Nirvana Author:Steve Gullick, Stephen Sweet October 1990: In bed with Nirvana, a pile of ripped knees, guitar strings, stubble and eyeliner protrudes from a mound of duvets as the prefame Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic huddle against London's cold. June 1992: The biggest ban in the world that year hides in a reed bed in Scandinavia - big rock prey looking for camouflage. ... more »September 1992: in the Cobain family's temporary Hollywood home, a bleary-eyed Kurt is sunk in thought, ignoring the camera as he dandles baby Frances Bean. December 1993: On stage for an MTV show in Seattle, Cobain's caught with both arms in the air, as if trying to levitate after his skywards-thrown guitar. The black and white portraits and live shots taken by maverick photographers Steve Gullick and Stephen Sweet comprise some of the most resonant images prized out of the glorious wreckage of Nirvana's rock'n'roll existence. Maybe as a result of the unforced, haphazard nature of the sessions, mostly arranged to accompany pieces in the British music press, their photographs have a compelling documentary candour, ripping moments as they came, tapping into the band's surplus energy and telling a human story with a degree of completeness. "For a variety of reasons the British media got better access to Nirvana than anyone else did," recalls Gullick. "They just seemed to like us and as a result they were very relaxed around us. This book is very much a reflection of that. It is very much the British take on Nirvana." It's no coincidence that photographs as honest as these came out of NME, Sounds and Melody Maker commissions given out to Gullick and Sweet - two of the least show-business, most characterful photographers allowed near musicians over the last decade. Their comments on the circumstances of each shoot tell an uncensored tale, and the collection's trenchant introduction by British writer Everett True, who shared many of the expeditions to cover Nirvana, goes a long way toward explaining the passion, fun and madness burning in these unique, bittersweet images of the most awesome US band of the 90s.« less