they hired Andy Wallace, who Cobain was apparently never comfortable with.

Speaking to the Nirvana biographer Michael Azerrad, Cobain said “It’s such a perfect mixture of cleanliness and nice, candy-ass production ... It may be extreme to some people who aren’t used to it, but I think it’s kind of lame, myself.”

MICHAEL JACKSON’S ‘DANGEROUS’ LOST ITS NUMBER ONE SPOT

Although Nirvana were classified as alternative, grunge rock at the time, ‘Nevermind’ went on to knock the global superstar’s album out of its number one spot.

As said by Rolling Stone, Nirvana were always vocal about their opposition to the 80s glitz pop genre. Their edgy takeover, as well as every teen’s conversion to wannabe punks proved Nirvana’s revolution had already taken hold.

Originally published as Nirvana’s cult album turns 25