Nirvana's 'Nevermind' is first released

We Have Finally Reached Nirvana

Unless my maths is wonky (which is very possible - my maths is usually viciously wonky) today is the 25th birthday of Nevermind by Nirvana! It was released with little fanfare on this day in 1991, with the record label hoping it could shift 250K units in total. To date it’s shifted 24 million copies worldwide and counting. It completely changed the musical landscape, being compared to the revolution that early rock and roll instigated, introducing a new generation to a completely different kind of music. Quite surprising for a band who aimed to release an album of ‘children’s music’ featuring songs sounding like ‘The Knack and the Bay City Rollers getting molested by Black Flag and Black Sabbath’ to quote Kurt Cobain. It was the song (and particularly the video) for the first single Smells Like Teen Spirit that piqued the music world’s interest and eventually turned Nirvana into a global phenomenon. By January 1992, the album had reached the number one spot, knocking Michael Jackson’s Dangerous off the top spot. Soon ‘Grunge’ was everywhere. And so were plaid shirts.