Dave Grohl recalls the 'beautiful' moment his daughter asked about Kurt Cobain

He spoke to Dave Berry on the Absolute Radio Breakfast Show

Nirvana in London in 1990
Author: Scott ColothanPublished 5th Oct 2021
Last updated 6th Oct 2021

Celebrating the release of his new book ‘The Storyteller’, Foo Fighters legend Dave Grohl joined Dave Berry for a chat on the Absolute Radio breakfast show this morning (5th October).

Alongside speaking in-depth about ‘The Storyteller’, Dave reflected upon the 30th anniversary of Nirvana’s seminal second album ‘Nevermind’ and how his children Violet, Harper and Ophelia are huge fans of the band.

“It feels like lifetimes ago, I feel like I've lived a few lifetimes since then,” Dave said of the ‘Nevermind’ landmark. “I don’t necessarily feel any different than I did then. I was 22 when that record came out. And you know I feel 22 until I look in the mirror and then I go ‘oh I am not 22 anymore’

“To me Nirvana really was three people, with some instruments that made a big noise. And we drove around in vans, and we played in clubs, and we did things like that and then it became something else. So, I look at Nirvana much differently than someone else might, but it's become such a big part of popular culture so everywhere I go I see it.”

Dave went on to explain that he found it difficult to listen to Nirvana in the wake of Kurt Cobain’s death in 1994, however his children have now helped him return to the band’s music.

“There was a long time when a song would come on and I would just turn it off,” Dave said.

“I don’t want to hear that. It would bring back lots of difficult memories but now I'll be driving with my kids in the car now and a Nirvana song will come on and they will start singing it and they know the words, and we don’t listen to it at home but somehow it's become a part of their lives now and its cool.”

Dave Grohl - The Storyteller

Reflecting upon “a really beautiful moment” when ‘Come As You Are’ came on the radio while driving with 12-year-old daughter Harper, Dave said: “(Harper) said ‘dad, how old were you when you were in this band?’ I said, ‘well I was probably 21 or 22 when we recorded it.’ And then she said, ‘what was Kurt like?’. I said, ‘he was really sweet, you know he was kind of shy, a little reserved and could be sort of quiet’.

“She said, ‘was he shy to people he didn’t know or to people he did know?’, and I said, ‘well a little bit of both’. She said, ‘wow that’s really interesting that someone that could be so shy could write these songs and stand in front of hundreds of thousands of people and sing them’, and I thought what a beautiful insight for a 12-year-old.

“She was asking me about my life then because she wanted to understand it through the music.”

You can check out footage of Dave discussing ‘The Storyteller’ below, including what inspired him to write it and what the toughest parts of the book were to write.

Foo Fighters hit the UK in summer 2022 for stadium shows in Manchester, Birmingham and London. You can still get tickets to the Thursday 30th June concert at London Stadium from Absolute Radio Tickets right now.

Dave Grohl will read the 2013 book Octopus’s Garden, written by Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, on the CBeebies Bedtime Story this Friday (8th October) at 6.50pm.

Kurt Cobain's life in pictures:

Kurt’s childhood home in Aberdeen, Washington

His parents Wendy and Donald Cobain bought the house in 1969 when Kurt was two and he lived there until they separated when he was nine.

Kurt with younger sister by three years Kimberly in the mid 1970s


Kurt celebrates a childhood birthday with his family


Kurt and Kimberly stand outside their Aberdeen home

When their parents split in 1976, Kurt went to live with his father and Kim lived with her mother.

Showcasing an early talent for music, Kurt plays piano at his childhood home


Kurt’s attic bedroom pictured in 2013

More than a quarter of a century after Kurt last habited the room, his graffiti – including an Iron Maiden logo – still adorns the walls.

Led Zeppelin graffiti Kurt penned on his bedroom wall


An Aberdeen Junior High School photo of a young Kurt Cobain


A teenage Kurt at his Washington home


Kurt playing guitar in his attic room

His walls are decorated with Black Flag and hardcore punk band Dr. Know gig posters.

May 1986: Kurt was arrested aged 19

He was arrested for trespassing on an abandoned building in Market Street, Aberdeen. He was also arrested a year earlier for spray painting on pick-up trucks.

1991: Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl in London


August 1991: Nirvana perform at Reading Festival


September 1991: A 'Nevermind' launch show at New York’s Tower Records


5th November 1991: Kurt onstage at Nirvana’s sold-out gig at The Astoria Theatre in London


November 1991: Kurt crowdsurfing in Frankfurt, Germany


1991: Kurt at Hilversum Studios, Holland


1991: Kurt at Hilversum Studios, Holland


August 1992: The Kerrang! Magazine cover featured a very sombre Kurt

It included a play on The Smiths lyrics 'Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now'.

December 1993: A second Kerrang! Magazine cover

16 months later and the tone of the cover is very different with the title: 'Hugs Not Drugs! Kurt Gets Happy!'.

1992: Kurt performing live in a maid’s outfit


1992: Nirvana at the MTV Video Music Awards


August 1992: Nirvana’s legendary Reading Festival performance


9th April 1993: Kurt on-stage with Nirvana at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California

Appearing alongside L7 and The Breeders, the gig was a Bosnian Rape Victim Benefit.

July 1993: Performing at the Roseland Ballroom, New York


1993: Kurt with his wife Courtney Love and one-year-old daughter Frances Bean at the MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles

Kurt and Courtney married in Hawaii in March 1992 with Kurt infamously wearing his pyjamas to the ceremony!

1993: Kurt at the MTV VMAs ceremony, Los Angeles


1993: At the 10th annual MTV Video Music Awards

Nirvana pose with director Kevin Kerslake after receiving an award for best alternative video for 'In Bloom' at the 10th annual MTV Video Music Awards.

Kurt pretends to pick his nose with daughter Frances Bean


November 1993: Recording Nirvana’s legendary MTV Unplugged session


December 1993: Performing at MTV Live and Loud, Seattle


February 1994: Live at The Palace, Melbourne


25th February 1994: Nirvana live at Palatrussardi indoor arena in Milan Italy

Their last ever gig took place at Terminal 1 in Munich, Germany six days later.

April 1994: Kurt Cobain dies

171 Lake Washington Blvd East Seattle, Washington, the site of Cobain's death.

16th April 1994: The Kerrang! Magazine cover, 11 days after the Nirvana’s legend’s untimely death


The Sonic Youth t-shirt Kurt wore at Nirvana’s final live performance in Munich, March 1994

The garment was auctioned at the Hard Rock Café in London in July 2012.

2011: A small park in Aberdeen was named ‘Kurt Cobain Landing’ in Kurt’s honour

This plaque quoting Something In The Way lyrics overlooks the Wishkah River.

An electric guitar monument at Kurt Cobain Landing in Seattle


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