Six strands of the late-Nirvana leader Kurt Cobain sold at auction for $14,145, according to Blabbermouth. The sale was part of Iconic Auctions’ “The Amazing Music Auction,” that peddled items connected to such legends as the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, and Eric Clapton, among others.
Iconic posted the backstory to how the hair found its way over 30 years letter to be put on sale:
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! 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.'”
A portion of proceeds from the auction will benefit Live Nation’s Crew Nation, a global relief fund for helping live music crew workers negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
FAST FACTS
- Back in 2019, sweater worn by Kurt Cobain during Nirvana‘s last photo shoot sold for $75,000 at auction. The cardigan, which Cobain wore in the summer of 1993 during a photo session before the release of the band’s In Utero LP, more than tripled pre-auction estimates of $20,000.
- Julien’s Auctions, which offered the item, wrote about it, “The shoot was meant to take place in Central Park in New York City, but due to Cobain being sick just hours before, the shoot was relocated to the basement of the hotel where the band was staying. Cobain showed up three hours late to the shoot and immediately asked for a bucket due to his nausea.”