Six strands hair from former Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain reportedly sold for $14,000 at auction.
The blonde locks went under the hammer as part of the “Amazing Music Auction”. The hair came from a haircut Cobain got in Birmingham from fan Tessa Osbourne in 1989. Cobain had been promoting Nirvana’s album “Bleach”, along with the rest of the band.
The bidding for this along with signed memorabilia from Cobain, Led Zeppelin and others began on May 6. This auction also included stage used memorabilia from the Beatles and Bob Dylan.
A sum of the proceeds went to Live Crew Nation. They are a global relief fund, helping live music crew workers struggling to find work during this pandemic.
Hair is also not the first unusual memorabilia to go on sale where Kurt has been concerned. Find out more here.
“Impeccable lineage” of Cobain memorabilia
On Cobain’s sale, the auction house said this.
“This one-of-a-kind artifact is entirely fresh-to-market and is accompanied by an impeccable lineage of provenance including photos of Kurt posing with the woman who cut this hair, scissors in hand, and a fantastic shot of the hair actually being cut!”.
They also added, “The lucky friend who trimmed the Nirvana front man’s iconic blond locks was an early confidant, Tessa Osbourne, who cut his hair in 1989 – well prior to his ‘Nevermind’ breakthrough – while on the ‘Bleach’ tour”.
“Tessa presented the original lock to Seattle artist Nicole DePolo as a heartfelt gift after Kurt’s passing, and she provided the original bag with handwritten provenance note, ’29/10/89: Tess cut Kurt’s hair in Birmingham, England, 27 Holy Rd., Handsworth, Birmingham B202BU”.
Nicole DePolo
After Cobain’s death in 1994, Osbourne handed the orginal locks of hair to Seattle artist Nicole DePolo.
A two page provenence affadavit about Cobain’s hair was also signed by DePolo.
It read, “Tessa had known Kurt back in England, and they had hung out during the ‘Bleach’ Tour”.
It also added, “Nirvana had broken in England first, and she must have had a sense that Kurt would become a musical force. When it came to Kurt, Tessa was kind of what like Astrid Kirchherr had been to The Beatles – the woman who had given him his iconic haircut”.
“She even had a series of pictures to prove it: a snapshot of her and Kurt with long straggly hair while she held a pair of scissors high, then a shot of the scissors going through about 7″ of hair”.
“The rest was history. Kurt was known for his bleached blond pageboy, and she’d given him his first one back in October of 1989, just before his image began to circulate throughout the world”.
This year also marked 27 years since Cobain’s tragic passing. Fans were quick to pay tribute to him. More here.
Check out Nirvana’s last ever performance with Cobain as frontman here.
